The Guardian reports today that prisoner voting rights will be back in the public eye this week with critical comments from Europe and increased pressure from compensation claims. Interestingly, the article has now been amended to remove part of a quote from the Ministry of Justice, who had initially said that “Disenfranchisement is an outdated, [...]
Archive for May, 2010
Prisoner voting back on the human rights agenda this week
Posted in In the news, Prisons, Protocol 1 Art. 3 | Free elections, tagged Hirst v UK, prisoners rights, voting on May 30, 2010 |
Medical records not as private as they may first appear under human rights law
Posted in Art. 8 | Right to Privacy/Family, Case summaries, Freedom of Information, Medical, tagged Article 8, confidentiality, General Dental Council, Right to Privacy on May 28, 2010 |
General Dental Council v Rimmer [2010] EWHC 1049 (Admin) (15 April 2010) – Read judgment A dentist has been ordered to hand over his patients’ medical records to a court in order to help his regulator prosecute him for misconduct. The case raises interesting questions of when the courts can override patient confidentiality which would [...]
Libel reform debate hots up as new Government takes advice on reform
Posted in Art. 10 | Freedom of Expression, Art. 8 | Right to Privacy/Family, Defamation / Libel, In the news, tagged human rights, libel reform, Lord Lester, Lord Neuberger on May 28, 2010 |
The recent announcement of the review of libel and privacy law by a high-profile panel has led to a flurry of conjecture, comment and proposals. The new Government has pledged to reform the law of libel, but what shape will the reforms take? The committee, which was announced last month, is being led by Lord [...]
New Coalition abolishes Infrastructure Planning Commission after less than a year of operation
Posted in Art. 6 | Right to Fair Trial, Environment, In the news, Protocol 1 Art. 1 | Peaceful enjoyment of property, tagged Coalition Government, human rights, Infrastructure Planning Committee on May 28, 2010 |
The Infrastructure Planning Commission (“IPC”) is to be one of the first fatalities of the new coalition government. What impact will another change to the controversial system have on the fairness of planning decisions? In a letter on 24 May 2010, the head of the IPC, Sir Michael Pitt, has confirmed the government is planning [...]
Child rape case sparks debate on child witnesses in criminal courts
Posted in Art. 6 | Right to Fair Trial, Art. 8 | Right to Privacy/Family, Blog news, Children, Criminal, In the news, tagged children giving evidence, human rights, rape case on May 28, 2010 |
The recent Old Bailey case involving two boys aged 10 and 11 accused of rape on an eight year gold has reignited the long running debate over the treatment of child witnesses in the adversarial courts system. In a Daily Telegraph article John Bingham and Caroline Gammell report that More than 1,000 children under the [...]
Amnesty International report criticises UK’s record on deportation and torture
Posted in Art. 3 | Torture / Inhumane Treatment, Art. 6 | Right to Fair Trial, Art. 8 | Right to Privacy/Family, Immigration/Extradition, In the news, tagged Amnesty International 2010 Report, deportation, human rights, torture inquiry, UK on May 27, 2010 |
Amnesty International published its 2010 Report yesterday, documenting torture and other human rights abuses around the world. In relation to the UK, Amnesty’s report condemns the UK’s continuing reliance on “diplomatic assurances” in deportation cases where individuals were likely to be at risk of torture or other abuse if sent to countries where the Government accepts [...]
Transsexual’s NHS breast enlargement claim rejected
Posted in Art. 14 | Anti-Discrimination, Art. 8 | Right to Privacy/Family, Case summaries, Medical, tagged AC v Berkshire, human rights, NHS, transexual on May 27, 2010 |
AC v Berkshire West Primary Care Trust [2010] EWHC 1162 (Admin) (25 May 2010) – Read Judgment An NHS Trust acted rationally in refusing to provide breast enlargement surgery to a transsexual, the High Court has ruled, even though there was credible medical evidence that the surgery would have been beneficial. The case raises issues [...]
Sarah Ferguson scandal raises debate on right to privacy
Posted in Art. 8 | Right to Privacy/Family, Freedom of Information, In the news, Politics / Public Order, tagged Article 8, human rights, Prince Andrew, Right to Privacy, Sarah Ferguson on May 26, 2010 |
Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, is in trouble for offering to sell her influence for cash. She proposed to sell access to her ex-husband Prince Andrew, a “trade envoy”, for £500,000 to an undercover reporter from the News of the World. The circumstances of the sting raise interesting issues in respect of the right [...]
The Queen’s Speech and human rights [updated]
Posted in CONVENTION RIGHTS, In the news, Politics / Public Order, tagged Coalition Government, Conservative Party, human rights, Liberal Democrats, Queen's Speech on May 25, 2010 |
The Coalition Government has presented its legislative agenda for the coming year in the Queen’s Speech. Below are links to some of our previous posts which address some of the proposed policies. The full line-up of bills announced can be found on the Number 10 website, or you can also read the full transcript. Our [...]
The increasing role of human rights law in extradition and deportation cases
Posted in Art. 6 | Right to Fair Trial, Case summaries, Features, Immigration/Extradition, In the news, tagged Article 6, Dudko, extradition, human rights, Pathway Students, Russia on May 25, 2010 |
Human rights challenges to deportation and extradition seem to be constantly in the public eye. Gary McKinnon’s battle against extradition has caught the public, as has the now notorious “Pathway Students” terrorist deportation case. An examination of three recent decisions highlights the various ways in which the courts approach the human rights arguments in such [...]
Coalition civil liberties policies may be uncontroversial quick wins
Posted in CONVENTION RIGHTS, In the news, Politics / Public Order, tagged Coalition agreement, Coalition Government, commission, human rights, Human Rights Act on May 24, 2010 |
The Economist has provided a useful analysis of the Coalition Government’s proposed policies on civil liberties. The article highlights the fact that the policies detailed may not represent the transformative change which Nick Clegg suggested in his reform speech, but rather “uncontroversial quick wins” which will be dwarfed in policy terms by the incoming government’s [...]
Are trials without juries always illiberal?
Posted in Art. 6 | Right to Fair Trial, In the news, Judges and Juries, tagged Article 6, Coalition Government, human rights, trial by jury on May 24, 2010 |
The Coalition Government has pledged to “protect” the right to trial by jury. It is often assumed that the a jury is needed to ensure a fair trial, but Sir Louis Blom-Cooper argues in an interesting article in the Guardian that juries may not always be essential, particularly in cases involving serious organised crime. Blom-Cooper, [...]
You may have missed…
Posted in 1COR on May 22, 2010 |
Posts on the UK Human Rights Blog that you may have missed in the last week: Case law – Claims against the police still difficult, and no help from human rights law May 17, 2010 (reprinted via the Guardian Legal Network here) The British Airways strike and the human right to free assembly May 18, 2010 [...]
Electoral commission report opens door for barred voter claims
Posted in In the news, Politics / Public Order, Protocol 1 Art. 3 | Free elections, tagged Electoral Commission report, human rights, voters compensation on May 21, 2010 |
The Electoral Commission, an independent body which sets standards for the running of elections, has released its report on problems experienced by voters during the 2010 General Election. It calls for “urgent action” to ensure that “the restrictive rules which prevented participation should be changed”. This has probably opened the door to legal claims. The [...]
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Recommended- Assange v The Swedish Prosecution Authority [2012] UKSC 22 (30 May 2012) May 30, 2012Supreme Court rules by 5-2 majority that Julian Assange must be extradited to Sweden. Definition of "judicial authority" is a wide one.
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- Case law
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- MM and AO (A Child), R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2012] EWCA Civ 668 (18 May 2012) May 18, 2012Secretary of State acted lawfully in not ordering independent inquiry into 2009 protest at Immigration Detention Centre. Challenge by children separated from parents during protest and claiming pschiatric damage as result.
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UKHRB on Twitter
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Detention of man suspected of insurgency and terrorism was unlawful
Posted in Art. 2 | Right to life, Art. 3 | Torture / Inhumane Treatment, Art. 5 | Right to Liberty, Case comments, Immigration/Extradition, Terrorism, tagged deportation, human rights, HXA, Terrorism on May 27, 2010 |
HXA v Home Office (King J) [2010] EWHC 1177 (QB) – Read judgment or our full case comment The authorities’ statutory power to detain pending deportation had to be motivated purely by the need to remove a subject from the United Kingdom, not to ensure his surrender into custody of the authorities operating in the [...]
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