UK and Human Rights: A Strange Paradox
It is a great irony that given the rather sceptical attitude that the UK government has towards the European Convention on Human Rights, the UK actually has the best record in terms of compliance with that legal regime.
Britain’s ratio of 0.03 per cent of cases before the court per 10,000 of the population is the best in Europe ahead of both Ireland (2nd place with 0.04) and Germany (3rd place with 0.05). Furthermore, work from UK in a Changing Europe shows that the number of violations has also declined over the years.
Despite this overall positivity, the relationship between the UK and the Council of Europe (the body that upholds the Convention) seems to be at its lowest ebb. The reason for this is the Rwanda policy that this Conservative government is persisting with in spite of significant human rights concerns.
The catalyst came in June 2022 when a Rule 39 Order was made by the European Court of Human Rights to prevent the first deportations to Rwanda. Since then, the government (under multiple prime ministers and multiple Home Secretaries) has failed to get the policy over the line.
The latest effort is the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill that I have covered previously in this newsletter.
However, instead of trying to address the human rights concerns, clause 5 of the Bill attempts to avoid accountability by not allowing the courts to consider interim measures under Rule 39 at all.
Now the president of the court has stepped in.
In a press conference last week, Siofra O’Leary made it clear that she would not be discussing draft legislation of a member state but also noted that “there is a clear legal obligation under the Convention for states to comply with Rule 39 measures.”
O’Leary also pointed out that it was the UK who had been one of the foremost proponents of utilising Rule 39 when it was used to call on Russia to release the opposition politician, Alexei Navalny, back in 2021.
While the UK is certainly setting itself up for further conflict with the European Court of Human Rights, the Rwanda Bill still has a long way to go before it becomes law.
The proposals will receive a second reading in the House of Lords today, and the signs point to the peers making serious amendments. Even the ratification of a new treaty with Rwanda was delayed recently by the House of Lords. This was a mostly symbolic rebuke, but it gives you an idea as to where thoughts are currently at.
In a fascinating post for the UK Constitutional Law Blog, Jeff King argues that the House of Lords has a role as a constitutional safeguard. The coming weeks and months will put that theory to the test as the government seeks to deviate from its, generally pretty good, human rights record.
This week on the podcast, we cover the final three cases from 2023! It’s a show that is packed with legal content and opinion, so don’t miss out!
Episode link: https://uklawweekly.com/2023-uksc-50-51-52/
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Marcus