Category: human rights

Closing the loophole: Care services and human rights protection – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted May 23rd, 2013 in bills, care homes, elderly, human rights, news, social services by sally

“Much of the House of Lords debate surrounding yesterday’s Second Reading of the Care and Support Bill focused on seeking solutions to complex issues around the future provision of care. Additionally, as several peers flagged, the Bill also provides a timely opportunity to clarify which bodies have legal obligations to uphold protections under the Human Rights Act. Baroness Campbell noted ‘those who receive their care not from a public authority but from a private body lack the full protection of the Human Rights Act…[This] is a loophole that must be closed.'”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 22nd May 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Abdel Hakim Belhaj torture case may be heard in secret court – The Guardian

Posted May 22nd, 2013 in closed material, false imprisonment, human rights, international law, misfeasance in public office, negligence, news, rendition, torture, trespass to the person by sally

“One of the first cases to be heard by the government’s new generation of secret courts may be a claim brought by a Libyan dissident who was kidnapped along with his pregnant wife and flown to one of Muammar Gaddafi’s prisons.”

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The Guardian, 21st May 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Disarray as DPP contradicts new guidance on naming of suspects – The Independent

Posted May 22nd, 2013 in anonymity, Crown Prosecution Service, disclosure, freedom of expression, human rights, media, news, police, privacy by sally

“Controversial plans to protect the identity of suspects arrested by police were in disarray last night after the Director of Public Prosecutions called for more ‘wriggle room’ to name suspects before they were charged.”

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The Independent, 21st May 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Leslie Thomas: a voice for the dead – The Guardian

Posted May 21st, 2013 in assault, barristers, death in custody, human rights, inquests, legal aid, news, police, reports by sally

“Witnessing blatant police cruelty convinced the award-winning lawyer to make deaths in custody his life’s work.”

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The Guardian, 21st May 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Myths and Realities about Equal Marriage – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted May 20th, 2013 in bills, civil partnerships, equality, homosexuality, human rights, marriage, news, teachers by sally

“The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill is back before Parliament today for the ‘Report Stage’. The latest version of the Bill is here, updated explanatory notes here, and the full list of proposed amendments here. Predictably, the amendments are the focus of much controversy.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 20th May 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Roundtable: immigration – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted May 20th, 2013 in contracting out, deportation, government departments, human rights, immigration, news, visas by sally

“Immigration has proved a toxic issue for recent Home Office ministers. In 2004 home secretary David Blunkett resigned following revelations that a visa application had been fast-tracked. Immigration minister Beverley Hughes resigned after admitting she ‘unwittingly’ misled people about a suspected visa ‘scam’. Charles Clarke resigned as home secretary in 2006 after intense pressure over the release of foreign prisoners who could have been deported at the end of their custodial term.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 20th May 2013

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Abu Qatada launches fresh bid to be released from prison – The Independent

Posted May 20th, 2013 in bail, deportation, detention, human rights, immigration, news, terrorism, torture, tribunals by sally

“Radical cleric Abu Qatada will launch a fresh bid for freedom today as he seeks to be released from prison at an immigration tribunal.”

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The Independent, 20th May 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Will the new criminal legal aid reforms breach the right to a fair trial? – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted May 17th, 2013 in consultations, criminal justice, human rights, legal aid, news, trials by sally

“One of the most contentious proposals in the Consultation Paper on the transforming legal aid is the removal of client choice in criminal cases. Under the proposals contracts for the provision of legal aid will be awarded to a limited number of firms in an area. The areas are similar to the existing CPS areas. The Green Paper anticipates that there will be four or five such providers in each area. Thus the county of Kent, for example, will have four or five providers in an area currently served by fifty or so legal aid firms. Each area will have a limited number providers that will offer it is argued economies of scale.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 16th May 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Government response to the report on the operation in 2012 of the Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures Act 2011 – Home Office

Posted May 16th, 2013 in human rights, legislation, news, reports, terrorism, terrorism prevention & investigation measures by sally

“The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Theresa May): In accordance with section 20(2), 20(3), 20(4) and 20(5) of the Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures Act 2011, the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation (David Anderson QC) prepared a report on the operation of the Act in 2012, which I laid before the House on 14 March 2013.”

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Home Office, 16th May 2013

Source: www.gov.uk/home-office

Housing benefit changes legal test to begin at High Court – BBC News

Posted May 15th, 2013 in benefits, budgets, disability discrimination, equality, housing, human rights, news by sally

“A legal test is set to begin into the government’s decision to cut housing benefit for recipients living in properties that have a spare room.”

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BBC News, 15th May 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Regina (Faulkner) v Secretary of State for Justice and another; Regina (Sturnham) v Parole Board and another – WLR Daily

Posted May 8th, 2013 in damages, delay, human rights, imprisonment, law reports, parole by sally

Regina (Faulkner) v Secretary of State for Justice and another; Regina (Sturnham) v Parole Board and another [2013] UKSC 23; [2013] WLR (D) 162

“Where it was established on a balance of probabilities that a delay in holding a hearing before the Parole Board, in violation of art 5.4 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, had resulted in the detention of a prisoner beyond the date when he would otherwise have been released, damages should ordinarily be awarded as compensation for the resultant detention.”

WLR Daily, 1st May 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

93-year-old former serviceman loses ruling on expats voting in UK elections – The Independent

Posted May 8th, 2013 in domicile, elections, human rights, news, time limits by sally

“A 93-year-old former British serviceman vowed to spend the rest of his life, if necessary, fighting for the right to vote after Strasbourg judges rejected his case.”

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The Independent, 7th May 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Regina (JL) v Secretary of State for Defence – WLR Daily

Posted May 7th, 2013 in appeals, enforcement, housing, human rights, law reports, repossession by sally

Regina (JL) v Secretary of State for Defence [2013] EWCA Civ 449; [2013] WLR (D) 161

The occupant of a house was entitled to rely upon article 8 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, entitling the occupant to a proportionality review, by way of opposition to the enforcement of a possession order already obtained by the owner in the exceptional circumstances where there had been a substantial change of circumstances which gave rise for the first time to an article 8 issue which neither was nor could have been pursued prior to the making of the possession order.

WLR Daily, 30th April 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Sex offenders secretly removed from register – Daily Telegraph

Posted May 7th, 2013 in human rights, news, sexual offences by sally

“Convicted sex offenders, including paedophiles and rapists, have been secretly from the Sex Offenders’ Register, it has been revealed.”

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Daily Telegraph, 7th May 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Regina (HC) v Secretary of State for the Home Department and another (Coram Children’s Legal Centre and another intervening) – WLR Daily

Posted May 3rd, 2013 in children, codes of practice, human rights, illegality, law reports, ministers' powers and duties, young offenders by sally

Regina (HC) v Secretary of State for the Home Department and another (Coram Children’s Legal Centre and another intervening): [2013] EWHC 982 (Admin);   [2013] WLR (D)  157

“It was contrary to article 8 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and consequently unlawful, for the Secretary of State for the Home Department to direct, as she had done through Code C of the Code of Practice under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (‘PACE Code C’), that 17-year-olds might be treated as adults when in police detention.”

WLR Daily, 25th April 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Guidance from the Supreme Court on human rights damages – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted May 3rd, 2013 in damages, delay, human rights, news, parole, Supreme Court by sally

“Faulkner, R (on the application of ) v Secretary of State for Justice and another [2013] UKSC 23. The Supreme Court has taken a fresh look at what is meant by the Human Rights Act exhortation to take Strasbourg jurisprudence ‘into account’ when fashioning remedies for violations of Convention rights, in this case the right not to be arbitrarily detained under Article 5.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 2nd May 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

 

When is Article 8 available at the enforcement stage of the eviction process? – NearlyLegal

Posted May 2nd, 2013 in appeals, armed forces, enforcement, human rights, news, repossession by sally

“In R (JL) v SSD [2013] EWCA Civ 449, the Court of Appeal ‘broke new ground’ by considering how Article 8 applied to the stage at which possession orders are enforced.”

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NearlyLegal, 1st May 2013

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Article 8 and enhanced criminal record certificates –

Posted May 1st, 2013 in criminal records, disclosure, human rights, news, police, teachers by sally

“There have been a number of Panopticon posts about the lawfulness of disclosures in enhanced criminal record certificates. The latest decision is that of Mr Justice Stuart-Smith in R (L) v Chief Constable of Cumbria Constabulary [2013] EWHC 869 (Admin).”

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Panopticon, 30th April 2013

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

Chagossians: Wikileaks cables not admissible in court – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted April 29th, 2013 in Chagos Islands, disclosure, evidence, fisheries, human rights, indigenous peoples, international law, judicial review, news, public interest immunity by sally

“Bancoult v. Foreign & Commonwealth Office, Divisional Court, Richards LJ and Mitting J, 16-24 April 2013, judgment awaited. A quick update at the end of the recent judicial review on 24 April by Mr Bancoult on behalf of the Chagossian islanders, but before judgment. The challenge was to the designation of the waters around their islands as a ‘no take’ Marine Protected Area, i.e. one which could not be fished.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 28th April 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Home Office fury as drug dealer immigrant wins right to stay in UK – Daily Telegraph

Posted April 29th, 2013 in appeals, deportation, drug offences, families, human rights, immigration, news by sally

“A judge’s decision to allow a convicted drug dealer who abandoned his children
the right to stay in Britain over his ‘human rights’ is at the centre of
mounting political protest.”

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Daily Telegraph, 27th April 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk