In Defence of Rights – London Review of Books

Posted January 9th, 2013 in consultations, human rights, legislation, news by sally

“We [Philippe Sands and Helena Kennedy] were appointed to the Commission on a Bill of Rights in March 2011 by Nick Clegg. The circumstances were not auspicious, and we were concerned from the outset that our composition – all white, almost all male, almost all lawyers and London-based – would undermine our ability to speak with any legitimacy. The Conservatives had come into government committed to tearing up the Human Rights Act, an early product of the previous Labour government seen by many of the new government’s Tory supporters (and some in the media) as little more than a charter for foreign terrorists and local criminals. The Liberal Democrats, on the other hand, strongly supported the Act and the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights that it introduced into UK law. There were eight members, under the chairmanship of Leigh Lewis, a retired senior civil servant who was hopeful that we might exceed the miserably low expectations of most commentators and come up with something useful.”

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London Review of Books, 3rd January 2013

Source: www.lrb.co.uk

High Court refuses to condemn US drone strikes – UK Human Rights Blog

“In this unsuccessful application for permission to apply for judicial review, the Claimant sought to challenge the Defendant’s reported policy of permitting GCHQ employees to pass intelligence to the US for the purposes of drone strikes in Pakistan. The Claimant’s father was killed during such an attack in March 2011.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 9th January 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Bang to human rights – The Lawyer

Posted January 7th, 2013 in human rights, judicial review, legal aid, legislation, news, reports by sally

“On the one hand the former Lord Chancellor Ken Clarke declared London’s courts to be among the best of British exports, while on the other the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) tore up the legal aid budget. Then there was the proposed crackdown on judicial reviews, while the personal injury sector has seen its business model declared dead, with no detail on an alternative forthcoming.”

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The Lawyer, 7th January 2013

Source: www.thelawyer.com

Court of Protection approves arrangements for safeguarding Article 8 rights of detained man – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted January 7th, 2013 in care homes, Court of Protection, detention, human rights, mental health, news by sally

“On 11 December 2012 Mr Justice Mostyn handed down judgment in J Council v GU and others [2012] EWHC 3531 (COP) approving arrangements aimed at safeguarding the Article 8 (private and family life) rights of a 57 year old man detained under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 in a private care home. At seven pages, the judgment was admirably concise.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 7th January 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

What lies beneath the Commission on a Bill of Rights report – UK Human Rights report

Posted December 21st, 2012 in constitutional law, devolution, human rights, news, reports by tracey

“Don’t be fooled! We have been led to believe there was a two-way split on the government-appointed Bill of Rights Commission, which published its report on Tuesday, but the split was at least three-way. The Commissioners tell us that ‘it [was] not always easy to disentangle in the opinions expressed to [them] what are tactical positions rather than fundamental beliefs’. The same must surely be said of the report’s seven ‘majority’ authors.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 20th December 2012

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Chagos Islanders forced into exile left ‘dumbstruck’ by court ruling – The Guardian

Posted December 21st, 2012 in Chagos Islands, human rights, news, refugees by tracey

“Exiled Chagos Islanders living in Britain and Mauritius have said they are ‘dumbstruck’ by a European court ruling that it has no jurisdiction to examine their forced expulsion by the British government in the 1960s”

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The Guardian, 20th December 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Kinloch v HM Advocate – WLR Daily

Kinloch v HM Advocate: [2012] UKSC 62; [2012] WLR (D) 385

“Since unauthorised police surveillance of a person engaged in criminal activity in public places did not infringe that person’s right to respect for his private life under article 8 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the Lord Advocate, in adducing evidence obtained by means of such unauthorised surveillance at the trial of that person, had not acted incompatibly with his right to a fair trial under article 6(1) of the Convention, and had accordingly acted within his powers under section 57(2) of the Scotland Act 1998, as amended. However, the question whether the police had acted incompatibly with a Convention right was not a devolution issue within paragraph 1(d) of Schedule 6 to the Scotland Act 1998 and therefore could not be determined under the Supreme Court’s devolution jurisdiction.”

WLR Daily, 19th December 2012

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Mastafa v Her Majesty’s Treasury – WLR Daily

Posted December 20th, 2012 in appeals, human rights, law reports, terrorism, trials by tracey

Mastafa v Her Majesty’s Treasury: [2012] EWHC 3578 (Admin); [2012] WLR (D) 383

“An appeal brought under section 26 of the Terrorist Asset-Freezing etc Act 2010 involved the determination of the appellant’s ‘civil rights’ for the purposes of article 6 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, as scheduled to the Human Rights Act 1998.”

WLR Daily, 13th December 2012

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Request for information – NearlyLegal

Posted December 20th, 2012 in appeals, housing, human rights, local government, news, succession by tracey

“There is a rather odd case note on Lawtel on a High Court appeal of a dismissed defence to possession following an apparently failed succession…
Evans v Brent London Borough Council QB (Ramsey J) 18/12/2012 [note of extempore judgment on Lawtel].”

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NearlyLegal, 19th December 2012

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk/blog/

Bill of Rights report: no further forward – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted December 20th, 2012 in bills, constitutional reform, human rights, news, reports by tracey

“There is nothing surprising in the conclusion formed by the majority of the Commission on the Bill of Rights in their report, issued yesterday. A majority favours replacing the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) with a Bill of Rights for the UK, as the means of securing the most effective compliance by this country with its obligations under the Human Rights Convention.”

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 19th December 2012

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Education and Human Rights – 11 KBW

Posted December 19th, 2012 in education, human rights, news, parental rights, special educational needs by sally

“Education lawyers cannot ignore the European Convention of Human Rights. The ‘right to education’ is enshrined in Article 2 of the First Protocol to the Convention, and other Convention rights are often in play when education decisions need to be made. In this paper, we examine in detail the content of Article 2 of the First Protocol, and highlight the other Convention rights that frequently feature in education cases.”

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11 KBW, November 2012

Source: www.11kbw.com

The Bill of Rights Commission report: a modest proposal – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted December 19th, 2012 in bills, human rights, news, reports by sally

“The Commission on a Bill of Rights has reported, just in time for its end-of-2012 deadline. The documents are here: News release ; Volume 1 ; Volume 2.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 18th December 2012

Source:www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

The Human Rights Act is too valuable to sacrifice to anti-European mischief – The Guardian

Posted December 19th, 2012 in bills, human rights, news, reports by sally

“Tory attempts to undermine the act threaten an expensive assault on the freedoms of the British public.”

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The Guardian, 18th December 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

UK bill of rights: Grayling wrote off the report long ago – The Guardian

Posted December 19th, 2012 in bills, human rights, news, reports by sally

“Commissioners Lady Kennedy and Philippe Sands’ concerns are important, but are unlikely to impact the justice minister’s desire to withdraw from the European convention.”

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The Guardian, 18th December 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

The Commission on a Bill of Rights’ report– A UK Bill of Rights? – The Choice Before Us – Ministry of Justice

Posted December 18th, 2012 in bills, human rights, news, reports by sally

“The Commission on a Bill of Rights, established in March 2011 to investigate the creation of a UK Bill of Rights, has today delivered its report – A UK Bill of Rights? – The Choice Before Us – to the Government.”

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Ministry of Justice, 18th December 2012

Source: www.justice.gov.uk

Related links: The Commission on a Bill of Rights’ report– A UK Bill of Rights? – The Choice Before Us – Volume 1 (PDF)
The Commission on a Bill of Rights’ report– A UK Bill of Rights? – The Choice Before Us – Volume 2 (PDF)

Bill of rights: long-awaited report to put fresh strain on coalition – The Guardian

Posted December 18th, 2012 in bills, human rights, news, reports by sally

“The coalition government will come under fresh strain on Tuesday when the commission on a bill of rights publishes its long-awaited report, reopening the question of the UK’s legal relationship with Europe.”

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The Guardian, 17th December 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

In re A (A Child) (Family Proceedings: Disclosure of Information) – WLR Daily

In re A (A Child) (Family Proceedings: Disclosure of Information): [2012] UKSC 60; [2012] WLR (D) 378

“The identity of a third party and the allegations of sexual abuse which she made in confidence against the father of a child who was the subject of contact proceedings would be disclosed in those proceedings since to do so would not violate her right to protection from inhuman or degrading treatment under article 3 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and would be a proportionate interference with her right to respect for her private life under article 8, since it was justified by the need to protect the parents’ and child’s rights to a fair trial and respect for their family life, guaranteed by articles 6 and 8 of the Convention.”

WLR Daily, 12th December 2012

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

From base pairs to the bedside: medical confidentiality in a changing world – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted December 14th, 2012 in confidentiality, data protection, human rights, medical records, news, privacy by tracey

“This week David Cameron announced plans to introduce whole genome mapping for cancer patients and those with rare diseases within the NHS.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 12th December 2012

www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Supreme Court: Articles 3, 6 and 8 ECHR in child protection PII case – Panopticon

“There have been a number of important privacy judgments in recent weeks, particularly concerning Article 8 ECHR in cases with child protection elements.”

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Panopticon, 13th December 2012

www.panopticonblog.com

Redacting for anonymisation: Article 8 v Article 10 in child protection context – Panopticon

Posted December 13th, 2012 in anonymity, data protection, freedom of information, human rights, news, privacy by sally

“Panopticon has reported recently on the ICO’s new Code of Practice on Anonymisation: see Rachel Kamm’s post here. That Code offers guidance for ensuring data protection-compliant disclosure in difficult cases such as those involving apparently anonymous statistics, and situations where someone with inside knowledge (or a ‘motivated intruder’) could identify someone referred to anonymously in a disclosed document. The Upper Tribunal in Information Commissioner v Magherafelt District Council [2012] UKUT 263 AAC grappled with those issues earlier this year in the context of disclosing a summarised schedule of disciplinary action.”

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Panopticon, 13th December 2012

Source: www.panopticonblog.com