Home Office tells asylum seeker he can return to Syria safely – The Guardian

Posted January 10th, 2022 in asylum, deportation, government departments, human rights, immigration, news, refugees by tracey

‘The Home Office has told a Syrian asylum seeker he can return to the country he fled during the war because it is safe to do so, in what is thought to be the first case of its kind.’

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The Guardian, 9th January 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘Gay cake’ row: man loses seven-year battle against Belfast bakery – The Guardian

‘ECHR says Gareth Lee’s case against bakery that refused to make cake with ‘support gay marriage’ message is inadmissible.’

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The Guardian, 6th January 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Ashers ‘gay cake’ case: European court rules case inadmissible – BBC News

‘A gay rights activist has lost a seven-year discrimination dispute over a cake order as the European Court of Human Rights ruled his case inadmissible.’

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BBC News, 6th January 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Nationality and Borders Bill: Why is it causing protests? – BBC news

‘Terrorists, war criminals, spies – that’s who the government says it’s targeting as part of a shake-up of immigration law. Under the Nationality and Borders Bill being debated in the House of Lords, if the British government wants to remove someone’s citizenship it will no longer need to tell them.’

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BBC News, 7th January 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Brook House Inquiry: Phase 1 Hearings Reviewed – Appin Mackay-Champion – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted January 6th, 2022 in detention, human rights, immigration, inquiries, news by sally

‘The Brook House inquiry has recently concluded its first phase of hearings which took place between November 23 and December 10, 2021 at the International Dispute Resolution Centre (IDRC). Brook House is an Immigration Removal Centre (IRC) beside Gatwick Airport, originally managed by the private security company G4S. The inquiry was set up to investigate the actions and circumstances surrounding the “mistreatment” of male detainees at Brook House between April 1 to August 31 2017, and specifically, examining whether the treatment experienced was contrary to Article 3 ECHR (the right not to be subjected to torture, inhuman or degrading treatment). This followed the damning footage filmed by an undercover reporter in Brook House during the “relevant period”, and broadcast on the BBC Panorama Programme “Undercover: Britain’s Immigration Secrets” which aired on September 4, 2017.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 6th January 2022

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Guidance from Divisional Court on Article 2 inquests – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted January 5th, 2022 in coroners, human rights, inquests, mental health, news, statutory duty by sally

‘In R (Morahan) v West London Assistant Coroner [2021] EWHC 1603 (Admin), the Divisional Court provided detailed guidance on the circumstances in which an enhanced investigation under Article 2 ECHR may be required at an inquest.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 4th January 2022

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Richard Clayton: The Government’s New Proposals for the Human Rights Act; Part One – The Proposals in Outline – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted January 4th, 2022 in bills, constitutional law, human rights, news, parliament by tracey

‘The Conservative Party has opposed the HRA root and branch ever since its enactment. Manifesto commitments to overhaul the HRA were made in 2010, 2015, 2017, and 2019. In 2015 Prime Minister, David Cameron, said he was open to the “nuclear option” of withdrawing from the European Convention on Human Rights (the ECHR) to ensure the UK’s highest court remains the “ultimate arbiter of human rights”, although this was to be delayed until after the referendum on EU membership. The Government has now, however, confirmed that the UK will not leave the ECHR.

In December 2020 the Government announced it was setting up an Independent Human Rights Act Review chaired by Sir Peter Gross, the former Lord Justice of Appeal. On 16 December 2021 the Review published its final report. On the same day the Deputy Prime Minister and new Justice Minister, Dominic Raab, announced a packet of proposals to launch a new British Bill of Rights.

The impact of these proposals will be profound. In this article I shall outline what the proposals will involve. I shall next assess the impact of those proposals.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association , 4th January 2022

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Guidance from Divisional Court on Article 2 inquests – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted January 4th, 2022 in coroners, hospitals, human rights, inquests, mental health, news by tracey

‘In R (Morahan) v West London Assistant Coroner [2021] EWHC 1603 (Admin), the Divisional Court provided detailed guidance on the circumstances in which an enhanced investigation under Article 2 ECHR may be required at an inquest.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 4th January 2022

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Modern slavery victims may face barriers to justice under Priti Patel’s immigration bill, MPs warn – The Independent

‘Modern slavery victims may face barriers to seeking justice while criminal gangs “evade punishment” under Priti Patel’s immigration bill, cross-party MPs have warned.’

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The Independent, 21st December 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

The investigative duty and ‘historic’ allegations – when is the duty engaged? – UK Police Law Blog

‘In the same week that Dominic Raab unveiled his proposals for a new Bill of Rights, Parliament’s intent when it enacted the existing human rights framework has also been the subject of scrutiny by the Supreme Court. In the matter of an application by Margaret McQuillan for Judicial Review (Northern Ireland) (Nos 1, 2 and 3) [2021] UKSC 55, the Court has provided guidance on three key matters: the extent to which the investigative duty under articles 2/3 of the European Convention of Human Rights is engaged in pre-commencement deaths (the ‘Temporal Scope Issue’); when new evidence revives the investigative obligation (the ‘Brecknell Issue’); and how courts assess the independence of investigations (the ‘Independence Issue’).’

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UK Police Law Blog, 20th December 2021

Source: ukpolicelawblog.com

Harry Miller: Legal victory after alleged transphobic tweets – BBC News

‘An ex-police officer has won a legal challenge against a national policy for forces to record gender-critical views as non-crime “hate incidents”.’

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BBC News, 20th December 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Culture Wars and Constitutional Statutes: The Government’s Proposed Human Rights Act Reforms – Oxford Human Rights Hub

‘This week, in response to the Independent Human Rights Act Review’s report, the Government published its proposals to reform the Human Rights Act (HRA) and a call for further submissions on its proposals. A comprehensive analysis of all of the Government’s proposals would not be possible in this short two-part post; that stated, whether they deserve such an in-depth response is questionable.’

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Oxford Human Rights Hub, 19th December 2021

Source: ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk

New Judgment: R (on the application of Elan-Cane) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] UKSC 56 – UKSC Blog

Posted December 16th, 2021 in gender, government departments, human rights, news, passports, Supreme Court by sally

‘The Supreme Court unanimously dismissed this appeal concerning whether the Court of Appeal was wrong in its conclusion that Her Majesty’s Passport Office’s policy does not unjustifiably breach articles 8 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights (“ECHR”).The policy in question holds that (i) an applicant for a passport must declare their gender/sex as being either male or female and (ii) a passport will only be issued bearing a male (“M”) or female (“F”) indicator in the gender/sex field on the face of the passport and will not be issued with an “unspecified” (“X”) gender marker.’

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UKSC Blog, 15th December 2021

Source: ukscblog.com

Gender-neutral passports: Campaigner Christie Elan-Cane loses Supreme Court case – BBC News

Posted December 15th, 2021 in appeals, gender, government departments, human rights, news, passports, Supreme Court by tracey

‘A campaigner has lost a Supreme Court case challenging the government’s refusal to issue gender neutral passports.’

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BBC News, 15th December 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Plan to reform Human Rights Act – Ministry of Justice

‘The Human Rights Act will be revised under plans unveiled by the Justice Secretary Dominic Raab today (14 December).’

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Ministry of Justice, 14th December 2021

Source: www.gov.uk

Court of Appeal Revisits “Unduly Harsh” Test – EIN Blog

Posted December 14th, 2021 in appeals, deportation, families, human rights, news by tracey

‘In MI (Pakistan) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] EWCA Civ 1711 (18 November 2021), the Court of Appeal recently revisited the question of how the “unduly harsh” test may properly be met, referencing the leading decisions in KO (Nigeria) and HA (Iraq).’

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EIN Blog, 13th December 2021

Source: www.ein.org.uk

Judicial decision-making: case studies from Biblical times and now: The Rt Hon. Lady Rose of Colmworth DBE – Supreme Court

Posted December 14th, 2021 in human rights, Judaism, judiciary, lectures, reporting restrictions, trusts, wills by tracey

‘Judicial decision-making: case studies from Biblical times and now – The Rt Hon Lady Rose of Colmworth DBE”

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Supreme Court, 1st December 2021

Source: www.supremecourt.uk

Raab to claim overhaul of human rights law will counter ‘political correctness’ – The Guardian

Posted December 14th, 2021 in bills, deportation, freedom of expression, human rights, news by tracey

‘Dominic Raab is to outline a sweeping overhaul of human rights law that he claims will counter “wokery and political correctness” and expedite the deportation of foreign criminals.’

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The Guardian, 14th December 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Unorthodox Covid Views and Medical Regulation – Richard Smith – UK Human Rights Blog

‘White v General Medical Council [2021] EWHC 3286 (Admin) (03 December 2021). A case in which the High Court reminds the regulator of requirements for imposing curbs on free speech.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 7th December 2021

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Street preaching and human rights: Overd & Ors – Law & Religion UK

‘In Overd & Ors v The Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset Constabulary [2021] EWHC 3100 (QB), the appellants, Michael Overd, Michael Stockwell Don Karns and Adrian Clark, four evangelical Christians, were arrested at Broadmead shopping centre in Bristol on 6 July 2016 after complaints from members of the public that their street preaching was racist and anti-Islamic and was causing a disturbance. Mr Overd was arrested on suspicion of an offence under s 50 Police Reform Act 2002 and the other three were arrested on suspicion of a racially-aggravated offence under s 5 Public Order Act 1986. They were detained before being released on bail and, ultimately, prosecuted under s 5 of the 1986 Act, but the prosecutions failed.’

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Law & Religion UK, 8th December 2021

Source: lawandreligionuk.com