The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

British government wants to override human rights judgments in Strasbourg with new law

2022-06-22T10:12:32.075Z


The European Court of Human Rights banned the British government from deportation flights to Rwanda. Now London is planning a new law to be able to ignore judgments from Strasbourg.


Enlarge image

European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) building

Photo: Rolf Haid/ DPA

The government of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants to be able to override judgments of the European Court of Human Rights in the future.

A law called the Bill of Rights is intended to ensure this.

It will strengthen the "British tradition of freedom and add a good dose of common sense to the system," announced Justice Minister Dominic Raab.

He wants to introduce the project to the House of Commons on Wednesday.

Last week, a decision by the Strasbourg court blocked Britain's controversial plan to send asylum seekers of various nationalities by plane to Rwanda, where they would instead apply for asylum.

The new law will give British courts the final say in such cases.

The European Court of Human Rights, based in Strasbourg, France, is a European court, but not one of the European Union.

Instead, it belongs to the Council of Europe, of which Great Britain is still a member.

Actions against all 46 member states can be brought before the Court of Justice on suspicion of violations of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Great Britain has so far refused to withdraw from the human rights convention, as Russia recently did.

Minister of Justice Raab wants to stick to it, but change the implementation of the convention and the handling of corresponding judgments.

Human rights organizations were alarmed.

Amnesty International UK described the plan as a "huge step backwards for the rights of ordinary people".

The lawyers' association Law Society also criticized the proposed legislation.

This will make some human rights abuses acceptable in Britain, President Stephanie Boyce said, according to the BBC.

It also gives the state greater power over its citizens - a power that all future governments would then have, regardless of their goals and values.

as/dpa

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2022-06-22

You may like

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.