The Human Rights Act was introduced in 1998. It protects fifteen fundamental rights and freedoms, including the right to life, privacy and freedom of expression, which are all based on articles of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The proposals by the Conservatives to abolish this Act has been condemned by many, including the Scottish Government. SNP lead Nicola Sturgeon has spoken out on the matter stating “I oppose the repeal of the Human Rights Act, I think it’s an appalling thing to be doing. Human rights are there to protect all of us”. Human right experts are also alarmed, arguing that this radical change would affect those that are most vulnerable and would be one of the “greatest threats to freedom in Britain”, according to Shami Chakrabati, director of human rights group Liberty.
Getting rid of the Human Rights Act is one of the measures that David Cameron looks set to focus on in the first 100 days, after the Queen’s speech is delivered on the 27th May. The proposal to be pushed ahead is for the Human Rights Act is to be replaced with a British Bill of Rights. This would mean the European Court of Human Rights would no longer be binding over the UK’s Supreme Court.
The proposed British Bill of Rights is supposed to include and protect many rights similar to that of European law, such as the right to a fair trial, the right to be protected from torture, and qualified “rights” such as the right to privacy.
While such a reform could “plunge the UK into a constitutional crisis”, it remains to be seen what the outcome of this proposal will actually be.
