3 rights in context

• Rights


  Legally protected freedoms, also known as civil liberties, that are absolute, universal and fundamental and can't be compromised
• Rights in the UK


  • Fair and equal treatment under the law
  • Freedom of expression,conscience,movement
  • The right to vote
  • The right to belong to an association such as a trade Union
  • Social rights such as the right to education, employment, Healthcare and Welfare support
• Civil responsibilities and obligations


  • Legal obligations such as obeying the law, paying taxes and Performing jury service
  • Moral responsibilities such as voting in elections and playing a part in protecting the environment
• Before the Human Rights Act, there was no single document setting out rights in the UK, instead there were negative rights where you had the right to do something if it wasn't prohibited by law
• Since the Human Rights Act, all UK laws must follow it,and the supreme court can rule can issue a declaration of incompatibly if new law is deemed to be in breach of the act.
• Arguments for the effectiveness of the Human Rights Act


  It has created a rights-based culture in the UK, placed obligations on public authorities to treat everyone fairly, and made rights more high-profile
• Arguments against the Human Rights Act


  It stops Terror suspects from being deported, gives unelected judges too much power, and is not entrenched so could be easily replaced
• Stonewall was formed in 1989 in opposition to Section 28, became an insider pressure group when Labour came to power, and has had significant successes like challenging the ban on homosexuality in the armed forces
• Care4Calais delivers aid to refugees and has fought legal challenges against the UK-Rwanda deportation deal, successfully preventing the first planned deportation flight
• Liberty is a civil liberties pressure group that has campaigned on issues like police powers, surveillance, and the rights of protesters
• Amnesty International is a global human rights organisation that has campaigned on issues like torture, political prisoners, and the death penalty
• Different courts have issued differing rulings on the legality of the UK-Rwanda deal and the related deportations
• Liberty's remit is protecting democracy, human rights in the UK and they do so through the courts, Parliament and wider campaigns to gain public support and aim to engender a rights-based culture within British Society
• In the last five years Liberty has largely focused on challenging the investigatory Powers Act of 2016 which expanded electronic surveillance powers of the UK government and police intelligence services
• Liberty was successful in challenging key provisions of the Investigatory Powers Act when in April 2018 the High Court ruled that key Provisions violated EU law and that forced the government to amend the legislation
• The Howard league for penal reform advocates for the rights of prisoners in the UK
• The Howard league for penal reform has had less success largely because there's less public support for the rights of prisoners in the UK
• The Howard league for penal reform has been unsuccessful in convincing the government to Grant prisoners to vote
• The Howard league for penal reform has been successful on some minor issues though, for example the 2014 High Court ruling which obliged the government to drop its ban on prisoners families selling them books
• Judicial review


  A type of Court proceeding in which a judge reviews the lawfulness of a decision or action made by a public body and can declare it Ultra virus which means beyond the law
• Most applications for judicial review concern local authorities and only 10 against the government managed to win
• Supporters of judicial review argue that it is an essential for protecting citizens’ rights. It ensures that government actions are held accountable and lawful. Additionally, pressure groups often sponsor and initiate legal challenges on behalf of individuals
• Critics argue judicial review places too much power in the hands of unelected and unaccountable judges who are able to effectively make law through how they interpret certain laws
• The Judiciary is extremely unrepresentative of the population
• Parliament and the government defend rights in the UK through introducing legislation that protects or furthers the rights of citizens
• The 2010 equality Act was introduced by Gordon Brown's government .Later, David Cameron's government legalized same-sex marriage despite it not being mentioned in the 2010 conservative Manifesto
• The UK government also legalized same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland in January 2020 under a period of direct rule When the Northern Irish Parliament and government wasn't in session
• Parliament can prevent the government from encroaching on human rights by voting down bills, especially in the House of Lords where the government doesn't have a majority
• The police crime sentencing and courts Act of 2022 gives more powers to the police and criminal justice system to impose restrictions on unacceptable protests
• The police crime sentencing and courts Act was widely criticized by human rights groups such as Liberty as well as politicians and journalists who argued it significantly impeded freedom of speech and the right to protests in the UK
• The conservative government has proposed changes to the Human Rights Act which have been criticized by hundreds of human rights groups for effectively seeking to remove rights in the UK
• The proposed Bill of Rights would make it easier to deport foreign criminals by elevating Public Safety over the right to family life and increase freedom of the press by elevating the right to Freedom expression over the right to privacy
• A key debate is between Collective and individual rights, where the protection of the population is used to justify the encroachment of human rights of individuals, especially in relation to terrorism and covert
• The covid-19 pandemic showed how Parliament can remove the rights of the population very quickly with freedom of movement and organization being seriously restricted during lockdowns
• Arguments that rights are well protected in the UK include that everyone is equal before the law, the equality act ensures everyone is treated fairly, and the HRA can be seen as effective
• Arguments that rights aren't well protected in the UK include covert and counter-terrorism measures, recent conservative governments introducing legislation that challenges human rights, and the planned British Bill of Rights
• Judicial review can be seen as giving too much power to unelected and unaccountable judges, while civil liberties groups lack the authority to make final decisions, leaving the government sometimes viewed as a threat to human rights in the UK
• The Human Rights Act can be criticized for being too weak, and the Judiciary can be seen as biased against certain sects of the population due to its narrow composition
• Those who can afford legal representation can be argued to have more human rights than others as they can go to the European Court of Human Rights and afford effective legal representations