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BRITAIN’S JUSTICE MINISTER has laid out his plans to reform key rights legislation to stop the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) from “dictating” to the UK.
Justice Secretary Dominic Raab said in an interview with The Sunday Telegraph that the ECHR was imposing too many “obligations on the state”.
The UK Human Rights Act passed in 1998 incorporates the European Convention on Human Rights into UK law. This was not directly impacted by Brexit as neither the Convention nor the court are part of the EU.
The minister, himself a lawyer, said he is formulating a mechanism to allow the government to introduce ad hoc legislation to “correct” ECHR judgements when British ministers believe they are “incorrect”.
Raab, who served as foreign minister until a September reshuffle, announced an overhaul of the UK rights act at the Conservative Party conference this month, calling it “nonsensical”.
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He said at the time that the reforms could be achieved without the UK pulling out of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Raab cited cases to The Sunday Telegraph where foreign criminals have avoided deportation by citing their right to family life under the rights act.
He also listed obligations imposed by the ECHR on military operations overseas and complained that under the current rights act, judges are required to take into account ECHR decisions when considering cases involving institutions such as the NHS state-funded health service.
“I don’t think it’s the job of the European Court … to be dictating things to, whether it’s the NHS, whether it’s our welfare provision, or whether it’s our police forces,” Raab said.
He said he expected his planned reforms to be submitted for consultation in the next two months.
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What exactly do you mean? Have you ever tried to bring a lawsuit to the ECHR? I did, after I was sentenced in my home country. Sentenced without any evidence against me. Sentenced after the court took away basic human rights from me during that trial.
That all started in 2003. In 2012 the ECHR decided in my favour and found, that the whole trial was unfair. Do you think that this was a moment to celebrate? It was indeed.
Now we have 2021. I’m still a convicted offender in my home country, as they deny to follow that decision of the ECHR. In Ireland, I can’t get a job, for which a garda vetting would be needed.
And now guess, where I am from. Hint: The country lost WW2 and was divided until 1990.
So for what is the ECHR is good for, when nobody needs to follow?
@JustMeHere: I knew that former Prime Minister John Major’s father was a circus performer and that to some the current incumbent bears a striking resemblance to Bozo The Clown but I genuinely wasn’t aware that Dominic Raab had performed under the Big Top. Fascinating stuff! Those Tories really are a bunch of madcap merrymaking pranksters…
Brexit get rid of them foreigners and make Blighty great again, Then they go looking for 5000 visa for ex pat HGV drivers from Europe plus another 5000 to work in poultry and farming to keep xmas 2021 alive. Priceless.
@Gregory Pym: No he didn’t. The contract was set up that they would have had to source ships & the routes to be implemented & they weren’t so there wasn’t a contract & no money ever exchanged hands. The Ferries I’d worry about are Irish Ferries now they have lost half of their traffic to Danish ferries that are bypassing the Irish Ferry routes
@Gregory Pym: No he didn’t. The contract was set up that they would have had to source ships & the routes to be implemented & they weren’t so there wasn’t a contract & no money ever exchanged hands. The Ferries I’d worry about are Irish Ferries now they have lost half of their traffic to Danish ferries that are bypassing the Irish Ferry routes
@Joe Thorpe: No it wasn’t Raab who did that deal it was Chris Grayling. Yes there were two contracts and it cost the UK taxpayer £83m. £50m to get out of the contracts and £33m in compensation to the company that owns the channel tunnel as they had been unfairly excluded from bidding for said contracts. Quit lying Joe.
@Alex Marquis: Yes he does know, but by trying to oppose its role as an oversight body, he and the Tories are clearly working to a plan that might include reneging on future international deals and treaties and dont want outsiders ruling on their behaviour.
Where’s Hugo Bugo? I would have expected him to be rowing in with his Brexit oar by now. Maybe he’s queuing for petrol or shopping early for Christmas?
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