UK Justice Secretary Dominic Raab will today announce plans to overhaul UK human rights laws, with the aim said to be to prevent “abuses of the system”.
Raab has claimed the reforms to the Human Rights Act, which he is expected to set out in the Commons, will “strengthen typically British rights like freedom of speech and trial by jury” but also add a “healthy dose of common sense” to the interpretation of legislation and rulings.
A three-month consultation on what has been named the Bill of Rights – which the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said aims to “strike a proper balance between individuals’ rights, personal responsibility and the wider public interest” – will be launched at the same time.
The measures will “restore Parliament’s role as the ultimate decision-maker” on laws affecting the UK, “allowing more scope to decide how we interpret rulings from the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg”.
The MoJ added: “It will restore a common-sense approach in vital areas such the UK’s ability to deport foreign criminals, like drug dealers and terrorists, who too often exploit human rights laws to avoid deportation. The proposals achieve this by restricting the rights available to those subject to deportation orders, strengthening the existing legal framework, or limiting the grounds on which a deportation decision can be overturned.”
According to the Government, it is estimated that as many as 70% of successful human rights challenges are brought by foreign national offenders who cite a right to family life in the first instance when appealing against deportation orders.
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Raab said: “Our plans for a Bill of Rights will strengthen typically British rights like freedom of speech and trial by jury, while preventing abuses of the system and adding a healthy dose of common sense.”
His plan to rewrite the Act is the latest attempt by Tory ministers to tackle the legislation, which enshrined the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) into domestic law.
The Government said it still intends to adhere to the ECHR, with Raab telling MPs last month there was a “clear argument” to retain it, but a “very strong case for an overhaul of the procedural framework of the Human Rights Act”.
However, there has been a backlash from campaigners and critics who claim the reforms could lead to a loss of basic protections and rights for “ordinary people”.
According to The Times, security services have warned the overhaul could make it more difficult to fight terrorism in the UK and abroad. But ministers say reforms will strengthen security rather than put it at risk.
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