New commission to investigate UK Bill of Rights
Lord Lester and Helena Kennedy QC are among eight human rights experts appointed to a commission to investigate the case for a UK Bill of Rights.
The commission, due to file its final report and recommendations by the end of 2012, will be chaired by former permanent secretary, Sir Leigh Lewis. Its members include Sir David Edward PC QC, a former judge of the European Court of Justice, and Professor Philippe Sands QC.
Launching the commission this week, Ken Clarke, secretary of state for justice, said: “I hope that this work will help to inform the debate on human rights at home and assist us as we continue to press for reform of the Strasbourg Court.”
The Ministry of Justice said the independent commission would investigate the creation of a UK Bill of Rights that “incorporates and builds on all our obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights, ensures that these rights continue to be enshrined in UK law, and protects and extends our liberties”. It will advise the government on potential reform of the European Court of Human Rights in the run-up to the UK’s chairmanship of the Council of Europe later this year.
Sir Leigh Lewis, says: “I hope that the commission’s final report will provide an objective and informed basis for the future debate on human rights in the UK.”
Sir Geoffrey Bindman QC, chairman of the board, British Institute of Human Rights, said: “We note that any Bill of Rights recommended by the government’s Commission is required to build on all our obligations under the European Convention of Human Rights and ensure that these rights continue to be enshrined in UK law.
“However, we are concerned that the terms of reference make no reference to the Human Rights Act. We call on the new commission, as a matter of urgency, to confirm that it will ensure any proposal for a Bill of Rights builds on the Human Rights Act, and is designed to enhance, rather than weaken, the protections and mechanisms already in place.
“Such an assurance would increase the prospect of a genuine and open debate about the legal protection of human rights in the UK.”
Human rights group, Justice predicted last year, in the report Devolution and Human Rights, that any attempt to substantially amend the Act would likely “prove a legal and political nightmare”.
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