Bill of Rights - Second Reading Briefing

The BOR would upend the UK’s existing model of rights. It seeks to heavily steer and control the approach that domestic courts take to human rights issues. Clause after clause either imposes new definitions of rights, closes off interpretive avenues from courts or seeks to heavily tilt the scales of interpretation away from protecting individual rights and towards protecting government policy and public authorities. Passing the BOR would:

• Represent a hugely regressive step, deliberately making it harder for people to get justice for rights violations
• Set a damaging precedent internationally, in particular through undermining the principle of universality in a number of places, breaching the international Good Friday Agreement, and creating a major divergence from the European Court of Human Rights, which will result in more UK cases at the Court and more adverse rulings against the UK
• Hand huge powers to Government by significantly limiting the judicial protection of rights and protecting Ministers and public authorities from accountability.