Simon Parsons considers the future of human rights after Brexit
There are three current sources of human rights in the UK, the European Convention on Human Rights (the Convention), the Charter of Fundamental Rights (the Charter) and the common law. How will these three sources be affected by Brexit?
The Convention will be unaffected by Brexit because it is administered by the Council of Europe which is separate from the EU. There is also the European Court of Human Rights which decides whether the Convention has been breached. Before 2 October 2000 decisions of the Strasbourg court were only persuasive in UK domestic courts but the Convention was and remains binding on the UK in international law. If UK law is found in breach of the Convention the government is under an obligation under Article 46 to put things right. But politics can get in the way: consider the dragging of feet by consecutive governments after Hirst v UK (No 2) [2005] ECHR 681 where Strasbourg ruled a blanket ban on British prisoners exercising
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