What safeguards for human rights post-Brexit? Geoffrey Bindman reports
It is not easy to forecast the impact of our departure from the EU on human rights. Our adherence to the European Convention on Human Rights is not directly affected because the Convention emanates not from the EU but the Council of Europe, of which our membership continues. Likewise the Human Rights Act 1998 is, and will remain, binding UK legislation—unless or until repealed by the UK parliament. And those safeguards for human rights already established in the common law from Magna Carta onwards will not be reduced.
However, one important human rights instrument, the Charter of Fundamental Rights, binds us currently as an EU member. In the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill now being debated by a committee of the whole House of Commons, the government proposes (cl 3(1)) that ‘direct EU legislation, so far as operative immediately before exit day, forms part of domestic law on or after exit day’. However, the Bill proposes certain exceptions, among which is clause 5(4): ‘The Charter
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