Others announced at the opening of Parliament this week included an Electronic Trade Documents Bill to put e-documents on an equal legal footing with paper, a Brexit Freedoms Bill and five other Brexit-related bills to make it easier to replace existing EU laws, and a public order bill imposing further curbs on ‘disruptive’ protests by making it an offence to ‘lock on’ to fixed objects or go to a protest equipped to ‘lock on’. An economic crime bill aims to make it harder for criminals to launder their money in the UK.
Opposition MPs and trade unions pointed out there was nothing to help tackle the backlog of cases in the criminal courts. Nor was there an Employment Bill to tackle fire and rehire or any measures to help with the cost-of-living crisis.
Bar Council chair, Mark Fenhalls QC said: ‘As we set out in our consultation response, the litmus test of a remodelled Bill of Rights is whether it will provide coherent, readily applicable remedies.
‘A Brexit Freedoms Bill could involve the unpicking of decades of legislation and any steps taken must be considered very carefully to avoid unintended consequences that could damage the interests of the UK.’
Law Society president I Stephanie Boyce said dismantling the Human Rights Act would ‘have far-reaching consequences, conferring greater unfettered power not just on the government of today, but also on future ruling parties, whatever their ideology.
‘If the new Bill of Rights becomes law, it would make it harder for all of us to protect or enforce our rights.’
Boyce also called on the government to invest in the justice system in order to ‘level up’ so that ‘people can get the advice they need when facing life-changing legal problems’. She expressed disappointment ‘that a long-awaited employment bill has once again been dropped.
‘Employment law needs to keep pace with changes in the workplace―which have been accelerated by the pandemic―including the growth in flexible working.’
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