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05 May 2023 / Sir Geoffrey Bindman KC
Issue: 8023 / Categories: Opinion , Human rights , Rule of law
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Raab’s resignation: hope for human rights?

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Does Dominic Raab’s departure finally spell the end for the Bill of Rights Bill? Geoffrey Bindman KC urges the government to undo the lurking threat to human rights protection

The resignation of Dominic Raab as secretary of state for justice on Friday 21 April will not be regretted by those of us who oppose the policies he and his government have been pursuing to weaken the rule of law and the protection of human rights. These policies, foreshadowed in the Conservative party 2019 election manifesto, include the repeal of the Human Rights Act 1998, limiting the obligation of the UK to comply with the terms of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), and undermining the independence of the judiciary by allowing the executive greater power over judicial appointments (see my earlier articles: ‘Raab & human rights: moving in the wrong direction?’, 172 NLJ 7963, p7, and ‘Law & politics: a two-pronged attack?’ 172 NLJ 8005, p6).

Uncertain futures

The Bill of Rights Bill

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Arc Pensions Law—Matthew Swynnerton

Arc Pensions Law—Matthew Swynnerton

Chair of the Association of Pension Lawyers joins as partner

Ampa Group—Kamal Chauhan

Ampa Group—Kamal Chauhan

Group names Shakespeare Martineau partner head of Sheffield office

Blake Morgan—four promotions

Blake Morgan—four promotions

Four legal directors promoted to partner across UK offices

NEWS

The abolition of assured shorthold tenancies and section 21 evictions marks the beginning of a ‘brave new world’ for England’s rental sector, writes Daniel Bacon of Seddons GSC

Stephen Gold’s latest Civil Way column rounds up a flurry of procedural and regulatory changes reshaping housing, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and personal injury litigation
Patients are being systematically failed by an NHS complaints regime that is opaque, poorly enforced and often stacked against them, argues Charles Davey of The Barrister Group
A wealthy Russian divorce battle has produced a sharp warning about trying to challenge foreign nuptial agreements in the wrong English court. Writing in NLJ this week, Vanessa Friend and Robert Jackson of Hodge Jones & Allen examine Timokhin v Timokhina, where the High Court enforced Russian judgments arising from a prenuptial agreement despite arguments based on the landmark Radmacher decision
An obscure Victorian tort may be heading for an unexpected revival after a significant Privy Council ruling that could reshape liability for dangerous escapes, according to Richard Buckley, barrister and emeritus professor of law at the University of Reading
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