1 Overview
Introduction
2. This is the third annual report by the Joint Committee
on Human Rights,[1] in
which we set out our activities during the 2008-09 parliamentary
session.[2] We also highlight
areas in which the Government has enhanced human rights during
the year as well as areas of concern, and comment on our working
practices. With this report we are publishing the transcripts
of the oral evidence we heard from the Secretary of State for
Justice and the Human Rights Minister on 20 January and the Northern
Ireland Human Rights Commission on 24 February to follow up our
report on a Bill of Rights for the UK as well as a number of written
submissions which have not been previously printed.
Our remit and core tasks
3. The Joint Committee on Human Rights is comprised
of twelve Members, drawn equally from the House of Commons and
the House of Lords. Our remit is broad: "to consider matters
relating to human rights in the UK", although we are unable
to deal with individual cases. We are also required to report
to both Houses in relation to remedial orders (as well as proposals
for remedial orders and draft remedial orders), which are statutory
instruments made under the Human Rights Act 1998 in order to deal
with legislative provisions which the courts have ruled to be
incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
Remedial orders have been brought forward infrequently and there
were none for us to consider in 2008-09.
4. As a joint committee, with a remit which cuts
across the responsibilities of all Government departments, we
do not have a specific department to hold to account in terms
of service delivery or expenditure. As a consequence, not all
of the core tasks first elaborated by the Commons Liaison Committee
in 2002 are relevant to our work.[3]
The relevance of specific core tasks to our work is set out in
Table 1.Table
1: JCHR and the core tasks sets out by the Commons Liaison Committee
| Task 1: To examine policy proposals from the UK Government and the European Commission in Green Papers, White Papers, draft Guidance etc, and to inquire further where the Committee considers it appropriate.
| Relevant |
| Task 2: To identify and examine areas of emerging policy, or where existing policy is deficient, and make proposals.
| Relevant |
| Task 3: To conduct scrutiny of any published draft bill within the Committee's responsibilities.
| Relevant |
| Task 4: To examine specific output from the department expressed in documents or other decisions.
| Relevant |
| Task 5: To examine the expenditure plans and out-turn of the department, its agencies and principal NDPBs.
| Not relevant |
| Task 6: To examine the department's Public Service Agreements, the associated targets and the statistical measurements employed, and report if appropriate.
| Not relevant |
| Task 7: To monitor the work of the department's Executive Agencies, NDPBs, regulators and other associated public bodies.
| Relevant only in relation to Human Rights Division of the Ministry of Justice, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and other human rights institutions
|
| Task 8: To scrutinise major appointments made by the department.
| Relevant only in relation to the EHRC
|
| Task 9: To examine the implementation of legislation and major policy initiatives.
| Relevant |
| Task 10: To produce reports which are suitable for debate in the House, including Westminster Hall, or debate in committees.
| Relevant |
Overview of our work
5. Our work can broadly be divided into three distinct
categories:[4]
- Legislative scrutiny: the scrutiny
of Government Bills, in particular, as well as other bills, draft
bills, statutory instruments, consultation documents and other
legislative proposals for compatibility with human rights;
- Thematic inquiries: inquiries into issues relating
to human rights in the UK, similar to the inquiries undertaken
by departmental select committees in the Commons except that,
in common with most Lords select committees, we frequently consider
issues which cut across departmental boundaries; and
- Scrutiny of Government responses to adverse judgments
by the European Court of Human Rights and declarations of incompatibility
by the UK courts: we monitor, and periodically report on, the
action arising from all relevant court cases, including those
which lead to remedial orders, as mentioned above.
These strands of work are closely inter-related.
For example, our scrutiny of the Government's proposals on the
retention, use and destruction of biometric samples has involved
both legislative scrutiny and scrutiny of the Government's response
to an adverse decision of the European Court of Human Rights.
Nevertheless, the distinction between these types of work is useful
in understanding the way in which we undertake our scrutiny of
the Government.
6. Further, cross-cutting, aspects to our work concern
consideration of the international human rights instruments to
which the UK is a signatory, including the extent to which the
UK meets its international obligations under those instruments,
and scrutinising new human rights treaties prior to their ratification;
the implementation of the Human Rights Act; and the work of the
UK's human rights institutions, in particular the EHRC.
7. Table 2 shows the main issues we have considered
across all the different strands of our work in 2008-09, illustrating
the considerable breadth of our activity.Table
2: JCHR activity in 2008-09, by theme
| Subject | Activity
| Outcome |
| Adults with learning disabilities
| Follow up of previous inquiry
| Debate in Westminster Hall, March
|
| Asylum seekers, treatment of
| Follow up of previous inquiry and legislative scrutiny
| Legislative scrutiny reports, March, April
|
| Business and human rights
| Thematic inquiry | Mini-conference, February; oral evidence, June and July; report in preparation
|
| Children's rights | Thematic inquiry and legislative scrutiny
| Report, November. Also legislative scrutiny reports, March, April, November
|
| Coastal path, right of appeal
| Legislative scrutiny |
Reports, April, August |
| Coroners and inquests |
Legislative scrutiny | Reports, March, May
|
| Court judgments finding breaches of human rights
| Ongoing scrutiny | Report in preparation
|
| Counter-terrorism policy
| Ongoing scrutiny | Reports, February and June
|
| Criminal justice matters
| Legislative scrutiny |
Reports, March, April |
| Data protection | Legislative scrutiny
| Reports, March, April |
| Disabled Rights Convention
| Scrutiny of UN human rights instrument
| Reports, January and April
|
| Discrimination law |
Legislative scrutiny | Report, November
|
| Electoral Commission, powers
| Legislative scrutiny |
Report, February |
| Equality and Human Rights Commission
| Ongoing scrutiny | Oral evidence, October and November; report in preparation
|
| Freedom of expression and religion
| Legislative scrutiny |
Report, April |
| Gangs injunctions | Legislative scrutiny
| Reports, April |
| Genocide and torture (UK legislation)
| Thematic inquiry | Report, August
|
| Health and social care |
Legislative scrutiny | Report, April
|
| Human rights policy |
Ongoing scrutiny | Oral evidence, January
|
| Human trafficking | Follow up of previous inquiry
| Correspondence |
| Immigration and citizenship
| Legislative scrutiny |
Report, March |
| Meaning of public authority under the Human Rights Act
| Follow up of previous inquiry
| Oral evidence, January; correspondence
|
| Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission
| Ongoing scrutiny | Oral evidence, February
|
| Parliamentary standards
| Legislative scrutiny |
Report, June |
| Policing and Protest |
Thematic inquiry | Reports, March, April and July
|
| Policing (general) |
Legislative scrutiny | Report, April
|
| Prisoner transfer treaty with Libya
| Scrutiny of treaty |
Report, April |
| Sexual offences | Legislative scrutiny
| Report, April |
| Taxation, retrospective
| Legislative scrutiny |
Report, July; correspondence
|
| UK Bill of Rights | Follow up of previous inquiry
| Report, January; oral evidence, January and February; mini-conference, April
|
| UN Convention Against Torture
| Follow up of previous inquiry
| Report, August |
| Welfare reform | Legislative scrutiny
| Report, April |
8.
9. Table 3 shows the core tasks relevant to each
inquiry or activity undertaken during the year.
Table 3: JCHR activity in 2008-09, by core tasks set out by the
Commons Liaison Committee
| Inquiry/ activity
| Task 1: examination of policy proposals
| Task 2: emerging policy
| Task 3: draft bills
| Task 4: specific output
| Tasks 7/8: work of public bodies/major appointments
| Task 9: implementation of legislation
| Task 10: debates
|
| Adults with learning disabilities
| | | |
| | | X
|
| Business and human rights
| | X
| | | | X
| |
| Children's rights |
| X |
| | | X
| |
| Court judgments finding breaches of human rights
| | | | X
| | | X
|
| Counter-terrorism policy
| | | |
| | X
| X |
| Disability Rights Convention
| X |
| | X
| | X
| X |
| Genocide and torture (UK legislation)
| | X
| X |
| | X
| |
| Human rights policy/work of EHRC
| | | |
| X |
| |
| Legislative scrutiny |
X |
| X |
X |
| | X
|
| Policing and protest |
| X
| X |
| | X
| |
| Prisoner transfer treaty with Libya
| | | | X
| | | |
| UK Bill of Rights |
| X |
| X
| | | X
|
| UN Convention Against Torture
| | | |
| | X
| |
10.
11. The remainder of this report deals in more detail
with our work in 2008-09, drawing out some of the themes from
our legislative scrutiny and illustrating some of the more controversial
and innovative aspects of our other work. We also comment on developments
in our working practices and outline the work we intend to do
before the general election.
12. More detailed information about the Committee
and our work in 2008-09 can be found in annex 1.
1 Last year's report was Second Report of 2008-09,
The Work of the Committee in 2007-08, HL Paper 10, HC 92,
(hereafter 2007-08 report) published on 26 January 2009.
The Government Reply was published as part of the Seventeenth
Report of 2008-09, Government replies to the Second, Fourth,
Eighth, Ninth and Twelfth reports of Session 2008-09, HL Paper
104, HC 592, Ev pp37-38 (hereafter 17th report). Back
2
The session ran from 3 December 2008 to 17 November 2009. Back
3
For more on the core tasks see Liaison Committee, First Report
of 2008-09, The work of committees in 2008-09, HC 291. Back
4
For a more detailed breakdown of our work see Twenty-third Report
of Session 2005-06, The Committee's Future Working Practices,
HL Paper 239, HC 1575 (hereafter Working practices report)
part 2. Back
|
