European Union Committee
The UK, the EU and a British Bill of Rights
12th Report of Session 2015-16 - published 9 May 2016 - HL Paper 139
Contents
The scope and purpose of the report
Chapter 2: The legal landscape explained
The European Convention on Human Rights and the
EU Charter—an overview
The European Communities Act 1972
Table 1: ECHR and EU Charter: principal differences
Chapter 3: The Government’s case for a British Bill of Rights
Why is a British Bill of Rights necessary?
A bad name in the public square
What would a British Bill of Rights contain?
Review of section 2 of the HRA
All ECHR rights affirmed within the Bill of Rights
Chapter 4: The relative scope of the ECHR and the EU Charter
The broader application of the ECHR
The narrower application of the EU Charter
The EU Charter and direct effect
Acting within the scope of EU law
A predictable approach to defining the scope of the EU Charter
The EU Charter as a means of expanding the scope of EU law
Increased references to the CJEU
Would protection provided by the common law be adequate if the HRA were repealed?
Chapter 5: The enforcement of the ECHR and EU Charter in
national law
Declaration of incompatibility v disapplication of national law
A case in point: prisoner voting rights
The French ban on prisoner voting
Chapter 6: Would a British Bill of Rights be subject to EU law?
Supremacy of the EU Charter over a Bill of Rights
The German Federal Constitutional Court as a role model
Impact on the ECHR and the UK’s international standing
Impact on the UK’s Membership of the EU
Impact on the UK’s participation in Justice and Home Affairs cooperation
Box 2: EU Justice and Home Affairs Cooperation
Chapter 8: The impact of repealing the Human Rights Act in the devolved nations
The Scottish Government’s perspective
Human rights within the devolution settlement
The strengths of ECHR compared to the EU Charter
Would legislative consent be required?
Would legislative consent be given?
The Welsh Government’s perspective
Human rights within the devolution settlement
The HRA—a ‘uniquely British approach’
The Northern Ireland perspective
Human rights within the devolution settlement
The particular status of the ECHR
Would legislative consent be required?
Would legislative consent be given?
The views of the UK Government
Summary of Conclusions and Recommendations
Appendix 1: List of Members and Declarations of Interest
Evidence is published online at http://www.parliament.uk/potential-impact-repealing-human-rights-act and available for inspection at the Parliamentary Archives (020 7219 3074).
Q in footnotes refers to a question in oral evidence