Tuesday 24 March 2009

Jack Straw hails new bill of rights to end the 'me' society

Justice secretary Jack Straw tells the Commons that he could not permit the release of records from 2003 cabinet discussions over the invasion of Iraq. Photograph: PA/PA
A new British bill of rights and responsibilitilies outlined yesterday could enshrine entitlements to welfare, equal treatment, housing, children's wellbeing and the NHS, Jack Straw, the justice secretary, said yesterday. He likened the bill's potential impact to Magna Carta and the 1689 Bill of Rights.
The green paper follows a commitment to the measure made by Gordon Brown the day after he became prime minister, but the proposals have been met with disdain by some cabinet members worried it would simply empower the judiciary, deepen popular frustrations with the Human Rights Act, and be seen as an irrelevance at a time of recession.
Jack Straw likened the bill of right's potential to that of the Magna Carta Link to this audio
The green paper, published yesterday, leaves unresolved the degree to which the bill of rights would be enforceable in the courts or simply be a declared set of principles.
Straw and his minister for justice, Michael Wills, said a bill could entrench some economic rights, balance the Human Rights Act with fresh responsibilities, and also potentially act as a uniying force.
The green paper also seeks to undo some of the unpopularity of the Human Rights Act, by insisting any individual rights needs to be balanced with a responsibility to society.
For instance, it suggests any claims for damages under the Human Rights Act could be more clearly informed by the behaviour of the individual seeking damages.
By emphasising responsibilities, the green paper suggest it might be possible "to end a me society as opposed to a we society in which an unbridled focus on our own individual rights and liberties risks overtaking our collective security and well being". It suggests that responsibilities are entrenched in the British law, but not clearly expressed leading "to a selfish and aggressive assertion of rights in a way which may damage others enjoyment of their own rights".
In uneasy compromise the green paper stresses: "The aim is not to create new avenues of redress for individuals in the courts, but instead seek to influence the behaviour of courts, public bodies and individuals by placing all rights and responsibilities in a single document".
Straw suggested the bill might be useful to courts in interpreting existing rights and responsibilities, including for instance the duty of parents to help their child's education. He stressed the bill would not involve repeal of the Human Rights Act which makes the European convention directly enforceable in British courts.
But the paper was criticised by the Tories for creating more legal confusion by failing to be clear whether it advocated new rights or was simply a cosmetic exercise.
The shadow justice secretary, Dominic Grieve, attacked the culture created by the Human Rights Act, but did not say how he will replace it.
Straw argued in a Commons statement: "A bill of rights from around the world are a combination of symbolism, aspiration and law across a spectrum of legal effect. There need not be a binary choice between the justiciable and the declaratory."
The bill will also include a preamble that would act as a British statement of values, but the green paper yesterday gave no details of its contents.
Straw said it would be enormously valuable to be able to point to a single document setting out agreed rights and responsibilities, and said some countries such as Ireland had found a set of economic rights worthwhile.
Wills said the green paper was deeply relevant to the recession since it could entrench the progressive consensus at a time it is under threat.
At a briefing he said: "Things we took for granted politically a year ago where there was a broad agreement on progressive politics - everyone thought it was a good idea to lay claim to that - can no longer be taken for granted. There is a huge amount of flux in key Conservative circles. We do not know where the Conservatives will end up."

1 comment:

Fiza Asar said...

Thanks for this post. I am studying the need for a new Bill of Rights in the UK thesedays and this was very helpful