London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 01, 2025

Human Rights Act: UK government unveils reform proposals

Human Rights Act: UK government unveils reform proposals

The government has launched what it says will be "common sense" reforms to the Human Rights Act that will "restore confidence" in the legal system.

The proposals commit to staying within the European Convention on Human Rights, despite pressure from some Conservatives to leave the treaty.

The government says the plans will also prevent foreign offenders abusing rules around the right to a family life.

Critics warn the final measures could be muddled and unnecessary.

Justice Secretary Dominic Raab said the UK will "remain a party to the European Convention on Human Rights" while saying the government wanted to "change, reform to revise" how it is interpreted by courts.

The proposals will recognise the "right to trial by jury" as it applies "variably across different nations" in the UK and reinforce the weight given to freedom of speech, adding this is "a quintessentially British right, the freedom that guards all the others".

He added: "Freedom of speech does sometimes mean the freedom to say things which others may not wish to hear."

What is the Human Rights Act?


The Human Rights Act was introduced more than 20 years ago and it sets out in law a set of minimum standards of how everyone should be treated by public bodies.

It includes basic rights to a fair trial, life and freedom from ill treatment - and protections against discrimination or unfair interference in private and family life.

The act's wording comes from the European Convention of Human Rights - a treaty agreed by almost every nation in Europe after World War Two.

The convention is enforced by a court in Strasbourg, France, which includes judges from the UK and all other nations. It's nothing to do with the European Union.

Since the Human Rights Act came into force, most claims of unfair treatment are dealt with by British judges, rather than going to Strasbourg.

The HRA has been under repeated attack from critics on the right of politics who say that it puts European law ahead of British law.

On Tuesday the government published its long-awaited review of the act and a consultation on its future.

Under the three-month consultation, the government proposes changing the law to introduce specific circumstances in which a foreign national offender could not claim a right to family life in the UK to challenge their deportation.

Ministers want to introduce a new legal test which would allow judges to block what the government says are "spurious" cases making it to court.

Mr Raab said it would prevent what he called "abuse of the system" by criminals "relying on Article 8 - the right to a family life - to frustrate their deportation from this country". He said such claims make up about 70% of successful human rights challenges by foreign national offenders appealing deportation orders.

Mr Raab, also deputy prime minister, said the reforms would "sharpen the separation of powers", making the UK Supreme Court - rather than Strasbourg - "the ultimate judicial arbiter when it comes to interpreting the ECHR in this country".

This will be done by reforming the part of the act requiring UK courts to take account of Strasbourg caselaw.

He said: "We will make it crystal clear that the UK courts are under no duty to follow Strasbourg caselaw which itself does not operate a doctrine of precedent."

It's not clear how that differs from the current situation where British courts can choose to ignore the views of the European Court of Human Rights if they have good legal reason to do so.

Mr Raab said: "Our plans for a bill of rights will strengthen typically British rights like freedom of speech and trial by jury, while preventing abuses of the system and adding a healthy dose of common sense."

The plans do not include proposals that would change the law concerning the potential return to other countries of migrants arriving in dinghies.


Human rights law is subtle and complex. Those rights don't just come from the European Convention on Human Rights, which the British government played a leading role in writing, but the UK's legal traditions that have developed over 1,000 years.

Dominic Raab thinks the law needs rebalancing to emphasise the primacy of that British legal history - but some fear that a new bill of rights could be a muddle.

This isn't just a warning from lefty woke lawyers, as some on the right would have it.

There is concern from the security services about unintended consequences - see p288 of the independent review that the government commissioned.

That review and its conclusions, advice and warnings run to an astonishing 580 pages.

Here's the summary the panel want ministers to take on board: don't rush to change things if the evidence shows they don't need fixing.

Labour's shadow justice secretary Steve Reed described the proposals as "all mouth and no trousers", saying "they do nothing to deal with the severe failings in the criminal justice system".

He added: "If the secretary of state really wanted to restore confidence in the system his priority would be sorting that out, but instead he's choosing to fiddle with the Human Rights Act, instead of stretching every muscle and sinew to make sure that rapists and violent offenders are banged up behind bars where they belong."

The Law Society, which represents solicitors in England and Wales, urged the government to make sure that any reforms of the HRA were backed by evidence, not driven by political rhetoric.

Its president, I. Stephanie Boyce, said: "The powers government purports to introduce for the most part already exist. British judges deliver British justice based on British laws.

"UK courts do not, as government suggests, blindly follow case law from the European Court of Human Rights."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
JD.com Launches €2.2 Billion Bid for German Electronics Retailer Ceconomy
Azerbaijan Proceeds with Plan to Legalise Casinos on Artificial Islands
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
×