Reflections on a UK Bill of Rights

The UK Government recently introduced and then deferred a Bill of Rights Bill. The Bill would have repealed the Human Rights Act 1998, the UK’s flagship human rights legislation domesticating protections for rights contained in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). It also sought to introduce new standards for judges to apply in adjudicating violations of ECHR rights in the UK, which the UK Government claims will enhance ‘democratic oversight’ of rights protections in the UK. These included requiring judges to take into account factors such as whether Convention rights secured strike an appropriate balance ‘as between different policy aims’, and whether particular interpretations of ECHR rights will ‘have an impact on the ability of the public authority or of any other public authority to perform its functions’.

This event is a panel discussion with leading experts on UK human rights law, reflecting on the Bill of Rights Bill and the future of human rights protection in the UK. This will include exploring the requirements of any future Bill for the UK’s compliance with international human rights law, and what may be learnt from the political and legal processes surrounding a bill of rights so far.

Speakers: Professor Tom Hickman QC, Dominic Grieve QC, Jun Pang, Professor Gavin Phillipson
Chair: Daniella Lock