News In Focus
8 February 2010
Bill of Rights proposal could create "legal nightmare"
Conservative Party proposals to create a British Bill of Rights would be a legal and political nightmare because of the complexities of devolution, according to the independent legal human rights organisation Justice.
Justice said the plans being considered by the Tories to repeal or amend the implementation of the Human Rights Act in the UK could not be done without the consent of the devolved parliaments, offering a "problematic" and "difficult" path for potential reforms.
Adoption of a formal Bill of Rights for the UK is a longstanding Tory pledge and was backed by a cross-party committee of MPs in 2008.
Roger Smith, director of Justice, said the plans were "likely to prove a legal and political nightmare". He added: "Any attempt to introduce a UK-wide Bill of Rights would need to be a joint enterprise of all four parts of the UK."
A Tory spokesman said that just because change was difficult was no reason not to do it.