Justice Minister Sir Oliver Heald confirms government’s plans to scrap the Human Rights Act 1998 are on hold until European Union exit is resolved.
Sir Oliver said:
“We are committed to reforming our domestic human rights framework, and we will return to our proposals once we know the arrangements for our exit from the European Union.”
“… I think it important for us to sort out the EU side of matters, and the exit from the EU, before we return to that subject.”
The UK Human Rights Act (HRA) currently provides that UK courts “must take into account” any judgment, decision, declaration or advisory opinion of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). For more information on the uses of the HRA see our Human Rights Act factsheet
The Government proposes replacing the Human Rights Act with a British Bill of Rights. This does not necessarily mean that decisions of the European Court of Human Rights would not apply in the UK but the proposed British Bill of Rights would determine how much notice the UK took of decisions made by that court.
As a result, ECHR decisions may not be directly enforceable in UK courts, though the UK is bound under international law by the Human Rights Convention.
It is also not clear how a British Bill of Rights would apply to Northern Ireland and Scotland.
For more information see our Brexit and Human Rights factsheet