Human Rights Inquiry - call for evidence

Date: 13th October 2015
Category: Other human rights treaties and mechanisms

The European and External Relations Committee would welcome views on the proposed repeal of the Human Rights Act...

...and its replacement with a British Bill of Rights, including on the following issues:

- What is your general view on the UK Government's proposal to introduce a British Bill of Rights to replace the Human Rights Act 1998? Do you think changes need to be made to the current human rights regime in the UK?

- What rights, if any, would a British Bill of Rights have to contain? How would a British Bill of Rights interact with Scotland's separate legal system?

- Arguments have been made that the current system does not sufficiently respect the sovereignty of the UK Parliament. What are your views on this?

- In addition, it has been suggested that the European Court of Human Rights has developed "mission creep" expanding the European Convention on Human Rights into areas which it should not cover. What views do you have on this argument?

- What do you think the practical impact of the proposals will be in individual cases, for example as regards immigration policy, criminal law, or decisions made by public authorities?

- What impact do you think any changes will have on Scotland more generally? Would the Scottish Parliament have to consent to any changes under the Sewel Convention? Could the UK Government act without the consent of the Scottish Parliament?

- Do you think it would be possible to have different human rights regimes within the United Kingdom

- What impact do you think the UK Government's proposals will have on the UK and Scotland at an EU and international level, for example within the Council of Europe?

How to submit written evidence

Evidence should be reasonably brief and typewritten (preferably normally no more than 4-6 sides of A4 in total).

The deadline for receipt of written submissions is Wednesday 18th November 2015. Owing to the timescale normally required for the processing and analysis of evidence, late submissions will only be accepted with the advance agreement of the Clerk.

The Committee prefers to receive written submissions electronically and in a form accessible by MS Word. These should be sent to:
HumanRightsInquiry@scottish.parliament.uk

You may also send a hard copy of written submissions to:
European and External Relations Committee
Scottish Parliament
Holyrood
Edinburgh
EH99 1SP