David Barrett, Richard A Edwards and Natalie Sedacca respond to Human Rights Act consultation

On 7 March 2022, Exeter academics and members of the Human Rights and Democracy Forum submitted a response to the government’s consultation ‘Human Rights Act Reform: A Modern Bill of Rights.’ The response was written by David Barrett, Richard A Edwards and Natalie Sedacca, and co-signed by a number of other Exeter colleagues in the HRDF and beyond.

The response sets out a clear rejection of the government’s proposal to repeal the Human Rights Act (HRA) and repeal it with a Bill of Rights, criticising the consultation document for its selective and negative presentation of the impact of the HRA.

It argues that the proposals for reform as set out in the document are not supported by evidence and would fatally undermine the protection of rights under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in domestic law, as well as having particular negative consequences for Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

It situates the proposed restrictions on the judicial enforcement of civil and political right to be seen in their broader context, as part of a legislative agenda that poses multiple other threats to human rights and the ability of ordinary people to challenge executive action, before responding individually to each question in the consultation.