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Lord Carlile, the independent reviewer of the United Kingdom’s anti-terror laws, has declared that Human Rights rulings have made the UK a ‘safe haven for terrorists’. In his annual review of anti-terrorism legislation he argues that the ‘relatively low legal threshold’ required for an individual to avoid deportation makes it unduly difficult for the government to deport suspected terrorists. Human Rights organisations such as Amnesty International have refuted Lord Carlile’s comments, stating that ‘Britain has some of the harshest counter-terrorism legislation in Europe’.
The debate over prisoners’ voting rights rumbles on, as the Council of Europe’s Human Rights Commissioner, Thomas Hammerberg said that following the ECHR ruling on the issue five years ago, ‘it is high time that the UK made good on its obligations’. Mr. Hammerberg’s comments are likely to fuel debate in the Commons next week, when a free vote takes place on a proposed amendment to limit the right to vote to prisoners serving less than one year.
Good news for sports fans and pub owners everywhere, as Advocate-General Kokott advised the European Court that EU law does not prohibit pubs showing live Premier League matches from foreign broadcasters. The advice arises from a case involving pub landlady Karen Murphy, who uses a Greek decoder card to show live Premier League matches at much cheaper rates than BSKYB charges commercial premises in the UK.
The government has delayed the implementation of the new Bribery Act, following criticism of the lack of clarity in the current guidance for business on how to comply. The Act was intended to come into force in April but has been put on hold while the Ministry of Justice rewrites the guidance.
In the midst of austerity measures across the UK many are concerned over future employment. But not judges, for as Joshua Rozenberg points out, they cannot be sacked. In an interesting article in the Guardian, he asks the uncomfortable question of what should be done when a judge proves to have poor judgement.
Finally, the head of the family law division, Sir Nicholas Wall, has called for reforms in the law to give unmarried couple equal rights to assets should a relationship break down. He has labelled the current system, which offers little protection to couples who often erroneously believe that they have legal rights as ‘common law’ spouses, as unjust. The equitable rights of unmarried cohabitees are currently governed by the conventional laws of trusts.
