Human rights news and case-law roundup (23 July 2010)

We recently started adding links to interesting new articles and case-law the sidebar under the heading “Selected news sources”. Below is a quick rundown of the most recent links. The full list of links can be found here.

• 23 July | Government delays Bribery Act – again: Siobhain Butterworth writes in the Guardian “This week the Ministry of Justice proudly announced that the long-awaited Bribery Act will become law in 2011. “The act will ensure the UK is at the forefront of the battle against bribery,” it said on Tuesday. The legislation follows a long-term Guardian investigation into allegations of corruption against BAE (vigorously denied), and some costly plea bargaining with the authorities on both sides of the Atlantic on the part of the arms company…. Hang on a minute. Wasn’t the act supposed to come into force in 2010? It received royal assent in April, nearly 18 months after the law commission’s “final report” on bribery recommended the introduction of the new corporate offences. Why the delay?”

• 22 July | Ian Tomlinson death: lawyers challenge CPS over decision not to prosecute: Ian Tomlinson was caught up in the G20 protests in April 2009. A short while after being hit by a policeman with a baton, he collapsed and died. The CPS have decided not to prosecute the policeman involved, as they consider there is an irreconcilable difference of opinion between medical experts as to the cause of death, which would mean it would be highly unlikely that the officer would be convicted beyond reasonable doubt. Expect plenty of debate and acrimony over this issue, as the family accuse the police of a cover-up.

50 Best Blogs for Following Human Rights News

The United States-based Onlinedegrees.net has published a list of the top 50 best blogs for following human rights news.

The list can be found here. It is very useful, particularly for international sites. We are at number 19 and top of the “Location Specific” list. We have now placed a permanent link to the list in the “Links” list below and to the right.

Master of the Rolls calls for more restraint from Strasbourg judges

The Master of the Rolls Lord Neuberger has given the first lecture to the meeting of the newly-formed the European Circuit of the Bar. Along with the contributions of Lord Judge, Lord Hoffmann and Lady Justice Arden, this address forms part of an elegant but increasingly intense debate that reflects unease about Strasbourg.

At the end of his speech Lord Neuberger calls for a “dialogue” with the European Court of Human Rights that

will require from Strasbourg a more acute appreciation of the validity of the differential approaches by Convention states to the implementation of rights…Strasbourg might well benefit from developing the margin of appreciation to take greater account of practical differences which arise between Convention states and their implementation of high level principles.

Recent press and case-law roundup

This week we started adding links to interesting new articles and case law the sidebar under the heading “Recent selected sources (del.icio.us)”. Below is a quick rundown of the most recent links. The full list of links can be found here.

• 18 June | FA (Iraq) v Secretary of State for the Home Department: New immigration and asylum judgment from the Administrative Court; new problems for the Government with implementation of a European Directive
• 17 June | Government shelves Equality Act timetable: From Out-law.com
• 17 June | Control orders: a balancing act between human rights and national security: Joshua Rozenberg comments on two recent Supreme Court judgments
• 17 June | Bloody Sunday inquiry: too much, too late: Louis Blom-Cooper writes on Lord Saville’s report in the Guardian
• 17 June | Explanatory note – Sharon Shoesmith v Ofsted: An interesting twist in the Baby P council sacking case, with the Treasury Solicitor apologising for disclosure failings within his department.
• 16 June | Tugendhat J redefines meaning of defamation: An interesting development in defamation law.
• 16 June | Denying child asylum seekers a legal lifeline: Comment in the Guardian on the administration of Refugee and Migrant Justice,

New feature: Delicious links

You may have noticed a new feature on the UK Human Rights Blog, a box along the right sidebar entitled “Recent selected sources (del.icio.us)”

This box shows five recent news sources selected by our bloggers. You can click on one of the titles to take you to the source, or on “Recent selected sources…” to take you to the full list of links on our Delicious site. Enjoy!

UK Human Rights Blog by 1 Crown Office Row

UK Human Rights Blog is written by members of 1 Crown Office Row barristers’ chambers. You can subscribe to free email alerts by entering your address in the ‘Email Subscription’ box below and to the right, or follow us on RSS, Facebook or Twitter.

New feature | Articles of the European Convention on Human Rights

The European Convention - now it has its own blog page

We have added a new “ECHR” page where you can access an index of the Articles of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The page can be accessed by clicking here, or by clicking on the “ECHR” tab at the top of any page on the blog.

Each Article has its own separate page with the wording of the Article itself and a brief summary of how it works in law.

You can access this summary by clicking on the “more info” link. You can also click on the “posts” link to see all posts on the UK Human Rights Blog relating to that Article. A few articles don’t have a live link “posts” as we have not posted on it yet. We would welcome your comments on this or on any way we can make the blog better.

The index is reproduced below:

Child rape case sparks debate on child witnesses in criminal courts

The recent Old Bailey case involving two boys aged 10 and 11 accused of rape on an eight year gold has reignited the long running debate over the treatment of child witnesses in the adversarial courts system.

In a Daily Telegraph article John Bingham and Caroline Gammell report that

More than 1,000 children under the age of 10 are called to give evidence in courts in England and Wales every year.Almost two thirds are themselves the victims of crime, asked to relive a traumatic experience, often as much as a year after the event. Although special measures are in place to make the ordeal of giving evidence in court less stressful, the current system remains open to criticism.There is no legal minimum age to give evidence in court but prosecutors must be satisfied that a child is capable of understanding evidence and being cross-examined before they can be called.

It should be noted at the outset that evidence from children can only be compelled by the courts in criminal prosecutions. We posted recently on the case of Re W (Children) [2010] UKSC 12 , where the Supreme Court ruled that refusing an application for a child to give evidence in a trial may contravene Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Lady Hale said at para 22 of the judgment:  

GMC to announce policy of striking off doctors who prolong the lives of terminally ill patients against their wishes [updated]

If a terminally ill patient has made a “living will”, specifying in advance that they do not want to be resuscitated, doctors must respect these wishes or risk being struck off. The General Medical Council is to announce this guidance in response to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 which gives “living wills” legal status. Doctors must not follow their own personal or religious convictions by prolonging treatment unless there is evidence that a patient may have changed his or her mind.

Update 25/05/10 – The Guidance has been published and can be found here

If a doctor is unwilling to follow the express verbal instructions of a patient – communicated through a friend or relative as legal proxy — they can withdraw from treating the individual. A second medical opinion must sought before hydration and nutrition is withdrawn. Telegraph Medical Correspondent Kate Devlin reports that

Doctors who flouted the guidelines would be forced to attend a fitness to practise hearing before the GMC and would be struck off if the case against them were proved. The rules affect patients deemed to be mentally capable of making these decisions. If they do not have this capacity, or have not designated someone to act on their behalf, doctors are required to make any judgment about treatment in the best interests of the patient. The guidance says that in these cases, when the decision over end of life treatment is “finely balanced”, the patient’s previously stated wishes “will usually be the deciding factor”.

You may have missed…

Posts you may have missed last week on the UK Human Rights Blog:

Case law –

• Families of asylum seekers entitled to advantageous entry clearance requirements says Supreme Court May 13, 2010
• Religious versus other freedoms: the future of Article 9? May 10, 2010

News –

• As dust settles, Coalition gets cautious welcome on human rights May 14, 2010
• Voters seeking compensation will face uphill climb May 13, 2010
• Human Rights Act may be safe under new Justice Secretary Ken Clarke [updated] May 12, 2010
• New head of Court of Appeal making waves on civil liberties May 12, 2010
• One year on, “opening up” of family courts has led to closed justice May 11, 2010