A Bill of Rights: Do We Need One or Do We Already Have One?

Abstract

Abstract:The article asks whether the Human Rights Act can be described as a bill of rights. Concluding that the Act is effectively a Bill of Rights, it examines why there are calls to introduce a 'home-grown' Bill of Rights and why these proposals have surfaced now. Finally, it asks whether we can assume that such proposals would lead to better human rights protection, or whether it is possible to end up with less than we have now?

Developing public support for human rights in the United Kingdom: reasserting the importance of socio-economic rights

“…This means it has become associated with some of the political wrangling over the perceived European integration project. 29 One of the main myths among the public about the HRA is that 'law-abiding' citizens do not benefit much from it and that the rights of the least worthy tend to attract the greatest protection in law. 30 This reflects the UK mainstream media focus on what the public might consider 'undeserving cases', such as terrorism suspects.…”

The Hard Sell: Promoting Human Rights

“…It was suggested in the Green Paper that the HRA was always intended to be just a first step in enhancing rights protection. The case for further rights legislation is nevertheless contentious [25], especially because it may amount to little more than a public relations exercise to win over a sceptical public opinion by sending out a strong message that rights need to be counterbalanced with legally enshrined individual responsibilities. Thus, the JCHR has argued [21, p. 14]:…”

“…Tabloid 'myths' surrounding the HRA are regarded as an important obstacle in the creation of a human rights culture [14,15,25,27]. Logic dictates that removing this obstacle, for example through the Rapid Rebuttal Unit, would constitute an important step forward.…”

“…This potency of myths can be seen from the following human rights anecdote which has repeatedly been cited as a textbook example of media distortion [15,21,25]. The story in question, recounting events which date from 2006, details how a suspected car thief evading capture by climbing on a rooftop was given cigarettes, a Kentucky Fried Chicken meal and a two-litre bottle of Pepsi cola by police who were trying to look after 'his human rights'.…”

<i>Celebrity Big Brother</i>, Human Rights and Popular Culture

“…The infamous KFC siege incident which was extensively reported in the British press (Coles 2006;Daily Express 2006;Delingpole 2006;Savill 2006;Smith 2006) in June 2005 provides a textbook example of the selective and negative reporting government ministers and academics have complained about (Falconer 2007;Klug 2007). The news that a suspected car thief was given a KFC meal during a rooftop siege by police anxious to ensure "his wellbeing and human rights" reinforced the impression that the HRA was no more than a "criminals" charter".…”