On Wednesday Professor Alison Young gave evidence to the Joint Committee on Human Rights, alongside Lord Mance (former Justice of the Supreme Court), Professor Adam Tomkins (University of Glasgow) and Dr Hélène Tyrell (University of Newcastle).
The Committee was looking at proposals to reform the Human Rights Act 1998. Following the Independent Human Rights Act Review, the Government launched a consultation exercise on a Modern Bill of Rights. The evidence session looked at the Government’s case for reform, and the impact of these possible reforms. Committee members asked questions about the relationship between UK courts and the European Court of Human Rights and the balance of power between Parliament, the government, and the courts when protecting human rights. The Committee also explored whether there was a current crisis of confidence in the Human Rights Act 1998 and whether more was needed to educate the public more generally on human rights in the UK.
Professor Young is the Sir David Williams Professor of Public Law, and a Fellow of Robinson College. She currently co-edits the UKCLA blog on constitutional law, and is a member of the Editorial Board of European Public Law. She is also a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and is affiliated with the Oxford Human Rights Hub and with the Programme for the Foundations of Law and Constitutional Government, both at the University of Oxford.
The evidence session is available to stream from the Parliament website.