Asked by: Lord Lester of Herne Hill (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in considering the future of the Human Rights Act 1998, what regard they will have to the findings of the Scottish Parliament’s European and External Relations Committee as outlined in the letter of 17 March from the Convener of that Committee to the Lord Chancellor on the views of Scottish stakeholders on the argument that the Human Rights Act 1998 undermines the sovereignty of the UK Parliament and democratic accountability.
Answered by Lord Faulks
This Government was elected with a mandate to reform and modernise the UK human rights framework. We will consider the devolution implications of our reforms and will continue to engage fully with stakeholders in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and with the devolved administrations, as we develop our proposals.
Asked by: Lord Lester of Herne Hill (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in considering the future of the Human Rights Act 1998, what regard they will have to the findings of the Scottish Parliament’s European and External Relations Committee as outlined in the letter of 17 March from the Convener of that Committee to the Lord Chancellor on the level of opposition from Scottish stakeholders to any repeal of the Act.
Answered by Lord Faulks
This Government was elected with a mandate to reform and modernise the UK human rights framework. We will consider the devolution implications of our reforms and will continue to engage fully with stakeholders in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and with the devolved administrations, as we develop our proposals.
Asked by: Lord Lester of Herne Hill (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in considering the future of the Human Rights Act 1998, what regard they will have to the findings of the Scottish Parliament’s European and External Relations Committee as outlined in the letter of 17 March from the Convener of that Committee to the Lord Chancellor on the proposal for the Supreme Court to function as a constitutional court and in particular that it would require "significant constitutional change" and would pose "practical problems" for Scotland’s separate legal system.
Answered by Lord Faulks
The Prime Minister indicated last year that he wanted to examine the way that Germany and other EU nations uphold their constitution and sovereignty. We have considered the Committee’s report with interest and will consult fully on our proposals for a Bill of Rights in due course.
Asked by: Lord Lester of Herne Hill (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures they intend to take in response to the Lord Chief Justice's Review of the Administration of Justice in the Courts of 2015, which found that "our system of justice has become unaffordable to most" and that "no satisfactory means of funding the provision of our system of justice has yet been achieved".
Answered by Lord Faulks
The Government has put in place measures to support people in resolving their disputes by means of more informal and less costly remedies, and we have made sure that legal aid remains available for the highest priority cases. There is, however, more to do if we are to achieve our vision of one nation justice.
As the Lord Chief Justice made clear in his annual report, the investment the Government is making to modernise our courts and tribunals is a significant step, and one which will enable us to tackle many of the issues he identified.
We will continue to work closely with the judiciary to make sure that our justice system delivers faster and fairer justice for all.
Asked by: Lord Lester of Herne Hill (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will make provision to apply fixed recoverable costs across the range of fast-track cases, and in the lower reaches of the multi-track, as recommended by the judiciary and referred to in the Lord Chief Justice’s Review of the Administration of Justice in the Courts of 2015.
Answered by Lord Faulks
The Government remains supportive of the principle of extending fixed recoverable costs and we continue to consider areas in which implementation might be appropriate and workable.
Asked by: Lord Lester of Herne Hill (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they plan to take in response to the judgment of the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights in <i>Hirst v The United Kingdom (No. 2) </i>Application 74025/01, and the interim resolution of 9 December of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe expressing "profound concern that the blanket ban on the right of convicted prisoners in custody to vote remains in place."
Answered by Lord Faulks
We have consistently made clear that prisoner voting is a matter for parliament to determine.