The Joint Committee on Human Rights launched an inquiry on the Government’s proposed derogation from the ECHR in December 2016.
Written submissions are invited from interested groups and individuals focusing on the following issues:
- What evidence supports the Government’s view that “our legal system has been abused to level false charges against our troops on an industrial scale”?
- What evidence supports the Government’s view that the extra-territorial applicability of the ECHR undermines the operational effectiveness of the Armed Forces?
- Are the substantive requirements of Article 15 ECHR likely to be satisfied in the circumstances in which the Government intends to derogate?
- Are there alternatives to derogation which would achieve the Government’s objective of protecting the armed forces against unfounded legal claims?
- Are there any wider implications of the UK derogating from the extra-territorial application of the Convention in military operations, such as effects on other countries or on the European system for the collective enforcement of human rights?
- Should the derogating measures be contained in primary legislation?
- Is it appropriate for the Ministry of Defence to have lead responsibility for a policy the purpose of which is to protect the MoD from legal claims?
The deadline for submissions is Friday 31 March 2017.