The Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) have considered the human rights implications of the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill.
The Committee have also ‘pressed the Government for the publication of its Memorandum on the European Convention on Human Rights’.
This is from the JCHR’s January 2018 report (pdf) which analyses the Bill.
The report finds:
- Some of the rights will inevitably be lost as they derive from membership of the EU
- Charter rights which are based wholly or largely on “general principles of EU law” will no longer confer an enforceable right (although the Government may reconsider its position on this). This means a loss of enforceable rights such as Article 1 (human dignity)
- A number of the Charter rights derive from the ECHR and are incorporated into domestic law by virtue of the Human Rights Act 1998. Whilst these rights will therefore continue to exist and confer an enforceable right on individuals, the standing is narrower and the remedies are weaker under the HRA compared to the Charter.
