Impact: Human Rights Act Reform Consultation

The UK Government received 12,873 responses in total and the Government's own report on the responses showed a clear lack of support for the proposals. For example:

Section 3 

The Government asked if it should remove the legal duty on courts and public bodies to interpret laws in a way that respects human rights, so far as possible. The overwhelming majority of respondents (79%) said no while 11% said they had no preference to any option presented. 

Positive Obligations 

The Government asked if people support the current obligations on public bodies to take proactive steps to protect people’s rights. 100% of people said yes, with many noting these obligations “provide protection for vulnerable people”

Awards for Damages 

The Government asked what factors should be considered when deciding what damages someone can be awarded for a breach of their human rights. Most people (52.8%) confirmed they like the current system, where it’s looked at on a case-by-case basis.

Judicial Independence 

The Government asked whether judges deciding what factors to take into account in human rights claims is causing a problem. As far as we can tell from the Government’s statistics, not a single person said yes. 

Adding a Permissions Stage 

The Government asked if they should add an extra barrier to people having their human rights case heard in court, by requiring them to show they experienced a “significant disadvantage”. The overwhelming majority (90%) said no.

Despite this, the Government attempted to proceed with a Rights Removal Bill that would implement many of these changes and get rid of the Human Rights Act. Fortunately, in June 2023, the Government confirmed this Bill would not go ahead.