Government response to the Justice Committee's 12th report of session 2008-09 (HC 361, ISBN 9780215541635)

Joint response to HC 978, session 2013-14 (ISBN 9780215066169); HC 954, session 2013-14 (ISBN 9780215066091); and HC 972, session 2013-14 (ISBN 9780215066152). These were in turn Government responses to the European Scrutiny Committee's 21st report, HC 683, session 2013-14 (ISBN 9780215063465); the Home Affairs Committee's 9th report, session 2013-14, HC 615, session 2013-14 (ISBN 9780215063410); and the Justice Committee's 8th report, HC 605, session 2013-14 (ISBN 9780215063403) respectively

This is the latest in a series of reports to the Joint Committee on Human Rights setting out the Government's position on the implementation of adverse human rights judgments from the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and the domestic courts. It covers the period 1 August 2012 to 31 July 2013. The main focus of this paper is on two particular types of human rights judgments: judgments of the ECtHR in Strasbourg against the United Kingdom under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR); and declarations of incompatibility by United Kingdom courts under section 4 of the Human Rights Act 1998. A feature of these judgments is that their implementation may require changes to legislation,4 policy or practice, or a combination thereof

Drawing on reports from committees, evidence from outside observers and academic research, this report concludes that two years after the general election and the Wright reforms, the evidence is "broadly encouraging" - although committees face some obstacles and there is room for improvement. The "old doctrine by which ministers alone are accountable to Parliament for the conduct of their department is being stretched to implausibility and there is a need for a changed approach. It recommends that the Government engage with the Liaison Committee in a review of the relationship between Government and select committees with the aim of producing joint guidelines for departments and committees, which recognise ministerial accountability, the proper role of the Civil Service and the legitimate wish of Parliament for more effective accountability. The report also makes numerous recommendations for Committees, including: that they be forward-looking in scrutiny of departmental performance, devoting less effort to raking over the coals of past events unless there are lessons to be learnt; give more attention to the financial implications of departmental policy and how departments assess the effectiveness of their spending; experiment with different approaches to evidence-taking, broaden the range of witnesses, and make more use of commissioned research; follow up recommendations to ensure that reports have impact and report to the House at least once each Session on what has been done The Committee intends to ask the Backbench Business Committee for time for a debate in the House of Commons on a motion endorsing its conclusions and recommendations

Government reply to the Committee's 6th report of session 2006-07 (HLP 151, ISBN 9780104011256)

This report concludes that the Government should seek to rejoin the 35 measures that have already been identified, but that it should also seek to rejoin an additional set of measures: implementing measures related to Europol's continued operation; the Framework Decision on combating certain forms and expressions of racism and xenophobia by means of criminal law; the European Judicial Network; the European Probation Order; and the Convention of Driving Disqualifications. The Government has still not dealt with earlier reports' conclusions about the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and its jurisdiction. What is more, the Government's general approach to the CJEU is not consistent with its decision to opt back into many other post-Lisbon police and criminal justice measures. The Government also needs to work flexibly with the European Commission in order to avoid any gaps in the application of the measures the UK will seek to rejoin. For example, we must ensure that rejoining the European Arrest Warrant is water-tight well in advance of the opt-out taking effect, to prevent problems for our criminal justice system. The report also recommends that the Government conduct a review of the impact of the opt-out decision three years after it has taken effect, and report its conclusions to Parliament

This is the Committee's response to the Government's response (HC 41-!, session 2008-09, ISBN 9780215525536) to the Parliamentary Ombudsman's 4th report of session 2007-08 (HC 815, session 2007-08, ISBN 9780102957303).

Work of the Committee In 2008-09 : Second report of session 2009-10, report, together with formal Minutes

In many countries today there is a growing and genuinely-held concern that the institutional arrangements for the protection of human rights suffer from a 'democratic deficit'. Yet at the same time there appears to be a new consensus that human rights require legal protection and that all branches of the state have a shared responsibility for upholding and realising those legally protected rights. This volume of essays tries to understand this paradox by considering how parliaments have sought to discharge their responsibility to protect human rights. Contributors seek to take stock of the extent to which national and sub-national parliaments have developed legislative review for human rights compatibility, and the effect of international initiatives to increase the role of parliaments in relation to human rights. They also consider the relationship between legislative review and judicial review for human rights compatibility, and whether courts could do more to incentivise better democratic deliberation about human rights. Enhancing the role of parliaments in the protection and realisation of human rights emerges as an idea whose time has come, but the volume makes clear that there is a great deal more to do in all parliaments to develop the institutional structures, processes and mechanisms necessary to put human rights at the centre of their function of making law and holding the government to account. The sense of democratic deficit is unlikely to dissipate unless parliaments empower themselves by exercising the considerable powers and responsibilities they already have to interpret and apply human rights law, and courts in turn pay closer attention to that reasoned consideration. 'I believe that this book will be of enormous value to all of those interested in human rights, in modern legislatures, and the relationship between the two. As this is absolutely fundamental to the characterand credibility of democracy, academic insight of this sort is especially welcome. This is an area where I expect there to be an ever expanding community of interest.' From the Foreword by the Rt Hon John Bercow MP, Speaker of the House of Commons