Government seeks to rebalance rights and public interest through ECHR reform
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ), together with the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, The Rt Hon Shabana Mahmood MP, has raised concerns about declining public confidence in the rule of law, citing perceptions that the application of rights under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is out of step with public expectations. In a speech to European ambassadors and the Committee of Ministers in Strasbourg, the Lord Chancellor stated that rights originally intended to protect individuals from arbitrary state power are now sometimes seen as enabling those who break the rules to avoid responsibility, rather than protecting those who follow them. This comes as the government commits to legislation to clarify the law around Article 8—the right to private and family life—which, according to the government, has been used by foreign national offenders to avoid deportation.
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