Lock down laws and human rights
I'm no expert on human rights law, and I won't claim to be. I am a law student, who has an interest in current affairs, and I am attempting to shed some light on this spiders web of a topic.
The emergency measures introduced by the government were some of the most drastic restrictions ever seen in this country. I have no doubt in their justification, however I am interested to see the government's steps moving forward, how these restrictions will be lifted and the long lasting impact this will have on the future of law and human rights.
There have been several questions raised over the legal basis for restrictions on liberty that we have seen come into play in the last few weeks. While the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 has been used as statutory basis, several legal professionals have highlighted the lack of express reference to the restrictions on freedom we are seeing today. In my opinion, a key element of our legal system should be that it is clear and available to all, and therefore should not require such in depth analysis to establish the legality behind the government's actions.
Another issue that has been raised is the subjective nature of the new laws. While most laws have the requirement for 'reasonable belief' before any action can be taken, these recent regulations simply require a relevant person to 'consider' the action, such as removing a person from a public place back to their own home, necessary to compliance in order to be able to take action against them. This again goes back to my previous point, that in times such as this clarity is needed, and a legal professional should not be needed to interpret the emergency measures put in place by the government. Every member of our society has a right to be able to read and understand these laws, and to be certain that they are compliant with human rights regulations.
This clarification issue is continued in the regulations, due to the unspecified nature of who has the power to remove people back to their own homes. While unknown to many, the regulations state that any 'relevant person' can take these steps, which includes community support officers and unspecified persons deemed relevant by the Secretary of State. However, the wider published UK Government Coronavirus Guidance only mentions the police being able to enforce these measures. This confusion, while seemingly small, is an unnecessary issue in an already confusing time for many of our society.
One of the most recent advances in the pandemic here in the UK has been the announcement by the government of the smartphone app, currently being tested on the Isle of Wight, which will track the populations movements via Bluetooth and ask those experiencing Covid symptoms to log this on the app. Those they have been in recent contact with will then be warned via the app. I still have many unanswered questions around this, as it has only been announced in the last few days, however it is crucial that these questions are answered in order to justify this potential invasion of privacy.
A legal report on the announcement of this app has been prepared, and warns of the justification needed to satisfy elements of human rights law. According to this report, prepared by Gayatri Sarathy, Edward Craven, Matthew Ryder QC and Ravi Naik, it is as yet unknown as to whether the government will choose to use a centralised or a decentralised system of data collection, and this distinction is crucial in establishing the necessity and legal compliance of this latest step. The question has also been raised as to whether this will be a mandatory or a voluntary action by the public. It seems that if the government enforce the download, more regulations will be required in order to establish the legality. It truly is an interesting time to be alive, and this step will be a cultural and legal advance which has not been seen in many years.
Nobody knows how long this crisis will continue, and while this post had the aim of highlighting the questions and issues I have due to human rights law, I want to make it clear that I understand the necessity of the emergency measures and regulations and, in the most part, agree with the actions which have been taken.
I'd love to hear your views on this so please do get in touch!
Stay safe everyone.
The emergency measures introduced by the government were some of the most drastic restrictions ever seen in this country. I have no doubt in their justification, however I am interested to see the government's steps moving forward, how these restrictions will be lifted and the long lasting impact this will have on the future of law and human rights.
There have been several questions raised over the legal basis for restrictions on liberty that we have seen come into play in the last few weeks. While the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 has been used as statutory basis, several legal professionals have highlighted the lack of express reference to the restrictions on freedom we are seeing today. In my opinion, a key element of our legal system should be that it is clear and available to all, and therefore should not require such in depth analysis to establish the legality behind the government's actions.
Another issue that has been raised is the subjective nature of the new laws. While most laws have the requirement for 'reasonable belief' before any action can be taken, these recent regulations simply require a relevant person to 'consider' the action, such as removing a person from a public place back to their own home, necessary to compliance in order to be able to take action against them. This again goes back to my previous point, that in times such as this clarity is needed, and a legal professional should not be needed to interpret the emergency measures put in place by the government. Every member of our society has a right to be able to read and understand these laws, and to be certain that they are compliant with human rights regulations.
This clarification issue is continued in the regulations, due to the unspecified nature of who has the power to remove people back to their own homes. While unknown to many, the regulations state that any 'relevant person' can take these steps, which includes community support officers and unspecified persons deemed relevant by the Secretary of State. However, the wider published UK Government Coronavirus Guidance only mentions the police being able to enforce these measures. This confusion, while seemingly small, is an unnecessary issue in an already confusing time for many of our society.
One of the most recent advances in the pandemic here in the UK has been the announcement by the government of the smartphone app, currently being tested on the Isle of Wight, which will track the populations movements via Bluetooth and ask those experiencing Covid symptoms to log this on the app. Those they have been in recent contact with will then be warned via the app. I still have many unanswered questions around this, as it has only been announced in the last few days, however it is crucial that these questions are answered in order to justify this potential invasion of privacy.
A legal report on the announcement of this app has been prepared, and warns of the justification needed to satisfy elements of human rights law. According to this report, prepared by Gayatri Sarathy, Edward Craven, Matthew Ryder QC and Ravi Naik, it is as yet unknown as to whether the government will choose to use a centralised or a decentralised system of data collection, and this distinction is crucial in establishing the necessity and legal compliance of this latest step. The question has also been raised as to whether this will be a mandatory or a voluntary action by the public. It seems that if the government enforce the download, more regulations will be required in order to establish the legality. It truly is an interesting time to be alive, and this step will be a cultural and legal advance which has not been seen in many years.
Nobody knows how long this crisis will continue, and while this post had the aim of highlighting the questions and issues I have due to human rights law, I want to make it clear that I understand the necessity of the emergency measures and regulations and, in the most part, agree with the actions which have been taken.
I'd love to hear your views on this so please do get in touch!
Stay safe everyone.
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