This petition was submitted during the 2019-2024 parliament
Petition Withdraw the UK from the European Convention on Human Rights
We ask the UK Government to withdraw the UK from the European Convention on Human Rights and the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights. We believe this is necessary for the UK to fully take control of our borders, as promised during the Brexit referendum.
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During the Brexit referendum the people of the UK were promised that the government would take back control of our borders, our money, and our laws. Time and time again we see some asylum seekers putting their lives at risk to illegally breach those borders. The UK Government then has to use millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money to defend laws made in Parliament to control our borders. We feel this is unacceptable. The ECHR should have no say on what happens in the UK.
This petition is closed This petition ran for 6 months
Government responded
This response was given on 28 February 2023
Our Bill of Rights will allow us to remain a State Party to the ECHR and make full use of the margin of appreciation, i.e. the latitude given to states to give effect to the Convention domestically.
Dear petitioner,
Thank you for taking the time to sign a e-petition on ‘We ask the UK Government to withdraw the UK from the European Convention on Human Rights and the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights. We believe this is necessary for the UK to fully take control of our borders, as promised during the Brexit referendum’.
This Government was elected with a manifesto commitment to ‘update the Human Rights Act... to ensure there is a proper balance between the rights of individuals, our vital national security and effective government’.
Our Bill of Rights will allow us to remain a State Party to the ECHR and fully avail ourselves of the margin of appreciation, which is the latitude given to states to give effect to the Convention domestically. This will restore some common sense to our human rights laws The Bill will highlight the importance of the common law for UK courts and make clear that UK courts are not required to simply follow the approach taken by the Strasbourg Court. We will also make sure that in no circumstances do UK courts interpret Convention rights more expansively than the ECtHR would. There is an exception for the right of freedom of speech. It is not currently government policy to seek withdrawal from ECHR.
The Bill of Rights will receive its Second Reading as soon as parliamentary time allows. Our reforms will restore balance to our justice system and ensure that our human rights framework meets the needs of the society it serves.
If you or your constituents would like to read further, the Bill and its associated documents are available on Parliament’s website here: https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3227.
The Government’s response to its consultation on the Bill of Rights is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/human-rights-act-reform-a-modern-bill-of-rights.
Ministry of Justice
This is a revised response. The Petitions Committee requested a response which more directly addressed the request of the petition. You can find the original response towards the bottom of the petition page (https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/618456)
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Original Government response
Our Bill of Rights will allow us to remain a State Party to the ECHR and make full use of the margin of appreciation, i.e. the latitude given to states to give effect to the Convention domestically.
Dear petitioner,
Thank you for taking the time to sign a e-petition on ‘We ask the UK Government to withdraw the UK from the European Convention on Human Rights and the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights. We believe this is necessary for the UK to fully take control of our borders, as promised during the Brexit referendum’.
This Government was elected with a manifesto commitment to ‘update the Human Rights Act... to ensure there is a proper balance between the rights of individuals, our vital national security and effective government’.
Our Bill of Rights will allow us to remain a State Party to the ECHR and fully avail ourselves of the margin of appreciation, which is the latitude given to states to give effect to the Convention domestically. This will restore some common sense to our human rights laws The Bill will highlight the importance of the common law for UK courts and make clear that UK courts are not required to simply follow the approach taken by the Strasbourg Court. We will also make sure that in no circumstances do UK courts interpret Convention rights more expansively than the ECtHR would. There is an exception for the right of freedom of speech.
The Bill of Rights will have its second reading as soon as parliamentary time allows. Our reforms will restore balance to our justice system and ensure that our human rights framework meets the needs of the society it serves.
If you or your constituents would like to read further, the Bill and its associated documents are available on Parliament’s website here: https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3227.
The Government’s response to its consultation on the Bill of Rights is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/human-rights-act-reform-a-modern-bill-of-rights.
Ministry of Justice
This response was given on 7 December 2022. The Petitions Committee then requested a revised response, that more directly addressed the request of the petition.