Committee
European and External Relations Committee 04 February 2016
04 Feb 2016 · S4 · European and External Relations Committee
Item of business
Human Rights
Professor Miller
Watch on SPTV
Sure. Thank you, convener. I took part in an evidence session with the committee on human rights a few weeks ago, so I do not think that anything that I will say will be particularly surprising, because my view has not changed over the past few weeks. The commission has published a paper, which it will renew once any consultation comes out, on the repeal of the Human Rights Act 1998 and its replacement by a British bill. The paper has a simple test: would those proposals take us forwards or backwards? Beneath that, we have set out tests, and objective criteria by which a judgment should be made. First, will what is proposed ensure that everyone has the same human rights and that we do not begin to get a hierarchy of human rights for different individuals? Will it reduce in any way the accountability of those in power? Will it improve the lives of people? Will it demonstrate international leadership? Those are objective tests that we would encourage the committee and others to take account of. I think that Scotland has to ensure that its voice is heard during that debate and that the committee should explore issues such as the timing of the possible release of the consultation paper vis-à-vis the pre-election period. It is very important that Scotland’s voice is heard, partly because Scotland should defend the act—I am confident that it will—but also because Scotland should not be restrained in its own onward journey in improving human rights protection in Scotland and, through Scotland’s national action plan for human rights, exploring the public benefits of incorporating the wider range of United Nations human rights treaties on economic and social rights, and the rights of disabled persons, women, children, and so on. In a sense there are two debates. There is the debate to maintain the status quo of the act, and Scotland should try to influence the rest of the UK to do that. However, at the same time, Scotland’s onward journey to be more forward looking and outward looking should continue and I think that Scotland’s national action plan is a vehicle for that. We very much welcomed the First Minister’s commitments on 9 December to an innovation forum to explore the incorporation of UN treaties as part of Scotland’s future journey and to hardwire Scotland’s national action plan for human rights into the national performance framework for Scotland. Those are pointers to where Scotland needs to go and what the debate should be about; it should not be restricted and have parameters imposed such that it is either the status quo or some form of regression in terms of human rights. 10:15
In the same item of business
The Convener
SNP
Welcome back to this meeting of the European and External Relations Committee. Because of the earlier evidence sessions, we are running a wee bit over time. ...
Hanzala Malik (Glasgow) (Lab)
Lab
I am the deputy convener.
Dr Tobias Lock (University of Edinburgh)
I am from the University of Edinburgh law school.
Willie Coffey
SNP
I am the MSP for Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley.
Simon Di Rollo QC (Faculty of Advocates)
I am from the Faculty of Advocates.
Roderick Campbell
SNP
I am an MSP for North East Fife and I refer to my register of interests, which declares that I am a member of the Faculty of Advocates.
Professor Alan Miller (Scottish Human Rights Commission)
I am the outgoing chair of the Scottish Human Rights Commission.
Adam Ingram
SNP
I am the MSP for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley.
Paul Brown (Campaign for Housing and Social Welfare Law)
I am from the Legal Services Agency, but I am here representing the campaign for housing and social welfare law.
Naomi McAuliffe (Amnesty International)
I am from Amnesty International.
Anne McTaggart
Lab
I am an MSP for Glasgow.
Michael Clancy (Law Society of Scotland)
Good morning. I am from the Law Society of Scotland.
The Convener
SNP
Professor David Mead joins us for this evidence session via a very strong videolink—nice to have you here, Professor Mead. The etiquette for the round-table...
Professor Miller
Sure. Thank you, convener. I took part in an evidence session with the committee on human rights a few weeks ago, so I do not think that anything that I will...
The Convener
SNP
Thank you very much. Professor Mead, obviously we in this room have a keen interest in the Human Rights Act 1998 and its impact on Scotland. Perhaps you have...
Professor David Mead (University of East Anglia)
Yes. I am certainly not qualified to speak about anything Scottish, but I have a couple of general points to make about the Human Rights Act 1998. The act i...
The Convener
SNP
Okay. Thank you very much. I know that Amnesty International has raised particular issues. Does Naomi McAuliffe want to come in?
Naomi McAuliffe
I thank the committee again for the invite to expand on our written evidence. It is certainly timely for us to look at the issue, given the House of Lords co...
Adam Ingram
SNP
You made a point about misinterpretation and misunderstanding of what the act is all about. Some of what we are hearing from Westminster in particular is tha...
Professor Miller
I would be happy to try to answer that question. It is quite clear from the press and media campaign over the past few weeks on the armed forces issue and fr...
The Convener
SNP
Simon di Rollo, I think that the Faculty of Advocates has produced evidence, which perhaps backs up or gives a different insight into the issue.
Simon Di Rollo
I agree with Alan Miller. As far as the faculty is concerned, we see no justification for the proposition that the court is guilty of mission creep, if that ...
Roderick Campbell
SNP
The other side of the coin is the concept of the margin of appreciation. Will Simon di Rollo—or any of the other witnesses—comment on how that concept has be...
The Convener
SNP
Tobias Lock, do you want to come in on that?
Dr Lock
I will try, because the issues are related. The allegation of mission creep comes from interpretations of the convention through a modern understanding. For ...
The Convener
SNP
Paul Brown will have another perspective on the issue.
Paul Brown
To go back to the question of the armed forces, it is important to bear it in mind that the European convention on human rights legal committee was chaired b...
The Convener
SNP
That is an important issue. I will go back to Professor Mead and then ask Michael Clancy to pick up on some of those points. Professor Mead, in your written...
Professor Mead
The term “worthy victims” is not mine; it is used in media studies to denote people who are portrayed so as to gain sympathy. The problem that I have tried t...
The Convener
SNP
That leads on to the points that Paul Brown made about the understanding of the impact of the proposals on things such as a Scottish constitution. We obvious...