A report examined the impact and implementation of the European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights with respect to three EU home affairs agencies.
Source: Elspeth Guild, Sergio Carrera, Leonhard den Hertog, and Joanna Parkin, Implementation of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and Its Impact on EU Home Affairs Agencies, Centre for European Policy Studies (Brussels)
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Oct
A government-appointed commission sought views on whether there was a need for a Bill of Rights; and, if so, what it should contain, and how it should apply.
Source: Do We Need a UK Bill of Rights?, Commission on a Bill of Rights
Links: Discussion paper | Guardian report
Date: 2011-Aug
The Supreme Court ruled that the police policy of retaining the DNA of everyone arrested was unlawful. However, because of draft legislation in Parliament, the Court declined to order the police to implement a lawful scheme before the Bill had been enacted.
Source: R (on the application of GC) (FC) v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, UKSC 21 (2011), United Kingdom Supreme Court
Links: Judgement | EHRC press release | Liberty press release | UKHR blog
Date: 2011-May
A report examined national privacy/data protection laws and regulations in Europe, together with other laws or developments with and impact on privacy. There had been a decline in privacy protection across Europe, and a steep increase in state surveillance over the lives of individuals.
Source: European Union: Privacy Profile, Privacy International
Links: Report | UK report | Privacy International press release
Date: 2011-Jan