The Identity Cards Bill was given a second reading. Campaigners and lawyers called for the Bill to be abandoned.
Source: Identity Cards Bill, Home Office, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 20 December 2004, columns 1943-2030, TSO | Press release 17 December 2004, JUSTICE (020 7329 5100), Law Society and Bar Council
Links: Text of Bill | Explanatory notes | Hansard | Home Office press release | HOC Library research paper (pdf) | JUSTICE press release (pdf) | JUSTICE briefing (pdf) | Liberty briefing (pdf) | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Dec
A think-tank report said that many ordinary and vulnerable citizens, such as older people and residents of care homes, had failed to take advantage of the Human Rights Act. It said the voluntary sector could play a crucial role in helping the most vulnerable claim their human rights, while avoiding the courts.
Source: Frances Butler, Human Rights: Who needs them?, Institute for Public Policy Research, available from Central Books (0845 458 9911)
Links: Summary | Community Care report
Date: 2004-Dec
Nine foreign nationals who had been held in custody on suspicion of terrorist activity - without charge, trial or seeing the evidence against them - won an appeal in the House of Lords which declared their detention unlawful. The judgment meant that article 5 (the right to liberty and security) of the European Convention on Human Rights applied to foreign nationals detained in the United Kingdom under anti-terrorist legislation. The government said that it would study the judgment carefully to see whether it was possible to modify the legislation to address the concerns raised by the House of Lords.
Source: A (FC) and others (FC) (Appellants) v. Secretary of State for the Home Department (Respondent); X (FC) and another (FC) (Appellants) v. Secretary of State for the Home Department (Respondent), UKHL 56 (Session 2004-05), House of Lords Judicial Office (020 7219 3111) | House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 16 December 2004, columns 150-151WS, TSO
Links: Text of judgement (pdf) | Hansard | Amnesty press release | LSC press release | JUSTICE press release (pdf) | ICJ press release (pdf) | IRR press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Dec
Plans for an Identity Cards Bill were included in the government s legislative programme for the Parliamentary year 2004-05 (Queen's Speech), and a Bill was published. The government said that identity cards would help to tackle the organized criminals and terrorists who used fake identities to carry out their crimes. They would also aid the fight against illegal working and immigration abuse, enable easier and more convenient access to services and ensure free public services were only used by those entitled to them. The Bill would set out 'stringent' safeguards for the use of the cards, what information they contained, and who could access that information. It would cost 85 to be issued with an identity card and renewed passport. Doctors warned that legislation to introduce national identity cards should not lead to vulnerable groups being denied access to the National Health Service.
Source: House of Lords Hansard, Queen's Speech 23 November 2004, columns 1-4, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 25 November 2004, columns 246-330, TSO | Identity Cards Bill, Home Office, TSO | Press release 23 November 2004, Home Office (0870 000 1585) | Press release 23 November 2004, British Medical Association (020 7383 6244)
Links: Text of Speech | Lords Hansard | Commons Hansard | Text of Bill | Explanatory notes | Home Office press release (1) | Home Office press release (2) | Police Fed press release (pdf) | BMA press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Nov
A report by a joint committee of MPs and peers examined the reporting process of the United Kingdom under the United Nations International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. It said that insufficient attention was given within government to the ways in which the rights under the Covenant could be used to provide a point of reference in the development of policy and legislation.
Source: The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Twenty-first Report (Session 2003-04), HL 183 and HC 1188, Joint Committee on Human Rights (House of Lords and House of Commons), TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report
Date: 2004-Nov
The government made a submission to the United Nations on how United Kingdom obligations under the Convention against torture were being fulfilled. Campaigners said that the failure by the government to fully incorporate the Convention into law had left the door open for UK authorities to rely on evidence obtained through torture by foreign agents.
Source: Address by Jonathan Spencer (United Kingdom delegation) to United Nations Committee Against Torture, 17-18 November 2004 | Press release 10 November 2004, Amnesty International UK (020 7814 6241)
Links: Address (pdf) | Responses to Committee (pdf) | Amnesty press release
Date: 2004-Nov
The fifth annual report of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission was published. The picture was a 'steadily improving' one, but there remained a number of concerns.
Source: Annual Report 2004, Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (028 9024 3987)
Links: Report (pdf) | NIO press release
Date: 2004-Nov
The government responded to a report by a committee of MPs on identity cards. It announced modifications to its proposed scheme: a single, universal ID card for all United Kingdom nationals would be issued alongside passports, rather than combined with them. It said that this would simplify the operation of the scheme.
Source: The Government Reply to the Fourth Report from the Home Affairs Committee Session 2003-04 HC130 Identity Cards, Cm 6359, Home Office, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 27 October 2004, columns 50-51WS, TSO
Links: Response (pdf) | MPs report | Hansard | Home Office press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Oct
Teenage gang members who were named and shamed under anti-social behaviour orders lost a High Court case in which they had claimed that widespread publicity had breached their human rights.
Source: The Guardian, 8 October 2004
Links: Guardian report | Times report
Date: 2004-Oct
A human rights group (responding to a government consultation) said that the government's hardline approach to terrorism was counter-productive, and was alienating the British Muslim community. It called for the repeal of detention without trial.
Source: Reconciling Liberty and Security in an Open Society: Liberty response, Liberty (020 7403 3888)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2004-Aug
A human rights group said that it supported the creation of a single Equalities and Human Rights Commission. It said that human rights and equalities were distinct but complementary traditions that could benefit from operating together.
Source: Response to the DTI White Paper on a Single Equalities and Human Rights Commission 'Fairness for All', Liberty (020 7403 3888)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2004-Aug
A report by a joint committee of MPs and peers expressed a number of concerns about the way in which the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 was operating in practice. In particular there was a risk of the United Kingdom breaching its obligations under the Convention Against Torture if a court were to admit evidence which had been obtained by torture.
Source: Review of Counter-terrorism Powers, Eighteenth Report (Session 2003-04), HL 158 and HC 713, Joint Committee on Human Rights (House of Lords and House of Commons), TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report
Date: 2004-Aug
The disability rights watchdog said that a failure to have harmonized equality laws in place prior to the creation of a new Commission for Equalities and Human Rights would 'cause rancour and division' within the new body from its inception.
Source: Fairness for All: A new Commission for Equality and Human Rights - Response, Disability Rights Commission (08457 622633)
Links: Report (Word file) | Summary | DRC press release
Date: 2004-Aug
The opposition Conservative party said that it would set up a commission to look at the reform, replacement or repeal of the Human Rights Act, in an effort to curb the 'compensation culture'.
Source: The Guardian, 24 August 2004
Links: Guardian report
Date: 2004-Aug
A report by a joint committee of MPs and peers said that, although the committee agreed with the government on most of the fundamental principles of the design of the new Equalities and Human Rights Commission, there were a number of issues requiring clarification, including: the precise nature of the general duty to be placed upon the Commission in relation to the promotion and protection of human rights; the details of the power of the Commission to conduct 'general inquiries' into matters connected with human rights; the case for introducing a public sector duty in relation to human rights; and the details of the scope of and restrictions on the power of the Commission to support individual cases in the courts in which discrimination and human rights issues are raised.
Source: Commission for Equality and Human Rights: The Government's White Paper, Sixteenth Report (Session 2003-04), HL 156 and HC 998, Joint Committee on Human Rights (House of Lords and House of Commons), TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | Community Care report
Date: 2004-Aug
A report by a committee of MPs said that an identity card scheme could make a significant contribution to achieving the aims set out for it by the government, particularly tackling crime and terrorism. In principle an identity card scheme could also play a useful role in improving the co-ordination of, and the citizen's access to, public services - although the government had not yet put forward clear proposals to do so. The government had made a convincing case for proceeding with the introduction of identity cards: but they also carried clear risks, both for individuals and for the successful implementation of the scheme.
Source: Identity Cards, Fourth Report (Session 2003-04), HC 130-I, House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | Home Office press release | Law Society press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Jul
The government announced the outcome of a review of human rights treaties. It said that, as a result of the review, the United Kingdom accepted (for the first time) an individual petition mechanism under the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). This would allow people to take complaints about discrimination against women directly to the UN body that monitored the treaty.
Source: International Human Rights Instruments: The UK's position, Department for Constitutional Affairs (020 7210 8500) and other departments | Press release 22 July 2004, Department for Constitutional Affairs
Links: Report (pdf links) | DCA press release
Date: 2004-Jul
The government published its official response to a report by a committee of MPs and peers on the proposal to establish a Commission for Equality and Human Rights. It said that it agreed with nearly all the committee's recommendations.
Source: Government Response to Joint Committee on Human Rights Eleventh Report of Session 2003-2004: 'Commission for Equality and Human Rights: Structure, Functions and Powers', Department for Constitutional Affairs (020 7210 8500)
Links: Response (pdf) | Joint report (pdf) | DCA press release
Date: 2004-Jul
A collection of essays examined the practical impact of the incorporation of international human rights standards into domestic law.
Source: Simon Halliday and Patrick Schmidt (eds.), Human Rights Brought Home: Socio-legal studies of human rights in the national context, Hart Publishing (01865 245533)
Links: Summary
Date: 2004-Jul
The Commission for Racial Equality announced that its commissioners had decided to 'unequivocally reject' proposals for a Commission for Equality and Human Rights, as laid out in a government White Paper. It said the proposals had little support from black and minority ethnic communities, and that there were fears that the CRE's work on integration would be 'lost'. (The CRE had previously indicated support for the proposal.)
Source: Press release 22 July 2004, Commission for Racial Equality (020 7939 0000)
Links: CRE press release | Stonewall press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Jul
A report said that there had been high levels of support overall for proposals set out in a consultation document on a Scottish Human Rights Commission. There were, however, areas where less of a consensus was evident. These included whether the body should have enforcement powers.
Source: Fiona MacDonald and Ed Thomson, The Scottish Human Rights Commission: Analysis of consultation responses, Scottish Executive, TSO (0870 606 5566)
Links: Report
Date: 2004-May
A report by a joint committee of MPs and peers considered the detailed functions, powers and structure of the proposed Commission for Equality and Human Rights, so far as they related to human rights; and made recommendations for the government to take into account in formulating the White Paper prefiguring the legislation.
Source: Commission for Equality and Human Rights: Structure, functions and powers, Eleventh Report (Session 2003-04), HL 78 and HC 536, Joint Committee on Human Rights (House of Lords and House of Commons), TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report
Date: 2004-May
A White Paper set out in detail the government's proposals for a Commission for Equality and Human Rights, including its role, duties and powers. It also proposed a new law obliging public bodies to promote equality and eliminate discrimination between women and men.
Source: Fairness For All: A new Commission for Equality and Human Rights, Cm 6185, Department of Trade and Industry (and other departments), TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 12 May 2004, columns 20-23WS, TSO
Links: White Paper (pdf) | Hansard | DRC press release | EOC press release | Fawcett Society press release (pdf) | Stonewall press release | PCS press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-May
The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission published a report dealing with a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland, one of the key requirements of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement.
Source: Progressing a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland: An update, Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (028 9024 3987)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2004-Apr
An article argued that Human Rights Act was designed to promote a classic liberal conception of political citizenship, which protected the individual from the exercise of arbitrary state power, rather than to extend the role of the state as a welfare provider.
Source: Nigel Johnson, 'The Human Rights Act 1998: a bridge between citizenship and justice?', Social Policy and Society, Volume 3 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2004-Apr
The government published (for consultation) a draft Bill setting out the proposed legal framework for a national compulsory identity cards scheme using unique biometric identifiers linked to a new national database.
Source: Legislation on Identity Cards: A consultation, Cm 6178, Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Consultation document (pdf) | Home Office press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Apr
The European Court of Human Rights ruled that the ban on voting rights of sentenced prisoners in the United Kingdom was in violation of article 3, protocol 1, (right to free elections) of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Source: Hirst v. The United Kingdom (No. 2), European Court of Human Rights (+33 0 3884 12018)
Links: Summary of judgement | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Mar
The government published a discussion document exploring how best to protect society from terrorism while retaining personal freedoms and rights. It also published (as part of the discussion paper) its formal response to a report by the Newton Committee on the operation of the Anti Terrorism Crime and Security Act 2001. At the same time it announced a significant increase in funding for the security services. The Bar Council expressed concern at the government's decision not to accept some of the Newton Committee recommendations. Human rights campaigners attacked counter-terrorism powers as a threat to human rights. But Parliament voted to reject a move to repeal powers of detention under the 2001 Act.
Source: Counter Terrorism Powers: Reconciling security and liberty in an open society, Cm 6147, Home Office, TSO (0870 600 5522) | Press release 25 February 2004, Bar Council (020 7242 0082) | Press release 2 February 2004, Amnesty International UK (020 7814 6241) | House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 25 February 2004, columns 41-46WS, TSO | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 25 February 2004, columns 293-381, TSO
Links: Report (pdf) | Home Office press release | Bar Council press release | Amnesty press release | Liberty briefing (pdf) | Hansard (WS) | Hansard (debate) | Guardian interview
Date: 2004-Feb
A report by a joint committee of MPs and peers said that there were 'serious weaknesses' in the protection for human rights under the detention provisions of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001.
Source: Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001: Statutory Review and Continuance of Part 4, Sixth Report (Session 2003-04), HL 38 and HC 381, Joint Committee on Human Rights (House of Lords and House of Commons), TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report
Date: 2004-Feb