Human Rights and the Courts: Bringing Justice Home PDF
Preview Human Rights and the Courts: Bringing Justice Home
( I 2 S 1 B 6 N m : T m 1 P - S x 8 1 7 ( 2 4 2 1 8 - 6 m 8 m 7 m 0 m - ) 8 x ( 0 1 2 4 - 1 5 8 0 m ) m ) Human Rights and the Courts BRINGING JUSTICE HOME ii HumanRightsandthe Courts Human Rights and the Courts Bringing Justice Home Published1999by WATERSIDE PRESS DomumRoad Winchester50239NN TelephoneorFax01962855567 E-mail:[email protected] Copyright PaulAshcroft FionaBarrie ChrisBazell AudreyDamazer RichardPowell GeorgeTranter All rights reserved No part of this work may be reproduced or stored in any retrieval system or transmitted by any means without the express permission in writing of the copyrightholders. This copyrighthasbeenassigned to the publishers for the purposesof publicationandreproductionofthisedition. PublicationandreproductionrightsTherighttopublishanddistributecopiesofthiswork ortophotograph,copyorotherwisereproducethecontentsorbinding,includingthecover design,inanyformormedium,ortobroadcastortransmitpicturesorcopiesofthebinding or contents in any form or by whatever means anywhere in the world including on the InternetresidesexclusivelywithWatersidePress. ISBNPaperback1872870805 Cataloguing-in-PublicationDataAcataloguerecordforthisbookcanbeobtainedfromthe BritishLibrary PrintedandboundbyAntonyRoweLtd,Eastbourne Cover design John Good Holbrook Ltd, Coventry. Front cover illustration by Peter Cameron. Thestoryofhow PeterCameron-whostarted paintingwhile servinga prison sentence and won a Koestler Award (going ontobecome a judge for those awards and a Koestler trustee)-turned his life around is one of a number of 'Tales of Hope and Regeneration'featuredin GoingStraight(WatersidePress,1999).Heisnowafreelanceartist and screen printer and can be contacted at The Hub, 9 to 13 Berry Street, Liverpool. Telephone01517090889. BringingJusticeHome iii Human Rights and the Courts BRINGING JUSTICE HOME Paul Ashcroft Fiona Barrie Chris Bazell Audrey Dall1azer Richard Powell George Tranter WITH A FOREWORD BY LORD IRVINE OF LAIRG, LORD CHANCELLOR Produced under the auspices ofthe Justices' Clerks' Society Edited by Bryan Gibson WATERSIDE PRESS WINCHESTER iv Human Rightsandthe Courts BringingJusticeHonle v Foreword This Government came into office with a commitment to 'bring rights home'byincorporatingthe EuropeanConventiononHumanRights into the domestic law of the United Kingdom. This has been achieved through the Human Rights Act 1998 which represents a key stage in the evolutionofthelaw andconstitutionofGreatBritain. It is important that all who serve in the courts-whether as Judges, magistrates or legal advisers-are at the forefront ofthese developments and fully equipped to understandnew ways ofthinkingaboutthe rights ofindividuals. The European Conventionitselfarose from aneed to protectpeoplewho might be vulnerable to the actions and decisions of the state (including public authorities and the courts) by introducing basic standardsbelow which no laws or procedures should fall. The courts must ensure that thesebasichuman rights aresafeguarded and upheld through decisions, practices and procedures, something which may require a reassessment of the way in which decisions are arrived at. The Convention will also determine how courts operate in relation to a broad range of responsibilities-includingthewaytheyservethepublic. Human Rights and the Courts: BringingJustice Home has beenproduced in conjunction with the Lord Chancellor's Department and the Judicial Studies Board. It has been written by members of the Working Group whichproduced the nationalHumanRights trainingfor laymagistrates, justices' clerks and court legal advisers. It provides solid background information to complement and reinforce that training. I hope all magistrates will add to their understanding of this vital new developmentindomesticlawbyfinding time to read, considerand refer to the straightforward account ofHuman Rights contained in this book. It avoids unnecessary technicalities and emphasises the positive task whichlies aheadfor allwhoserveinourcourts. LordIrvine ofLairg Lord Chancellor October1999 vi Human RightsandtheCourts Human RightsandtheCourts:BringingJusticeHomewasdevisedinconsultation withtheLordChancellor'sDepartmentandJudicialStudiesBoard,and producedundertheauspicesoftheJustices'Clerks'Society.Theauthors- all experiencedlawyersholdingseniorpositionsintheMagistrates'Courts Service-weremembersoftheWorkingGroupwhichproducedthenational HumanRightstrainingmaterialsformagistratesandtheirlegaladvisers. BringingJusticeHome vii Human Rights and the Courts Bringing Justice Home CONTENTS Foreword by the Lord Chancellor v Chapter 1 Introduction 9 2 Jargon, Jargon, Jargon 21 3 Convention Rights 33 4 Human Rights in Practice 53 5 Criminal Law and Procedure 62 6 HUInan Rights and FaInily Matters 77 7 The Convention and Evidence 86 8 The Convention and Enforcem.ent 92 9 The Convention and Civil Proceedings 98 10 The Convention and the CourtrooIn 103 11 Hum.an Rights and the Youth Court 110 Appendix I: The HUInan Rights Act 1998 117 Appendix 11: A Structured Approach 137 Index 140 viiiHuman Rightsandthe Courts Acknowledgelllents Very many people have contributed to this book-written at the same time that we were working on the various training materials for lay magistrates and professional staffin the courts-in order that we could validate the straightforward account which follows against the mass of often complex law, information and other data which makes up the full subject matter of human rights and the courts. The six of us and our editorwish toexpresssincerethanks to allconcerned. PaulAshcroft FionaBarrie ChrisBazell Audrey Damazer Richard Powell GeorgeTranter BryanGibson September1999
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