Smart Law Resource Human Rights Human Rights Lesson

Smart. Law Resource Human Rights ●

Human Rights Lesson Objectives • Understand the nature of human rights. • Become familiar with the Human Rights Act 1998 and the rights contained within it. • Consider cases where there are competing human rights. © Citizenship Foundation 2017 • Charity Reg. No. 801360 2

Human Rights What are Human Rights? What rights should all people be entitled to? Why are rights important? © Citizenship Foundation 2017 • Charity Reg. No. 801360 We are going to look in more detail at the different types of rights that people could or should have… 3

Human Rights Act 1998 Why was it created? Just after the Second World War, politicians in Europe wanted to prevent a repeat of the horrors suffered by millions of people under the Nazi regime. Soon, the European Convention on Human Rights was drafted. Britain was one of the first countries to sign up, but the rights the Convention provides were not built into UK law until the creation of the Human Rights Act (HRA) 1998, which came into force in 2000. Our human rights, as laid out in the Human Rights Act, can only be enforced against public bodies. Individuals cannot enforce their rights against other individuals. Under the HRA, claimants can enforce their rights directly before UK courts instead of having to take their case to the European Court of Human Rights (based in Strasbourg). © Citizenship Foundation 2017 • Charity Reg. No. 801360 4

Human Rights The Human Rights Act 1998 What does it include? Read through the list of rights included in the HRA on the handout. Remember the difference between absolute and qualified rights. Absolute These rights can never be restricted. Qualified These rights can be restricted in certain circumstances. You will now look at some scenarios. You will need to decide which right applies in each case. © Citizenship Foundation 2017 • Charity Reg. No. 801360 5

Human Rights HRA Scenario A A baby is born with a very serious illness and is not expected to survive. Doctors recommend that she be allowed to die, but the parents disagree and believe that as much as possible should be done to keep the little girl alive. The parents challenge the doctors’ decision in court. © Citizenship Foundation 2017 • Charity Reg. No. 801360 Everyone has the right to life (Article 2). 6

Human Rights HRA Scenario B A water company plans to build a sewage works 50 metres from a row of houses. © Citizenship Foundation 2017 • Charity Reg. No. 801360 Everyone has the right to respect for private and family life (Article 8). 7

Human Rights HRA Scenario C An announcement is made that a hospital is due to close. Many local people and hospital staff are against this. Staff are invited to a residents’ meeting to discuss the closure but are forbidden from doing so by senior staff who threaten to dismiss anyone who speaks in public about the closure. © Citizenship Foundation 2017 • Charity Reg. No. 801360 Everyone has the right to express their views and opinions (Article 10). Everyone has the right to get together with others in a peaceful way (Article 11). 8

Human Rights HRA Scenario D A man is charged with armed robbery. At his trial, statements against him from two anonymous witnesses are read out in court. The trial continues and there is no chance for the man to question these witnesses or challenge their evidence. © Citizenship Foundation 2017 • Charity Reg. No. 801360 Everyone has the right to a fair trial and within a reasonable time (Article 6). 9

Human Rights HRA Scenario E The police arrest two men who they believe can give them valuable information about a recent terrorist attack. Although the police do not think the men directly had anything to do with the attack, they hold the two men for questioning for 44 hours. © Citizenship Foundation 2017 • Charity Reg. No. 801360 Everyone has the right to liberty (Article 5). 10

Human Rights HRA Scenario F A woman, who has no religious belief of any kind, teaches maths at a Roman Catholic school. She applies for a promotion to become Head of Year, but is immediately turned down because she is not a Roman Catholic. © Citizenship Foundation 2017 • Charity Reg. No. 801360 Everyone has the right to hold whatever beliefs they wish (Article 9). This includes the right not to hold beliefs. 11

Human Rights Competing Rights The last activity tried to identify the human rights that might apply in certain scenarios. We are now going to look at situations where there is more than one human right involved, where different people’s human rights may conflict with each other. © Citizenship Foundation 2017 • Charity Reg. No. 801360 12

Human Rights Competing Rights Case One - Kelly’s Holiday Kelly, a popular, married celebrity, is on holiday in Greece with her secret boyfriend Paul. She has been having an affair with Paul for over a year and this is unknown to her soap-star husband, Ben. Kelly and Paul arrive back in London to see photos of their holiday all over the papers, including topless photos taken on her private beach. The story details the affair they have been having. What rights are involved here? Who has which right? Can this invasion of privacy be justified on the grounds of free speech? Would it make a difference if Kelly wasn’t a celebrity? © Citizenship Foundation 2017 • Charity Reg. No. 801360 13

Human Rights Competing Rights Case Two - Civil Partnership A same-sex couple would like to have a civil partnership at their local town hall. The local registrar refuses to perform the ceremony as she feels that it would go against her religious beliefs. What rights are involved here? Who has which right? What potential solutions are there? What would happen if no local registrars were willing to perform the ceremony? © Citizenship Foundation 2017 • Charity Reg. No. 801360 14

Human Rights Competing Rights Case Three - Refusing Treatment A baby is severely ill and in need of a blood transfusion. The parents belong to a religion which does not allow blood transfusions or medical intervention. The baby is too young to speak. The parents are adamant that the baby should not be treated, but the doctors are desperate to save its life. What rights are involved here? Who has which right? Should the law ever interfere with people’s family life? What do you think should happen in this case? Would your answer change if the child was older and able to talk? At what age do you think someone can make the decision not to be treated? © Citizenship Foundation 2017 • Charity Reg. No. 801360 15

Human Rights Competing Rights Case Four – Disruptive Student A 16 -year old is excluded several times from a school for disruptive behaviour. Another incident takes place two months before she and others are due to take their GCSEs. The parents of some of the other students call for the girl to be permanently excluded. What rights are involved here? Who has which right? Should the girl lose her right to education because she is interfering with someone else’s? How might the situation be resolved without anyone losing their right to an education? © Citizenship Foundation 2017 • Charity Reg. No. 801360 16

Human Rights Plenary • Can anyone remember which three rights are ‘absolute’ in the UK and cannot be overridden? • What surprised you the most from today’s discussion? • Is there anything we discussed today that you strongly disagree with? • Do you think there any fundamental human rights that are not covered by the Human Rights Act? Is so, what are they? © Citizenship Foundation 2017 • Charity Reg. No. 801360 17

Human Rights Charlie Gard’s parents should be able to choose whether they want to keep their son alive. © Citizenship Foundation 2017 • Charity Reg. No. 801360 18