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British human-rights reform bill faces axe

Departed British justice secretary Dominic Raab's plan for human rights law reform will be axed, according to media reports.

The Bill of Rights Bill is technically still before the British parliament, awaiting a second reading in the House of Commons.

Raab, who also served as lord chancellor and deputy prime minister, introduced the measure under Boris Johnson’s administration.

It gave British courts supremacy over rulings of the European Court of Human Rights and created a higher threshold for foreign national offenders seeking to challenge deportations based on the right to a private life, and introduced a new permission stage for human rights challenges.

Rule of law

The Law Society of England and Wales declared that the measure would “damage the rule of law and make it harder for people to protect their rights”. 

The London Times has today reported a government source: “Dom’s departure sounded the death knell for the bill of rights. It won’t be coming back, or at least not in any form that resembles the current bill.”