Bill of Rights officially scrapped by Government

Justice secretary Alex Chalk confirmed yesterday (27 June) that the government will not proceed with the Bill of Rights Bill.

In June 2022, the Secretary of State for Justice, Dominic Raab, published the Bill of Rights Bill, to repeal and replace the Human Rights Act 1998.
Chalk told the House of Commons during justice questions that the proposed legislation had been abandoned.

He told MPs: “Having carefully considered the government’s legislative programme in the round, I can inform the house that we have decided not to proceed with the bill of rights.”, adding: “But the government remains committed to a human rights framework that is up to date.”

In January 2023, the Joint Committee on Human Rights said the Government “should not progress the Bill in its current form through Parliament” in its legislative scrutiny report.

In response to the report, the Ministry of Justice said in March: “The Government is confident that the Bill will restore common sense to our justice system and ensure that our human rights framework meets the needs of the society it serves.”

Commenting on yesterday’s decision, President of the Law Society of England and Wales, Lubna Shuja said: “We are pleased the government has seen sense and decided not to pursue the Bill of Rights Bill, which would have been a step backwards for British justice.

“Scrapping the Bill is the right decision as it would have created an acceptable class of human rights abuses, weakened individual rights and seen the UK diverge from our international human rights obligations.”

The Joint Committee on Human Rights has been approached for comment.

Lottie Winson