9 The Committee heard from several witnesses who told us that the “soft-enforcement” of rights needed improvement. 8 Our report responded to the proposals in the Government’s consultation paper Human Rights Act Reform: A Modern Bill of Rights. We also considered out of court enforcement in our inquiry on Human Rights Act Reform. In particular, the Committee noted that although some public authorities had embedded human rights in their work, knowledge about human rights across public authorities was “patchy” and “depends on awareness and training of public officials, which can vary according to the public authority.” 7 Human Rights Act ReformĨ. The Committee also expressed the view that public authorities should improve their decision-making to ensure they uphold human rights. The Committee concluded that there was a “pressing need” for an “evaluation of the broader landscape of advice, support and means of resolution for legal problems to assess how they can collectively better serve individuals faced with a breach of their human rights.” 6ħ. In its 2018 Enforcing Human Rights Report, a previous iteration of the Committee highlighted the difficulties people face in vindicating their rights both in and out of court. This Committee and our predecessor Committees have taken a keen interest in the issue of human rights enforcement. Joint Committee on Human Rights’ previous work Enforcing Human RightsĦ. We are grateful to everyone who took time to respond to our inquiry. We received 20 written responses and held one oral evidence session, in which we heard from the PHSO, LGSCO the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and two academics. Our call for evidence asked if there should be there be a Human Rights Ombudsperson, and if so, what powers and resources they would need to address the challenges people face in bringing complaints about their rights out of court. Given that focus, we think now is an opportune time to consider how to strengthen the “soft enforcement” of human rights. 5 Whilst we recognise that “soft enforcement” cannot act as a substitute for courts, the Government’s clear focus in the Bill is on Parliamentary oversight of human rights rather than judicial oversight. 4 As we noted in our report Legislative Scrutiny: Bill of Rights Bill, some of the provisions in the Bill may limit the ability of individuals to pursue their human rights claims in court. Since we launched our inquiry, the Government has introduced the Bill of Rights Bill, which had its first reading in the House of Commons on 22 June 2022. In this inquiry, we set out to consider whether a new Human Rights Ombudsperson should be created to assist individuals seeking to vindicate their human rights in those “small places, close to home”.Ĥ. These include the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman (PHSO), the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO), the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO), the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman (NIPSO) and the Ombwdsmon Gwasanaethau Cyhoeddus Cymru/Public Services Ombudsman for Wales (PSOW). Across the nations of the UK there is already a patchwork of ombuds who can handle individual complaints and investigate systemic failures. As recognised by the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission, ombuds not only handle individual grievances but can also play a unique systemic role by supporting public bodies to create appropriate administrative structures and make initial decisions which respect human rights. They generally offer their services free of charge and, therefore, may be accessible to individuals who would not be able to afford to pursue their complaints through the courts. They usually have the power to investigate relevant complaints, recommend corrective action, and issue a report outlining their findings. An ombud is an official appointed to investigate complaints against public bodies or companies. One of the ways in which a person can seek to uphold their rights or challenge the decision-making of a public body without having recourse to the courts is by making a complaint to an ombud (where one exists). In small places, close to home … they are the world of the individual person the neighbourhood he lives in … Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. This overlooks the importance of what has been referred to as “soft enforcement”, which is “the ability of people to enforce their rights without going to court.” 1 As Eleanor Roosevelt, who played a crucial role in the drafting of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, said, human rights begin: However, there is a tendency for any discussion about enforcing rights to focus on the role of the courts. When a person suffers a breach of their human rights it is crucial that they can enforce those rights and that they have access to a remedy.
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