Holyrood Committee To Examine Impact Of Human Rights Act Axe

Holyrood
Published 23rd Sep 2015

MSPs are to examine the implications for Scotland of any repeal of the Human Rights Act.

Holyrood's European and External Relations Committee has launched an inquiry on Conservative plans to replace the Act with a British Bill of Rights.

The committee wants to hear the views of members of the public and interested parties on how the UK Government's proposals would impact on Scotland.

Committee convener Christina McKelvie MSP said: Bills that pass through the Scottish Parliament are required under the devolution settlement to conform with the European Convention on Human Rights, so there are real questions for Scotland if the UK Government takes this course of action.

We want to know what people in Scotland make of this proposal and how they see it impacting on Scotland.

There is the key question of will the Scottish Parliament's consent be sought or required for these proposals to get through? And how would a British Bill of Rights interact with Scotland's separate legal system?

The committee will seek to urgently address these questions and I would urge people to get in touch with their views.''