Clause 7 - Guidance for criminal justice organisations on human rights standards
Justice (Northern Ireland) Bill [Lords]
10:30 am
Mr John Spellar (Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office; Warley, Labour)
There is always a danger that any mention of the word ''international'', possibly slightly less so than the word ''European'', is likely to excite the Opposition's interest. The hon. Gentleman will know that Governments of all parties have signed up to several international conventions that are mandatory and binding. We were bound by the European convention on human rights long before we introduced the Human Rights Act. We were, in fact, bound by 16 such standards listed by the criminal justice review research report, of which the European convention on human rights was but one. We signed up to several binding treaties, and to non-binding, declaratory and even advisory treaties. Signing up to such treaties has been ongoing practice to which Governments of all parties have subscribed.
The balance that the hon. Gentleman said was necessary is provided by the guidance issued by the Attorney-General described in other parts of the clause, which we will no doubt deal with in our debates on other amendments or on clause stand part. It does so precisely to avoid doubt and provide clarity for the courts.
We could have talked about human rights standards in general, but that could have created far
more ambiguity and led to organisations and individuals claiming a wide body of opinion to support their position. The word ''international'' is used to make it clear that the document should consider non-domestic human rights standards and provide the mechanism by which they are provided to the courts. In many ways, despite the possible knee-jerk reaction to certain words, that answers the hon. Gentleman's argument.