Charter of Fundamental Rights (EU)

Ministry of Justice written question – answered at on 3 November 2017.

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Photo of Lord Smith of Finsbury Lord Smith of Finsbury Non-affiliated

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to make provisions in order to ensure that the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights applies in the UK after Brexit; and if so, what provisions they intend to make.

Photo of Lord Keen of Elie Lord Keen of Elie The Advocate-General for Scotland, Lords Spokesperson (Ministry of Justice)

The UK has a longstanding tradition of ensuring our rights and liberties are protected domestically and of fulfilling our international human rights obligations. The decision to leave the European Union does not change this.

The Charter of Fundamental Rights was created by the EU as a means of cataloguing rights that already existed in EU law. These rights will be converted into UK law by the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill at the point we exit the EU.

In addition, many of the rights contained in the Charter are also protected in other international instruments, notably the European Convention on Human Rights, which is given further effect by the HRA 1998.

The Government’s intention is that our domestic law will preserve the substantive rights from which individuals already benefit in the UK, and therefore it is not necessary to retain the Charter in UK law after exit.

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