Committee concerned about future of Human Rights Act post-Brexit

• Letter dated 19 December 2018 from Chairman of EU Select Committee to Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (pdf 180KB)
• Letter dated 4 January 2019 from Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice to Chairman of EU Select Committee (pdf 51KB)
• EU Justice Sub-Committee

The EU Justice Sub-Committee wrote to the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice David Gauke in December in the context of its work on citizens' rights. The Committee sought clarification about a change in wording between the draft and final versions of the Political Declaration regarding the UK's relationship with European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

The reply from Edward Argar MP, Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice, was received last week. The Government's response again pledged an unchanging commitment to human rights and fundamental freedoms, but it did not explain the reason for the change in wording in the Political Declaration.  The letter ended with a reference to revisiting the Human Rights Act once the process of leaving the EU is concluded, and the Committee is concerned by the lack of assurances about the Government's commitment to the Human Rights Act post-Brexit.

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