Sixteenth Report of Session 2009-10

Sixteenth Report of Session 2009-10
Author: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. European Scrutiny Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Total Pages: 64
Release: 2010
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780215553560

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Sixteenth report of Session 2009-10 : Documents considered by the Committee on 24 March 2010, report, together with formal Minutes

Free Speech after 9/11

Free Speech after 9/11
Author: Katharine Gelber
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 187
Release: 2016-04-14
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0191083429

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Although there has been a lot written about how counter-terrorism laws impact on human rights and civil liberties, most of this work has focussed on the most obvious or egregious kinds of human rights abrogation, such as extended detention, torture, and extraordinary rendition. Far less has been written about the complex ways in which Western governments have placed new and far-reaching limitations on freedom of speech in this context since 9/11. This book compares three liberal democracies - the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, in particular showing the commonalities and similarities in what has occurred in each country, and the changes in the appropriate parameters of freedom of speech in the counter-terrorism context since 9/11, achieved both in policy change and the justification for that change. In all three countries much speech has been criminalized in ways that were considered anachronistic, or inappropriate, in comparable policy areas prior to 9/11. This is particularly interesting because other works have suggested that the United States' unique protection of freedom of speech in the First Amendment has prevented speech being limited in that country in ways that have been pursued in others. This book shows that this kind of argument misses the detail of the policy change that has occurred, and privileges a textual reading over a more comprehensive policy-based understanding of the changes that have occurred. The author argues that we are now living a new-normal for freedom of speech, within which restrictions on speech that once would have been considered aberrant, overreaching, and impermissible are now considered ordinary, necessary, and justified as long as they occur in the counter-terrorism context. This change is persistent, and it has far reaching implications for the future of this foundational freedom.

Counter-terrorism policy and human rights (sixteenth report)

Counter-terrorism policy and human rights (sixteenth report)
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: Joint Committee on Human Rights
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Total Pages: 94
Release: 2010-03-04
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780108459481

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Counter-terrorism policy and human rights (sixteenth Report) : Annual renewal of control orders legislation 2010, ninth report of session 2009-10, report, together with formal minutes and written Evidence

Sessional Returns

Sessional Returns
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Total Pages: 442
Release: 2012-09-14
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780215048387

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On cover and title page: House, committees of the whole House, general committees and select committees

Work of the Committee in 2008-09: Second Report of Session 2009-10 Report, Together with Formal Minutes and Written Evidence

Work of the Committee in 2008-09: Second Report of Session 2009-10 Report, Together with Formal Minutes and Written Evidence
Author: Great Britain. Parliament. Joint Committee on Human Rights
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Total Pages: 222
Release: 2010
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780108459245

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A report that provides an overview of the Committee's work during the 2008-09 parliamentary session and draws attention to improvements to the human rights landscape in the UK which it has commended in reports during the year. It also mentions a number of continuing areas for concern.

Counter-terrorism policy and human rights (seventeenth report)

Counter-terrorism policy and human rights (seventeenth report)
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: Joint Committee on Human Rights
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Total Pages: 78
Release: 2010-03-25
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780108459702

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The Joint Committee on Human Rights calls for a fundamental, independent review of the necessity for and proportionality of all counter-terrorism measures adopted since September 11 2001. It questions the way that the policy imperatives of national security and public safety have been used to justify squeezing out human rights considerations. Since September 11 2001, the Government has continuously claimed that there is a "public emergency threatening the life of the nation". The Committee questions whether the country has really been in this state for over eight years. A permanent state of emergency skews public debate about the justification for rights-limiting counter-terrorism measures. It is unacceptable that the Director General of the Security Service refuses to appear before it to give public evidence - despite giving public lectures and media interviews. The Committee finds the Government's narrow definition of complicity in torture significant and worrying and calls for an urgent independent inquiry into the allegations of complicity in torture. The Government should drop the draft bill still being held in reserve to allow pre-charge detention to be extended to 42 days. And more work should be done on measures - such as bail and the use of intercept evidence - that could reduce the use of pre-charge detention. The Intelligence and Security Committee should become a proper Parliamentary committee with an independent secretariat and legal advice and appointing an independent reviewer of counter-terror legislation who reports directly to Parliament not the Government.

HC 285 - Driving Premiums Down: Fraud and the Cost of Motor Insurance

HC 285 - Driving Premiums Down: Fraud and the Cost of Motor Insurance
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Total Pages: 32
Release: 2014-07-04
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0215073355

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This report reviews the Government's plans to tackle fraudulent and exaggerated motor insurance claims, particularly for whiplash injuries. It is the Transport Committee's fourth report on the cost of motor insurance and, while premiums are now falling, aspects of the market remain dysfunctional and have encouraged criminality to take root. Further action is still required to tackle fraud whilst protecting genuine claimants. The Government must prohibit insurers from settling whiplash claims before the claimant has undergone a medical examination. On issues of court procedure and medical panels the Committee endorses the Government's intention to require courts to strike out 'dishonest' insurance claims (e.g. those involving gross exaggeration), but cautions against hasty legislation due to the complex legal implications. The report calls for data sharing about potentially fraudulent claims between insurers and claimant solicitors to be made compulsory rather than voluntary (as currently proposed). The Government should oversee funding arrangements for the police Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department, to make sure that this unit, currently funded directly by the insurance industry, has a long-term future. Government proposals for independent medical assessments are welcomed but more work is required on implementation. The Government should press the Solicitors Regulation Authority to stop some solicitors from playing the system to maximise their income by commissioning unnecessary psychological evaluations.

Parliaments and the European Court of Human Rights

Parliaments and the European Court of Human Rights
Author: Alice Donald
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 419
Release: 2016-08-18
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0191093165

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The European system of human rights protection faces institutional and political pressures which threaten its very survival. These institional pressures stem from the backlog of applications before the European Court of Human Rights, the large number of its judgments that remain unimplemented, and the political pressures that arise from sustained attacks on the Court's legitimacy and authority, notably from politicians and jurists in the United Kingdom. This book addresses the theme which lies at the heart of these pressures: the role of national parliaments in the implementation of judgments of the Court. It combines theoretical and empirical insights into the role of parliaments in securing domestic compliance with the Court's decisions, and provides detailed investigation of five European states with differing records of human rights compliance and parliamentary mobilisation: Ukraine, Romania, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the Netherlands. How far are parliaments engaged in implementation, and how far should they be? Do parliaments advance or hinder human rights compliance? Is it ever justifiable for parliaments to defy judgments of the Court? And how significant is the role played by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe? Drawing on the fields of international law, international relations, political science, and political philosophy, the book argues that adverse human rights judgments not only confer obligations on parliamentarians but also create opportunities for them to develop influential interpretations of human rights and enhance their own democratic legitimacy. It makes an authoritative contribution to debate about the future of the European and other supranational human rights mechanisms and the broader relationship between democracy, human rights, and legitimate authority.

House of Commons - Transport Committee: Cost of Motor Insurance: Whiplash - HC 117

House of Commons - Transport Committee: Cost of Motor Insurance: Whiplash - HC 117
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Total Pages: 164
Release: 2013-07-31
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780215061423

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Whiplash injuries can have debilitating consequences for those who suffer them. However, some of the increase in whiplash claims will have been due to fraud or exaggeration. The Government must tighten up the requirements for motor insurance claims and ensure that insurers honour their commitment to reduce premiums. The Government should consider requiring claimants to provide proof that they have either been seen by a doctor or attended A&E shortly after the accident. The MPs also note that their previous recommendation on making the links between insurers and other parties involved with claims more transparent has been ignored. The absence of comprehensive statistics about road traffic accidents means that it is impossible to relate the increasing number of personal injury claims in recent years to the number of accidents. Data collection about road accidents needs to be improved help to assist detection of fraudulent personal injury claims and help highways authorities improve road safety by targeting spending on accident black-spots. The Committee also supports the proposal for an accreditation scheme for medical practitioners who provide medical reports in relation to whiplash claims. Access to justice could also be impaired by Government proposals to switch whiplash claims between £1,000 and £5,000 to the small claims court, particularly for people who do not feel confident to represent themselves against insurers who will use legal professionals to contest claims. Ways in which use of the small claims track could be combined with the routine submission of expert evidence should be considered

HC 1135 - National Policy Statement on National Networks

HC 1135 - National Policy Statement on National Networks
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Total Pages: 32
Release: 2014-05-07
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0215071875

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The National Policy Statement on National Networks, published in draft for consultation (ISBN 9780108560071), sets out the policy against which decisions will be made on applications for development consent for nationally significant infrastructure projects on the strategic road and rail networks. The Committee has a number of detailed recommendations to improve the draft. The NPS should specify more types of transport scheme which the Government thinks are needed, such as enhancements to the rail network to promote east-west connectivity; better road and rail connections to ports and airports and to parts of the country which are currently not well served by those networks; and schemes to promote regional economic development. Criticisms of the DfT's road and rail demand forecasts should be addressed. Estimates of the impact on UK carbon emissions of building more road infrastructure are needed. Adverse impacts of major transport schemes on localities should be set out. The NPS should make explicit reference to the desirability of connecting HS2 to the classic rail network. Promoters of roads schemes must look to improve road safety (including for cyclists and pedestrians). The Government is seeking to accommodate increasing demand for roads by building more infrastructure rather than seeking to manage demand. Investment in the road network will require new funding streams, a challenge that must be addressed. However, a consensus would be required to introduce any road user charging scheme across the strategic road network as an alternative to road taxation.