UK blocks human rights court reforms (1)
01 January 1991
UK blocks human rights court reforms
artdoc July=1993
The UK government, together with Ireland, Italy and Denmark, has
vetoed proposed reforms to the structure and procedure of the
European Court of Human Rights at Strasbourg designed to speed
up court cases. The proposals, agreed by the majority of
signatory states to the European Convention on Human Rights,
would have replaced the part-time court, holding hearings on
which 40 judges sit, by a permanent court with fewer judges
sitting. Without some such reform the waiting time for cases to
reach the court, already five years, is likely to double in the
next few years under the pressure of its increased workload. With
50 adverse rulings, Britain is the court's most persistent
offender. Observer 16.5.93.
Statewatch vol 3 no 3 May-June 1993