Questions raised over UK's relationship with European Court of Human Rights
Lord Judge, the former Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales and Secretary of State for Justice, Chris Grayling, have raised concerns about the UK's relationship with the European Court of Human Rights.
Speaking on Radio 4's Today programme, Mr Grayling said: 'I think that what we've got to is a situation where the European Court of Human Rights has lost its legitimacy in the UK by doing things that frankly, the people of this country and their elected representatives do not want." Lord Judge told the Today programme, "... it means that legislation can be made by judges on all sorts of societal issues - binding legislation - and if that's the position there is a very serious problem with sovereignty."
Mr Grayling is reported to be planning to publish legislation to redefine the UK's relationship with the European Court before this year's European elections.
However, Andrea Williams has urged caution:
"Undoubtedly there are areas of the Court's behaviour that need attention. The Court has taken an increasingly 'activist' stance, not least in promoting a homosexual rights agenda, causing significant challenges for Christian freedoms. However, at the same time, the Court has shown a better understanding of Christian belief and a greater commitment to protecting Christian freedoms than we have seen in the UK Courts in recent years.
"The European Court's judgment in the cases of Shirley Chaplin, Gary McFarlane and others have already had a positive effect in the UK in tackling the crippling approach to Christian freedoms adopted by our domestic courts over the past decade.
"The UK's relationship with the European Court is likely to become a major political issue as the 2015 election approaches. The track record of the Court is mixed and reform is probably needed but let's not forget that without recent decisions of the European Court of Human Rights, Christians, as well as many others, would effectively enjoy fewer protections than they do today."
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