The government is calling for the
European Convention on Human Rights to be substantially rewritten so national
courts have a greater say.
Ministers have long promised to use the six-month presidency of the Council
of Europe for reform in Strasbourg.They have now circulated a detailed position paper with plans for the human rights court.
The document is the basis for negotiations with other countries ahead of a summit in Brighton in April.
Massive backlog
The position paper - known as the draft Brighton Declaration - says the
European Convention should be rewritten so that it includes two key
principles.One of "subsidiarity", namely that decisions should be taken at the lowest
levels possible, and the "margin of appreciation", namely that national
governments should have greater leeway in applying the judgements of the
court.The government calls for a new procedure so the Strasbourg court can offer
advisory opinions that would not be binding on national courts.And it demands that more judges are appointed to deal with the court's
massive backlog of cases. The document also sets out the government's call for a new commission to
rethink the whole future of the court and the convention. The government is under substantial pressure to act to curb the powers of the Strasbourg court.
Many MPs - and many voters - oppose its recent decisions to prevent the deportation of the radical cleric Abu Qatada and allow prisoners the vote.
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