According to Foulkes:
“The basic and traditional functions of the state are those of securing the community against external aggression and internal strife and of keeping itself going out of taxation…In addition, the need to attempt to secure human rights, as in the area of racial and sexual discrimination, has led to the creation of institutions and a body of relevant law”.
It maybe that by focusing too much on the potential for external aggression, the UK has been coming apart from the inside. Internal strife has brought down the UK. It has fallen victim to being a hostage to fortune.
There is a distinction between anybody, in a particular situation, saying there is a need to secure human rights, and the Council of Europe saying a Member State must ensure human rights for its citizens. The former is a plea, whereas the latter is a directive.
The discrimination in this case is against a section of the public with the recognised status being prisoner. The institutions created being the Council of Europe, European Court of Human Rights, Committee of Ministers, European Court of Justice and the European Union. Since the Lisbon Treaty, the Council of Europe and EU have now been brought under one umbrella. It is empire building. Whilst the UK continues to dish out medals and other honours associated with the long bygone days of the British Empire, the European Empire has been busy empowering itself and forming into the United States of Europe. Politics is about power. The body of relevant law being international law, and European law. The Court exercises jurisdiction in these matters. English law still has its place. However, it has to be remembered that whilst the British Empire only had one head, hydra-plus the Council of Europe has 47 heads. English law is no longer supreme; its jurisdiction stays at home. The UK was not conquered, it surrendered.
According to Foulkes:
“Administrative law is concerned with public administration; public administration operates through institutions. A study of administrative law must therefore include some knowledge of the complex of institutions that public administration is. The institutions exist to exercise powers and duties. Administrative law is therefore concerned with the way powers are acquired, where the authorities get their power from, and what is the nature of those powers”.
A case study.
The Prisoners Votes Case (Hirst v UK(No2)).
Europe is not over there any longer, it’s over here. Call it mission creep, or whatever you like, the invasion was a long time ago and like the Vikings intend to settle down here. Europe seeks to educate the UK. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. A lot of knowledge informs sound judgement, and judgments. The UK soil remains UK soil. The Treaties the UK signed surrendered sovereignty.
Supremacy (sovereignty) of Parliament. In the UK, this principle of English law is tops. When the UK joined Europe, it was based on a give and take principle. One of those things we gave away was the UK Parliament being supreme. The UK conceded power and jurisdiction to Europe on matters with a European element. If Europe says jump, the UK asks how high and jumps to it. Or should do if it knows what’s good for it. If the UK doesn’t know, Europe will educate the UK. This is not a debate about the benefits or losses of the UK going into Europe. Rather, this is an account of the present state of affairs. Prisoners, at taxpayers expense, have been ‘Going to Europe’ for sometime now. The Prisoners Votes Case being just one of many; each alleging human rights violations by the UK. Prisoners became victims and sought redress from the Court. This is called the Individual v the State. And not about the victims of the prisoners. European law requires that the issues be relevant to the proceedings. Quite frankly, public opinion holds no sway. The UK government had argued it formed policy according to public opinion. The Court dismissed this as a valid line of argument, stating that so basic a human right as the right to vote cannot be removed purely on the basis of what might offend public opinion. Human rights extend to prisoners; dehumanising civil deaths are a thing of the past. The UK has to get down out of the trees and take a giant leap into civilisation. Behaving ape like is very primitive. A primitive race which dehumanises rule breakers and expels them from the tribe, should be a thing of the past. Europe leads the way forward.
(To be continued)
No comments:
Post a Comment