The European Court of Human Rights confirms that stop and search powers breach human rights law as UK application to appeal is rejected
The Government may choose to ignore the decision and argue that the stop and search powers fall within its margin of appreciation for deciding which anti-terrorist laws are best to protect the public. Although decisions of the European Court are technically binding, states sometimes choose to disregard them, as demonstrated by the fact that repeated decisions on prisoner voting have been ignored for five years by the UK.
However, the government will be well aware that European Court has recently grown sharper teeth for dealing with intransigent states, and ignoring this judgment may leave the UK on the receiving end of the increased powers.
Comment: This case highlights how far liberties have been eroded in this country post 9/11. The author, unfortunately, appears to be ignorant in relation to the principle of the margin of appreciation as applied by the Court and that there is nothing technically about the binding nature of the Court's decision. That is, it has to be fully complied with by a Member State, in this case, the UK.
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