Download or read book Sixteenth Report of Session 2009 10 written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. European Scrutiny Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2010 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sixteenth report of Session 2009-10 : Documents considered by the Committee on 24 March 2010, report, together with formal Minutes

Download or read book Free Speech after 9 11 written by Katharine Gelber and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2016-04-14 with total page 187 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although there has been a lot written about how counter-terrorism laws impact on human rights and civil liberties, most of this work has focussed on the most obvious or egregious kinds of human rights abrogation, such as extended detention, torture, and extraordinary rendition. Far less has been written about the complex ways in which Western governments have placed new and far-reaching limitations on freedom of speech in this context since 9/11. This book compares three liberal democracies - the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, in particular showing the commonalities and similarities in what has occurred in each country, and the changes in the appropriate parameters of freedom of speech in the counter-terrorism context since 9/11, achieved both in policy change and the justification for that change. In all three countries much speech has been criminalized in ways that were considered anachronistic, or inappropriate, in comparable policy areas prior to 9/11. This is particularly interesting because other works have suggested that the United States' unique protection of freedom of speech in the First Amendment has prevented speech being limited in that country in ways that have been pursued in others. This book shows that this kind of argument misses the detail of the policy change that has occurred, and privileges a textual reading over a more comprehensive policy-based understanding of the changes that have occurred. The author argues that we are now living a new-normal for freedom of speech, within which restrictions on speech that once would have been considered aberrant, overreaching, and impermissible are now considered ordinary, necessary, and justified as long as they occur in the counter-terrorism context. This change is persistent, and it has far reaching implications for the future of this foundational freedom.

Download or read book Counter terrorism policy and human rights sixteenth report written by Great Britain: Parliament: Joint Committee on Human Rights and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2010-03-04 with total page 94 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Counter-terrorism policy and human rights (sixteenth Report) : Annual renewal of control orders legislation 2010, ninth report of session 2009-10, report, together with formal minutes and written Evidence

Download or read book Sessional Returns written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2012-09-14 with total page 442 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On cover and title page: House, committees of the whole House, general committees and select committees

Download or read book Work of the Committee in 2008 09 Second Report of Session 2009 10 Report Together with Formal Minutes and Written Evidence written by Great Britain. Parliament. Joint Committee on Human Rights and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2010 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A report that provides an overview of the Committee's work during the 2008-09 parliamentary session and draws attention to improvements to the human rights landscape in the UK which it has commended in reports during the year. It also mentions a number of continuing areas for concern.

Download or read book Counter terrorism policy and human rights seventeenth report written by Great Britain: Parliament: Joint Committee on Human Rights and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2010-03-25 with total page 78 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Joint Committee on Human Rights calls for a fundamental, independent review of the necessity for and proportionality of all counter-terrorism measures adopted since September 11 2001. It questions the way that the policy imperatives of national security and public safety have been used to justify squeezing out human rights considerations. Since September 11 2001, the Government has continuously claimed that there is a "public emergency threatening the life of the nation". The Committee questions whether the country has really been in this state for over eight years. A permanent state of emergency skews public debate about the justification for rights-limiting counter-terrorism measures. It is unacceptable that the Director General of the Security Service refuses to appear before it to give public evidence - despite giving public lectures and media interviews. The Committee finds the Government's narrow definition of complicity in torture significant and worrying and calls for an urgent independent inquiry into the allegations of complicity in torture. The Government should drop the draft bill still being held in reserve to allow pre-charge detention to be extended to 42 days. And more work should be done on measures - such as bail and the use of intercept evidence - that could reduce the use of pre-charge detention. The Intelligence and Security Committee should become a proper Parliamentary committee with an independent secretariat and legal advice and appointing an independent reviewer of counter-terror legislation who reports directly to Parliament not the Government.

Download or read book HC 285 Driving Premiums Down Fraud and the Cost of Motor Insurance written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2014-07-04 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report reviews the Government's plans to tackle fraudulent and exaggerated motor insurance claims, particularly for whiplash injuries. It is the Transport Committee's fourth report on the cost of motor insurance and, while premiums are now falling, aspects of the market remain dysfunctional and have encouraged criminality to take root. Further action is still required to tackle fraud whilst protecting genuine claimants. The Government must prohibit insurers from settling whiplash claims before the claimant has undergone a medical examination. On issues of court procedure and medical panels the Committee endorses the Government's intention to require courts to strike out 'dishonest' insurance claims (e.g. those involving gross exaggeration), but cautions against hasty legislation due to the complex legal implications. The report calls for data sharing about potentially fraudulent claims between insurers and claimant solicitors to be made compulsory rather than voluntary (as currently proposed). The Government should oversee funding arrangements for the police Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department, to make sure that this unit, currently funded directly by the insurance industry, has a long-term future. Government proposals for independent medical assessments are welcomed but more work is required on implementation. The Government should press the Solicitors Regulation Authority to stop some solicitors from playing the system to maximise their income by commissioning unnecessary psychological evaluations.

Download or read book Parliaments and the European Court of Human Rights written by Alice Donald and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2016-08-18 with total page 419 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The European system of human rights protection faces institutional and political pressures which threaten its very survival. These institional pressures stem from the backlog of applications before the European Court of Human Rights, the large number of its judgments that remain unimplemented, and the political pressures that arise from sustained attacks on the Court's legitimacy and authority, notably from politicians and jurists in the United Kingdom. This book addresses the theme which lies at the heart of these pressures: the role of national parliaments in the implementation of judgments of the Court. It combines theoretical and empirical insights into the role of parliaments in securing domestic compliance with the Court's decisions, and provides detailed investigation of five European states with differing records of human rights compliance and parliamentary mobilisation: Ukraine, Romania, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the Netherlands. How far are parliaments engaged in implementation, and how far should they be? Do parliaments advance or hinder human rights compliance? Is it ever justifiable for parliaments to defy judgments of the Court? And how significant is the role played by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe? Drawing on the fields of international law, international relations, political science, and political philosophy, the book argues that adverse human rights judgments not only confer obligations on parliamentarians but also create opportunities for them to develop influential interpretations of human rights and enhance their own democratic legitimacy. It makes an authoritative contribution to debate about the future of the European and other supranational human rights mechanisms and the broader relationship between democracy, human rights, and legitimate authority.

Download or read book Aviation strategy written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee and published by Stationery Office. This book was released on 2013-05-15 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this report the Transport Committee reject calls for a new hub airport east of London and urges the expansion of Heathrow where a third runway is long overdue. Building an entirely new hub airport east of London could not be done without huge public investment in new ground transport infrastructure, and there could be a substantial impact on wildlife habitat in the Thames estuary. The viability of an estuary hub airport would also require the closure of Heathrow - a course of action that would have unacceptable consequences. Adding new runways to expand a number of other existing airports will not, on its own, provide a long-term solution to the hub capacity problem. The report also rejects the notion of linking existing airports by high-speed rail to form a split-hub; the outcome from this would be highly uncompetitive in terms of passenger transfer times compared to competitor hubs overseas. Other recommendations cover: compensation for people affected by noise from expansion at Heathrow; a national strategy to improve road and rail access to major UK airports; ensure that the High Speed 2 (HS2) rail network serves Heathrow and develop dedicated rail services to serve Gatwick and Stansted; study how far Air Passenger Duty impacts on the UK economy; carry out an objective analysis of the impacts of introducing differential rates of Air Passenger Duty; promotion of airports in regions outside the south east and introduce an APD tax holiday for a 12-month trial period for new services from them.

Download or read book House of Commons Transport Committee Cost of Motor Insurance Whiplash HC 117 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2013-07-31 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Whiplash injuries can have debilitating consequences for those who suffer them. However, some of the increase in whiplash claims will have been due to fraud or exaggeration. The Government must tighten up the requirements for motor insurance claims and ensure that insurers honour their commitment to reduce premiums. The Government should consider requiring claimants to provide proof that they have either been seen by a doctor or attended A&E shortly after the accident. The MPs also note that their previous recommendation on making the links between insurers and other parties involved with claims more transparent has been ignored. The absence of comprehensive statistics about road traffic accidents means that it is impossible to relate the increasing number of personal injury claims in recent years to the number of accidents. Data collection about road accidents needs to be improved help to assist detection of fraudulent personal injury claims and help highways authorities improve road safety by targeting spending on accident black-spots. The Committee also supports the proposal for an accreditation scheme for medical practitioners who provide medical reports in relation to whiplash claims. Access to justice could also be impaired by Government proposals to switch whiplash claims between £1,000 and £5,000 to the small claims court, particularly for people who do not feel confident to represent themselves against insurers who will use legal professionals to contest claims. Ways in which use of the small claims track could be combined with the routine submission of expert evidence should be considered

Download or read book HC 1135 National Policy Statement on National Networks written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2014-05-07 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The National Policy Statement on National Networks, published in draft for consultation (ISBN 9780108560071), sets out the policy against which decisions will be made on applications for development consent for nationally significant infrastructure projects on the strategic road and rail networks. The Committee has a number of detailed recommendations to improve the draft. The NPS should specify more types of transport scheme which the Government thinks are needed, such as enhancements to the rail network to promote east-west connectivity; better road and rail connections to ports and airports and to parts of the country which are currently not well served by those networks; and schemes to promote regional economic development. Criticisms of the DfT's road and rail demand forecasts should be addressed. Estimates of the impact on UK carbon emissions of building more road infrastructure are needed. Adverse impacts of major transport schemes on localities should be set out. The NPS should make explicit reference to the desirability of connecting HS2 to the classic rail network. Promoters of roads schemes must look to improve road safety (including for cyclists and pedestrians). The Government is seeking to accommodate increasing demand for roads by building more infrastructure rather than seeking to manage demand. Investment in the road network will require new funding streams, a challenge that must be addressed. However, a consensus would be required to introduce any road user charging scheme across the strategic road network as an alternative to road taxation.

Download or read book Any of our business Human rights and the UK private sector written by Great Britain: Parliament: Joint Committee on Human Rights and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2010-03-08 with total page 68 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Government response to HL 5-I/HC64-I, session 2009-10 (ISBN 9780108459139)

Download or read book Critical Perspectives on Counter terrorism written by Lee Jarvis and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-12-17 with total page 251 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume examines the rationale, effectiveness and consequences of counter terrorism practices from a range of perspectives and cases. The book critically interrogates contemporary counter-terrorism powers from military campaigns and repression through to the prosecution of terrorist suspects, counter-terrorism policing, counter-radicalisation programmes, and the proscription of terrorist organisations. Drawing on a range of timely and important case studies from around the world including the UK, Sri Lanka, Spain, Canada, Australia and the USA, its chapters explore the impacts of counter-terrorism on individuals, communities, and political processes. The book focuses on three questions of vital importance to any assessment of counter-terrorism. First, what do counter-terrorism strategies seek to achieve? Second, what are the consequences of different counter-terrorism campaigns, and how are these measured? And, third, how and why do changes to counter-terrorism occur? This volume will be of much interest to students of counter-terrorism, critical terrorism studies, criminology, security studies and IR in general.

Download or read book Sulphur emissions by ships written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2012-03-09 with total page 84 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sulphur emissions from shipping are increasing and shipping is expected to be the main source of EU sulphur emissions by 2020. A draft EU directive aims to curb sulphur emissions from ships. The Transport Committee agrees that this significant source of air pollution needs more stringent limits, but the UK government must negotiate to ensure the EU Directive goes no further than the revised MARPOL Annex VI agreed in 2008. The Committee recognises that the benefits of the revised MARPOL Annex VI significantly exceed the costs of compliance; acknowledges that costs will fall most directly on ship operators; and accepts that the abatement technology required for passenger shipping may not yet be ready for widespread commercial use. The report also reminds the shipping sector that tighter emissions limits have been under discussion for many years; operators could have been more proactive about developing effective pollution abatement technology; and must shoulder the cost of ensuring that their activities comply with relevant environmental legislation. In addition, the Committee concludes that the UK Government must: establish how the Commission will monitor the impact of the revised Directive on maritime sulphur emissions from the shipping industry; establish what the Commission plans to do in order to curb the risk of 'modal shift' from sea to road transport; push the Commission to clarify the definition of passenger ships on regular service and the use of techniques such as emissions averaging.

Download or read book HC 1140 Local Transport Expenditure Who Decides written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2014-06-03 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Transport infrastructure in some parts of the UK may get left behind under the new system to be used from next year (2015) to share out central government money for local major transport schemes. The Government has again changed the system for distributing money to local areas for major transport projects, with much more emphasis now on competition for funding. This will not necessarily help regions get a fairer share of transport funding and could make the situation worse. The Government's focus on using competition to bring in private sector funding for projects could disadvantage the regions, where there tends to be less private sector money available compared with London. Those Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) which are well organised and resourced will have an advantage in bidding for funds. Other areas may lose out as a result. In addition, with greater reliance on competitive bidding for funds, there will see more money wasted on failed bids. Strategically significant schemes such as access to ports must not get overlooked. The changes are set against a backdrop where far less money is spent on transport projects outside London than in the capital. Transport infrastructure spending is £2,500 per head in London compared with £5 per head in the north east. This inequality must change. The Committee calls for the new funding arrangements to be reviewed by the end of the next Parliament to ensure that they are efficient and effective in providing funding for the most urgent transport priorities.

Download or read book Air Travel Organisers Licensing ATOL reform written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2012-04-30 with total page 108 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Changes to ATOL that come into effect today (April 30, 2012) do not go far enough say MPs on the Commons Transport Committee in this new report. Fundamental reform of ATOL - the consumer protection scheme for holidaymakers - is needed. The Committee calls on the Government to clarify its objectives for ATOL reform, to ensure that all passengers and holidaymakers are properly informed of the potential consequences of airline insolvency and the options available to them to obtain financial protection. MPs also recommend that: (i) The Civil Aviation Authority should work with the airlines to develop a code of practice covering information for all consumers making overseas holiday or travel bookings. This must be designed to ensure that passengers understand the risks of being stranded abroad as a result of airline insolvency and are aware of the insurance options available; (ii) The Government undertake research into consumers' views on whether, and in what ways, the ATOL scheme should be extended; (iii) The Government must distinguish between issues related to consumer protection and repatriation cover; (iv) Future reforms should be funded by the travel industry and must provide consumers with informed choices on protection options; (v) ATOL Protection Contributions should be linked to the value of the holiday booking, instead of the current flat rate of £2.50 per passenger.

Download or read book Children s rights written by Great Britain: Parliament: Joint Committee on Human Rights and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2010-03-03 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Government response to HL 157/HC 318, session 2008-09 (ISBN 9780108458996)