Tuesday 19 November 2013

Would you 'Adam and Eve' it ....

The UK Cabinet and Justice Minister, Chris Grayling, with responsibility for ensuring the 'UK's Laws' meet EU requirements does not know whether the 'EU Charter of Fundamental Rights' applies in the UK. To save the moron spending more tax payer's money and wasting more of his civil servants time, I will quote from the preamble to the Charter:

"The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU brings together in a single document the fundamental rights protected in the EU. The Charter contains rights and freedoms under six titles: Dignity, Freedoms, Equality, Solidarity, Citizens' Rights, and Justice. Proclaimed in 2000, the Charter has become legally binding on the EU with the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon, in December 2009."

"Every person holding the nationality of a Member State of the European Union (Member State) is also automatically a citizen of the European Union. This European citizenship does not replace your national citizenship-it is an additional status and set of rights which you have at your disposal. European Citizenship is included in Article 20 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

But wait, the UK represented by the majestic hubris of Blair sought an opt out from the charter (in an attempt to head off the rebellion at Westminster over the Lisbon Treaty Debacle and growing pressure for the promised UK referendum, on said Treaty). At a later date a complaint was made to the EU Ombudsman on the lack of evidence of and apparent secrecy around the UK's 'opt out' protocol:

"The European Ombudsman, P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, has welcomed the European Commission's decision to give access to documents drafted by its services on the UK opt-out from the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. This follows a complaint from the European Citizen Action Service (ECAS), a Brussels-based NGO, which wanted to find out why UK citizens do not enjoy the same fundamental rights as other EU citizens. "

It appears that though Blair claimed he had negotiated an opt out he did not and the UK opt out was not proposed by the EU Presidency, only Poland's. The actual protocol the UK gained under Blair's powerful, incisive and astute negotiating skills was:

"The Protocol states that the Charter “does not extend” the ability of the ECJ to find that UK law is inconsistent with the rights and principles elucidated in the Charter. Indeed subsequently the Europe Minister Jim Murphy admitted: “It is clear that the UK does not have an opt-out on the Charter of Fundamental Rights.

Ho-Hum it appears Blair told porkies to UK Parliament on this as well:

"It is absolutely clear that we have an opt-out from both the charter and judicial and home affairs. Those were the reasons why people like the right hon. Gentleman were saying that they wanted a referendum."

So there you go Mr Grayling, the ECJ can not investigate non-compliance of 'UK Law' (be that under English or Scots Law, as technically there is no such beast as 'UK law') with the Charter on Fundamental Human Rights but it can hear cases brought by UK EU Citizens concerned their fundamental or social rights recognised in and protected by the Charter are being breached by said laws and / or government policies via the courts in Scotland and England.


The Scottish Courts have found against the DWP on three occasions and in favour of the 'appelant' on human rights grounds over bedroom tax sanction interpretations. The UN Rapporteur has said the Bedroom Tax infringes on an individual's human rights to a secure roof over their head under 'guaranteed' by the UN Charter on Human Rights. The High Court has said the DWP / ATOS ESA sanctions against those with mental health, infringes on the mentally ill's human rights. Then there is the small matter of the £3 million illegally removed from Jobseekers where the High Court has also found for the appellants and against the DWP in part because of a breach of their human rights.

Let the Human and Social Rights court battles over Duncan-Smith's rerun of the 1934 Nuremburg Laws as 2013  UK DWP Policy, on on the basis of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, begin.

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