Asked by: Lord Sandhurst (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to call for the reform of the European Court of Human Rights and the Court's approach to the application of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
This Government is fully committed to the protection of human rights both domestically and internationally and remains unequivocally committed to international human rights frameworks.
However, as the Lord Chancellor set out in her speech to the Council of Europe, we are encouraging a constructive dialogue between Contracting Parties to the European Convention on Human Rights on how the Convention can respond to developments in our societies and restore public confidence in the rule of law.
Asked by: Lord Sandhurst (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the need to reform the European Court of Human Rights in order to restore public trust in the rule of law.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
This Government is fully committed to the protection of human rights both domestically and internationally and remains unequivocally committed to international human rights frameworks.
However, as the Lord Chancellor set out in her speech to the Council of Europe, we are encouraging a constructive dialogue between Contracting Parties to the European Convention on Human Rights on how the Convention can respond to developments in our societies and restore public confidence in the rule of law.
Asked by: Lord Sandhurst (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the current state of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
This Government is fully committed to the protection of human rights both domestically and internationally and remains unequivocally committed to international human rights frameworks.
However, as the Lord Chancellor set out in her speech to the Council of Europe, we are encouraging a constructive dialogue between Contracting Parties to the European Convention on Human Rights on how the Convention can respond to developments in our societies and restore public confidence in the rule of law.
Asked by: Lord Sandhurst (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to join the nine EU member states in calling for reform of the interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights by the European Court of Human Rights; and if so, when.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
This Government is fully committed to the protection of human rights both domestically and internationally and remains unequivocally committed to international human rights frameworks.
However, as the Lord Chancellor set out in her speech to the Council of Europe, we are encouraging a constructive dialogue between Contracting Parties to the European Convention on Human Rights on how the Convention can respond to developments in our societies and restore public confidence in the rule of law.
Asked by: Lord Sandhurst (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will introduce legislation to reverse the effect of R (on the application of PACCAR Inc and others) v Competition Appeal Tribunal and others [2023] UKSC 28, as recommended in the Final Report of the Civil Justice Council's Review of Litigation Funding, published on 2 June.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government recognises the critical role third-party litigation funding plays in access to justice and is committed to ensuring it works fairly for all.
The Government welcomes the Civil Justice Council review of litigation funding, which will help inform the approach to potential reforms. We will outline next steps in due course.
Asked by: Lord Sandhurst (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they plan to take to mitigate the impact on third party litigation funding of the judgment in R (on the application of PACCAR Inc and other) v Competition Tribunal & others [2023] UKSC 28 and to clarify the status of litigation funding agreements as separate damages-based agreements.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government recognises the critical role third-party litigation funding plays in ensuring access to justice.
Following the PACCAR judgment, concerns have been raised about the need for greater regulation of Litigation Funding Agreements, including the need for greater safeguards for claimants. The Civil Justice Council is considering these questions and others in its review of third party litigation funding, and recently published its interim report and consultation.
The Government is keen to ensure access to justice in large-scale and expensive cases, whilst also setting up adequate safeguards to protect claimants from unfair terms.
The Government will take a comprehensive view of any legislation or further work needed to address the issues raised in the PACCAR litigation in the round once the Civil Justice Council review has concluded, which is expected in summer 2025.
Asked by: Lord Sandhurst (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to impose a duty on the Courts to suspend custodial sentences of 12 months or less.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
There are no plans to impose a duty on the Courts to suspend custodial sentences of 12 months or less.
We intend to launch an independent review of sentencing. While the terms of reference are not yet defined, this will look to ensure the sentencing framework is consistent and clear to the public. We will announce more details of this review in due course.
Asked by: Lord Sandhurst (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to by reintroduce the Litigation Funding Agreements (Enforceability) Bill, originally introduced in the last Parliament, and if not, what steps they plan to take to mitigate the impact on third party litigation funding of the judgment in R (on the application of PACCAR Inc and others) v Competition Tribunal and others, [2023] UKSC 28.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government recognises the critical role third-party litigation funding plays in ensuring access to justice.
Following the PACCAR judgment, concerns have been raised about the need for greater regulation of Litigation Funding Agreements, or greater safeguards for claimants.
The Government is keen to ensure access to justice in large-scale and expensive cases, whilst also setting up adequate safeguards to protect claimants from unfair terms.
The Civil Justice Council is considering these questions and others in its review of third-party litigation funding, and hopes to report in summer 2025. The Government will take a more comprehensive view of any legislation to address issues in the round once that review is concluded.