Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the Government plans to include proposals in the planned Bill of Rights to end the common interpretation of religious protections that includes humanism.

The Bill of Rights will protect people’s fundamental rights, including Article Nine: freedom of thought, conscience, and religion. This protects the right to manifest one’s beliefs whether they are religious or non-religious.

The Government consulted on proposals to replace section 3 of the Human Rights Act 1998. Section 3 imposed a duty to read and give effect to legislation in a way which is compatible with the Convention (European Convention on Human Rights) rights where possible. In practice, this has led to courts interpreting legislation in a compatible way, without Parliament’s input, so far as it is possible to do so. We think that a less expansive interpretive duty would provide greater legal certainty, a clearer separation of powers, and a more balanced approach to the proper constitutional relationship between Parliament and the courts on human rights issues. The Government will set out its final proposals in due course.