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Blair Weighs Move to Limit Courts' Power in Rights Laws
Prime Minister Tony Blair says he is contemplating changes in Britain's human rights laws, limiting the power of courts to challenge the government, after a paroled rapist killed a woman and a judge refused to send several hijackers back to their country.

The government depicts the debate as one weighing individual rights against potential threats to public safety — a familiar discussion in the United States in its campaign against terrorism.

The changes were proposed on Saturday by Lord Falconer, who as lord chancellor is Britain's highest judicial official, and confirmed Sunday in a letter from the prime minister to the new home secretary, John Reid. They reflect a consistent complaint by Mr. Blair that Britain's vaunted human rights practices are sometimes skewed to the detriment of victims.

Human rights advocates expressed outrage at Mr. Blair's plans, arguing, in the words of a lawyer, Louise Christian, that "the government is deliberately trying to distract attention from its own incompetence."

In a radio interview on Saturday, Lord Falconer, one of Mr. Blair's close allies, referred to several cases in which criminals had committed offenses, including murder, after being released early from prison.

His remarks followed a bruising controversy over the discovery that more than 1,000 foreign prisoners, including 150 convicted of serious crimes, including murder and rape, had been freed after serving their prison terms without being considered for deportation. Those disclosures cost the previous home secretary, Charles Clarke, his job in a recent government reshuffling by Mr. Blair.

In the past week, the debate resurfaced in different forms. In one case, a convicted rapist, Anthony Rice, killed a 40-year-old woman after being freed on parole. Andrew Bridges, the chief inspector of prisons, said too much attention had been paid to his rights.

In another case, a High Court judge castigated the government for failing to grant permanent residency to nine Afghans, who hijacked a plane to Britain in 2000 saying they were fleeing from the Taliban.

After their conviction in the hijacking was overturned, an immigration court ruled that they should be given refugee status because they would be in danger if they were deported back to Afghanistan. In an unusual harsh criticism of a judicial ruling, which accused the government of abusing its powers, Mr. Blair condemned the decision as "an abuse of common sense." Mr. Reid, the home secretary, called the decision "inexplicable or bizarre."

In the radio interview, Lord Falconer said, "There needs to be public clarity that the Human Rights Act should have no effect on the public safety issues. Public safety comes first."

In his letter to Mr. Reid, Mr. Blair said, "We will need to look again at whether primary legislation is needed to address the issue of court rulings which overrule the government in a way that is inconsistent with other European Union countries' interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights."

Mr. Blair asked Mr. Reid to "ensure that the law-abiding majority can live without fear," the letter said. Details of the letter were published in The Observer on Sunday and later confirmed by Mr. Blair's office.

In a television interview on Sunday, Lord Falconer said Britain did not plan to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights, which was written into British law by the Human Rights Act in 1998. But, he said, the government was concerned about the way the values reflected in the legislation had been applied.
Posted by: tipper 2006-05-15
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=151919