Will Brexit Setback Human Rights Protections in the United Kingdom?
Brian Dan is a guest contributor from the University of Strathclyde and a L.L.M. candidate in human rights law
Is Brexit just a snag in European Union integration without accompanying regression in human rights legislation? Of course not. Brexit signals a backsliding in human rights protections and imperils the closest thing to a constitutional framework for human rights in the United Kingdom.
The U.K. has over 40 years of EU law transposed into its own laws. Together, the EU laws, which are supreme to the domestic laws of the EU states; the Common Law system of England and Wales, which is law created by judges in courts; and the legislative directives of the Council of Europe, an international organization comprised of 47 European states, constitute an overarching, legally-binding system for the promotion, respect and protection of fundamental human rights and freedoms.
The human rights protections provided to British citizens by the U.K.’s membership in the EU and Council of Europe are distinct but also...