Please note that, in places, the microphones momentarily failed to record the proceedings at this event. We apologise. 

In the UK, calls for the withdrawal from the European Convention of Human Rights are becoming louder and more persistent. The government has promised to look into the case for reform of the Convention, but at present there are no details about what this would look like. Yet, the discussions about the future of the ECHR are not limited to the UK. Across the Council of Europe many states are considering the case for renegotiation of current obligations under the Convention, particularly in the context of migration. In Denmark, the government is reviewing the practice of its courts and drafting a proposal for a new agreement that would amend the current text of the Convention and allow the government to limit its obligations in relation to particular groups of migrants. How are these developments at European level relevant for the discussion in the UK? 

A panel of expert speakers familiar with the developments in Denmark, UK, and the Council of Europe speak about the pressures that human rights and especially the European Convention find themselves under and what the options are for states seeking a reform of the system. 

Speakers:

Former Judge Robert Spano, Former President of European Court of Human Rights, Partner at Gibson Dunn

Professor Jens Elo Peters Rytter, Professor of Constitutional Law, University of Copenhagen

Professor Colm O’Cinneide, Professor of Constitutional and Human Rights Law, UCL

Professor Alice Donald, Professor in Human Rights Law, Middlesex University London

Chair: Professor Veronika Fikfak, Professor of Human Rights and International Law, UCL

Links:

Website: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit

Mailing list: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/get-involved/mailing-list

Blog: constitution-unit.com