Issue 32 April 2006 - The Scottish Commissioner for Human Rights Bill?

The progress of the Bill has been stalled although by the time you are reading this there should be greater clarity as to just what is going to emerge from current political discussions within Holyrood .

The Justice Committee found itself without a consensus or even a majority view which could enable it to support the Bill as it stood. Concerns were varied and included questions about is value, its powers, its accountability, its fit with other bodies and, of course, its cost.

The Committee had received much evidence from a diversity of bodies, the majority of which were broadly in favour of the Bill.

A number of options are apparently being discussed ranging from fitting its proposed functions within the existing Scottish Public Services Ombudsman's office to strengthening or at least further clarifying its functions and maintaining its proposed distinctiveness and independence.

It is to be hoped that lessons can be learned by Holyrood from the wealth of experience to be found within the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights which works with different kinds of national human rights institutions around the world.

Closer to home perhaps the most compelling experience is that of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission. It offers a number of lessons. Firstly, it is important to get as much clearly settled as possible at the outset so that it can properly establish its role. Secondly, in recognizing that there are understandable concerns there can be a value in learning from experience rather than looking into a crystal ball at the abstract and therefore including within the Bill provision for a "landscape review" by Holyrood. For example, this could after a reasonable passage of time review what value was being provided, what powers were needed and how it was fitting into the landscape vis-a-vis its relationships with the GB Equalities and Human Rights Commission, the Commissioner for Children and Young People, the Office of the Public Services Ombudsman and of course with Holyrood itself.

Ironically the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has for some time now been widely promoting the Scottish Commissioner for Human Rights consultation process as a model of best practice. There are also of course the Paris Principles, the criteria to become recognized as a credible national human rights institution within the UN system. It is surely to be hoped that whatever emerges from the current political discussions within Holyrood meets such criteria.