Commission Chair says debates about ECHR are on "wrong side of history"

Speaking to the BBC's Good Morning Scotland on Saturday 19 July, Professor Alan Miller, Chair of the Scottish Human Rights Commission, said that debates about withdrawing from the European Convention on Human Rights are "on the wrong side of history".

Describing recent proposals to repeal the Human Rights Act and withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights as a "Westminster bubble debate", Professor Miller said, "The European Court of Human Rights is now providing judgments which are very helpful in the areas of quality of care that older people receive, a healthy environment and issues relating to privacy and data surveillance".

Commenting on suggestions that Parliament should be able to override Court judgments, Professor Miller said, "The notion that Parliament should be able to have the final word and if need be, breach the dignity and rights of the population is simply on the wrong side of history - whether you take a European perspective, a global perspective or the perspective of what’s happening in the rest of the UK."

The full interview is available online here (starts at 48 minutes).

An edited extract is available to read in Word format.