Britain's Supreme Court will be able to over-rule Strasbourg Court on Human Righs

Britain's Supreme Court will be able to over-rule Strasbourg court, says Chris Grayling
Britain’s Supreme Court will be able to over-rule the European Court of Human Rights, under plans being drawn up by the Tories.
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Chris Grayling: 'We have to make our Supreme Court supreme.' Photo: DAVID ROSE FOR THE TELEGRAPH
Christopher Hope By Christopher Hope, Senior Political Correspondent11:57AM GMT 30 Dec 2013 Comments404 Comments
Britain’s Supreme Court will be able to over-rule the European Court of Human Rights, under plans being drawn up by the Tories.
Chris Grayling, the Justice secretary, said the Conservative Party will draft new laws to curtail the impact of European human rights legislation on Britain.
Pulling out of the European Convention on Human Rights to give the UK more control over human rights laws was also being considered by the party.
The comments suggest the Conservatives will go into the 2015 general election Britain on a ticket of major reforms to the Human Rights Act.
Mr Grayling said the final proposals would emerge shortly.
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He said: “We have to make our Supreme Court supreme. I do not believe decisions about the way this country is governed - we are a democracy after all - should be taken elsewhere.”
Mr Grayling was speaking after the former head of Britain’s judiciary said European judges are creating a ‘serious problem’ by undermining Parliament’s sovereignty.
Lord Judge, who was the Lord Chief Justice until September, has repeatedly the unelected European Court of Human Rights should not impose rulings on the UK.
Mr Grayling continued: “We have to curtail the role of the court in the UK, we have to replace the Human Rights Act, which as Lord Judge rightly says is one of the key reasons why the European Court of Human Rights seems to have such sway in the UK.
“We have got to ensure there is a balance of rights and responsibilities in our laws - and that balance of rights and responsibilities does exist in the original Convention.
Mr Grayling said: “Whatever we try to do as a party - because this is not an issue that unites the Coalition... the Conservative Party's intention is to go into the next election with a clear plan for change.
“It is absolutely clear Parliament has the sovereign right to implement that change should it choose to do so.
“We have been looking at a number of options, of which leaving the Convention is one. It’s not the only option we are considering and we will bring forward plans in the next few weeks which will set out very clearly what we will do and how we will do it.
“Later in the year we will publish a draft Bill which will set out precisely how that legal change will take place.”
Lord Judge said first said in 2010 that Strasbourg’s European Court on Human Rights was being allowed to take precedence over home-grown law.
He said it was up to judges to “save” English common law by relying on it for precedents rather than looking to Strasbourg.
Lord Judge said he had “no problem” with the fact that decisions made in Strasbourg had a bearing on English courts, but suggested that in some cases the final word should rest with the UK Supreme Court.