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Socialist Lawyer issue 44

On 3rd May 2006, Haldane celebrated our 75th birthday with a glorious evening of comedy, song and reminiscences. We’re still standing and still fighting. Sadly, it looks as though our next fight is to defend the Human Rights Act – attacked both by the Tories with their 'British Bill of Rights' and by New Labour. Socialist lawyers also find ourselves in the unexpected position of defending the judiciary against government interference.

The furore over 'foreign criminals', 'soft judges', 'lenient sentences' and 'the human rights culture' comes from both the tabloids and the government – indeed it’s impossible to work out who is the instigator and who the follower. Both have equally authoritarian instincts. Both use language that encourages racism and xenophobia. Both pretend that they are merely following public opinion when really it is they who create an atmosphere of fear.

In this issue, Alex Gask, Liberty’s Legal Officer, describes the unlawful treatment that some foreign nationals have been experiencing since 2001. These men, not 'foreign criminals' because they have never been charged, let alone convicted, of any criminal offence, have been detained under regimes that, one after another, have been held to be incompatible with the European Convention. First detention without trial, and now control orders. Not content with having been told that each of its 'anti-terror' measures is unlawful, the government is now attempting to circumvent Chahal v UK, which prevents deportation to a country where there may be a risk of torture. Memorandums of Understanding have been agreed with Jordan, Libya and Lebanon and are being negotiated with Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and elsewhere. The underlying theme of these men’s experiences, for some of them since autumn 2001, has been the illegality and repressive nature of each of the government’s actions.

Frances Webber exposes the myths behind the 'foreign criminals' affair. The press and the government behaved as though foreign killers, rapists, paedophiles were free to commit crimes with impunity. It was based on inaccurate, and inflammatory, figures and racist language. It led to Charles Clarke’s downfall (no tears for him, but anyone committed to civil liberties should be wary of his successor), to the smearing of all refugees and asylum-seekers as criminals, and to a crackdown on any foreign national (and some British citizens) who had served a period of imprisonment, no matter how long ago and how out of character.

As the CPS announces that no police officers will be prosecuted for the killing of Jean Charles de Menezes, Richard Harvey looks at the history of police 'shoot to kill' policy. The tactics now being used on London streets and resulting in the deaths of Harry Stanley, Diarmiud O’Neill, de Menezes and the shooting of Mohammed Abdulkahar, were pioneered in Northern Ireland. The right to life enshrined in the European Convention is meaningless if police officers – from the bottom to the top – are not to be held accountable for their use of lethal force.

Every time the government doesn’t get its way in the Courts, it blames the 'human rights culture'. Instead of accepting that it might have behaved unlawfully, and taking the necessary steps to respect the Human Rights Act that it was so proud of introducing back in 1998, it attacks the Convention and the judges who interpret the Convention. The Tories’ proposed 'British Bill of Rights' contains no meaningful proposals, but plenty of attacks on Europe as somehow imposing unreasonable burdens under the guise of human rights. New Labour is more coy, but Blair’s letter appointing John Reid made clear his impatience with recent judicial decisions: "we will need to look again at whether primary legislation is needed to address the issue of Court rulings which over-rule the Government in a way that is inconsistent with other EU countries interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights". There can be little doubt that the immediate task for socialist lawyers is to defend the Human Rights Act, unamended.

Tony Benn, a politician who is committed to human rights, and spent his entire career defending the rights of the vulnerable and unpopular, is our guest speaker at our Annual General Meeting on 3rd October, speaking on 'The Law, Society and the New World Order'. We will be deciding our political and campaigning priorities for the next year, and electing a new executive. We’re sorry that our chair for the last two years, Richard Harvey, has decided to stand down from the office. He has really made a difference in keeping the Haldane Society on the map. We’ve improved our administration and fundraising base. Above all, he has been instrumental in directing our campaign to Close Down Guantanamo. We thank him for all his hard work and we’ll miss his presence as chair.

All members of the Haldane Society, and anyone thinking of joining or just wanting to hear Tony Benn speak, are very welcome to attend the AGM. Do you have a view on what our main tasks for 2006 – 2007 should be? Submit a motion - any motions for debate can be sent to the Secretary at Haldane Society, PO Box 57055, London EC1P 1AF. Why don’t you stand for the executive and help us campaign? Put your name forward in advance, or just turn up and volunteer on the night. We’ll be delighted to see you.

Liz Davies, vice-chair, Haldane Society