"Repealing the Human Rights Act – what practical significance for the field of business and human rights?", 18 May 2015

In its 2015 manifesto the UK Conservative Party pledged to “scrap the Human Rights Act”...Having won a clear majority in the recent election, David Cameron and his new conservative government are now in a position to do just that. Repealing the Human Rights Act would mean less government accountability and would negatively affect the daily lives of millions of British people...The Human Rights Act is the landmark piece of legislation, adopted by Parliament, that has incorporated the European Convention on Human Rights into UK law...[T]he Act requires public authorities, and not companies, to respect human rights. However, I see four main ways in which the repeal of the Human Rights Act would impact the field of business and human rights...It would set a bad example for companies...It would deny victims of corporate abuse the possibility to get remedies in the UK...It would create specific accountability gaps for victims of abuses by companies carrying out public functions such as running prisons or care homes...It would deny companies, and not only individuals, the protection of the Convention...