Judges liken terror laws to Nazi Germany

[Guest guest]

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/legal/article320005.ece

 

 

 

Judges liken terror laws to Nazi Germany

 

 

By Marie Woolf, Raymond Whitaker and Severin Carrell

Published: 16 October 2005

 

 

 

 

 

A powerful coalition of judges, senior lawyers and politicians has

warned that the Government is undermining freedoms citizens have taken

for granted for centuries and that Britain risks drifting towards a

police state. One of the country's most eminent judges has said that

undermining the independence of the courts has frightening parallels

with Nazi Germany.

 

Senior legal figures are worried that " inalienable rights " could

swiftly disappear unless Tony Blair ceases attacking the judiciary and

freedoms enshrined in the Human Rights Act.

 

Lord Ackner, a former law lord, said there was a contradiction between

the Government's efforts to separate Parliament and the judiciary

through the creation of a supreme court, and its instinct for

directing judges how to behave. He cautioned against " meddling " by

politicians in the way the courts operate.

 

" I think it is terribly important there should not be this apparent

battle between the executive and the judiciary. The judiciary has been

put there by Parliament in order to ensure that the executive acts

lawfully. If we take that away from the judiciary we are really apeing

what happened in Nazi Germany, " he said.

 

Lord Ackner added that the Government's proposals to hold terrorist

suspects for three months without charge were overblown. " The police

have made a case for extending the two weeks but to extend it to three

months is excessive. "

 

Lord Lester QC, a leading human rights lawyer, expressed concern that

the Government was flouting human rights law and meddling with the courts.

 

" If the Prime Minister and other members of the Government continue to

threaten to undermine the Human Rights Act and interfere with judicial

independence we shall have to secure our basic human rights and

freedoms with a written constitution, " he said.

 

 

Lord Carlile, a deputy High Court judge, warned against the whittling

away of historic civil liberties. " We have to be acute about

protecting what is taken for granted as inalienable rights. In the

United States the Patriot Act included a system whereby a witness to a

terrorist incident can be detained for up to a year. This is in the

land of the free. "

 

The senior barrister remarked that judges had now replaced MPs as the

defenders of basic human rights.

 

" People use d to look to their MPs as the first port of call to deal

with any perceived injustice by the executive. Now there is an

increasing tendency for people to look to the judges to protect their

liberties, " he said.

 

Mark Oaten, the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, said Blair was transforming Britain into an authoritarian state. " In eight

years he has dismantled centuries of judicial protection. Britain's

reputation as the world's most tolerant nation is now under threat, "

he said.

 

If Mr Blair's proposed terror legislation was unamended, said Anthony

Scrivener QC, " Britain would be a significant step closer to a police

state " . The Prime Minister spoke of " summary justice " , said the

lawyer: " It would be better named street justice. "

 

This week the Law Lords will consider whether evidence obtained under

torture abroad should be admissible in British courts. Shami

Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, said admitting such evidence would

undermine one of Britain's basic freedoms.

 

" The Prime Minister is trying in his own words to try to tear up the

rules of the game, " she said. " The rules of liberal democracy are

about no torture, free speech and fair trials. Every time he

denigrates these he undermines the fabric of our society.