Human Rights

Lord Sumption has admitted that he stopped obeying the coronavirus regulations when they began "reaching levels of absurdity". Speaking to legal journalist Joshua Rozenberg QC (hon.), the former Supreme Court justice said he did not accept that there was a "moral obligation to comply with the law".

The Scottish Human Rights Commission has published a new briefing on care homes and human rights during the pandemic. The briefing sets out the human rights framework as it applies to the issues that have arisen in care homes, and details the requirements of human rights law to ensure effective inve

A law professor has been detained after he refused to stop publicly criticising the government and “personality cult” of President Xi, The Times reports. Xu Zhangrun, 57, was taken into custody yesterday and removed from his post at the prestigious Tsinghua University after he wrote an a

Concerned that the responses to COVID-19 may exacerbate existing inequalities across all areas of life, the Equality & Human Rights Commission explains how it will work to support disadvantaged groups. The equality and human rights implications of the coronavirus pandemic stretch far and wide. I

Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard has written to the Scottish Human Rights Commission asking it to ensure that the human rights of Scotland’s care home residents are upheld and defended throughout the COVID-19 crisis, and that decisions taken by the Scottish government with regards to car

Scottish lawyers are supporting five detained Egyptian colleagues for a human rights award. The nomination of the five for the CCBE Human Rights Award 2020 has been made by the Law Society of England and Wales, and is backed by the Faculty of Advocates and the Law Society of Scotland, as well as the

Patrick Penninckx, head of the information society department at the Council of Europe conducted a webinar entitled Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights this week. It was organised by the European Law Students Association (ELSA) as part of a series of webinars on law and technology. The spe

The Scottish Human Rights Commission has written to Holyrood's Justice Committee to highlight concerns about measures being taken in prisons during the pandemic. The commission expressed concern that the current conditions being experienced by some people in Scottish prisons could amount to inhuman

A round-up of human rights stories from around the world. UN human rights expert says pandemic is "emboldening" Myanmar military to carry out "war crimes" - CNN

A round-up of human rights stories from around the world. Azerbaijan: Crackdown on Critics Amid Pandemic | Human Rights Watch

A round-up of human rights stories from around the world. In a new age of emergency laws, human rights are more important than ever | New Statesman

The Scottish members of the UK National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) have today written to Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf, highlighting efforts to uphold the rights of people in detention and deprived of their liberty during the COVID-19 outbreak. Among the recommendations in the letter, signed by Jud

A round-up of human rights stories from around the world. Hungary: Orban seeks indefinite power in virus bill | EUobserver

A round-up of human rights stories from around the world. Hope in the Midst of the Coronavirus | Human Rights Watch

The Scottish Human Rights Commission has welcomed the passing of the Scottish Biometrics Commissioner Act at Holyrood. This legislation will create a new Biometrics Commissioner to oversee the acquisition, retention, use and destruction of biometric data by police in Scotland.