European court denies overreaching on asylum and immigration
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has hit back at criticism that it is overreaching its original remit on asylum and immigration.
Alain Berset, the secretary general of the Council of Europe (CoE), which oversees and enforces ECHR rulings, said the court should not be 'politicised' or 'face political pressure' after nine CoE member states challenged its interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights.
'Institutions that protect fundamental rights cannot bend to political cycles,' he wrote in a statement. 'If they do, we risk eroding the very stability they were built to ensure.'
Earlier this month, Italy and Denmark urged other European countries to sign a letter criticising the Strasbourg court for tying national lawmakers' hands with migration issues.
The letter said the court was making it difficult to 'make political decisions in our own democracies', according to the EurActiv website, which first obtained a copy.
It called for a 'new and open-minded conversation' about how the court interprets the convention.
The letter was ultimately signed by nine CoE member states, including Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland.
The court is not an EU body, but part of the larger and older Council of Europe, of which Britain is also a member.
All 27 EU member states belong to the 46-state human rights watchdog and are signatories to the convention.
Mr Berset admitted that the issue of migration is a 'complex challenge' and that 'democracies must always remain open to reflection', but urged caution in how such discussions are approached.
'Clarity about the role of the institution is essential,' he said, noting that all 46 member states had 'freely signed and ratified' the convention.
'It exists to protect the rights and values they committed to defend,' he continued. 'Upholding the independence and impartiality of the court is our bedrock.
'The court has brought its principles to life, guiding European states through threats to judicial independence, political turmoil, even war.'
Sir Keir Starmer announced plans to limit judges' powers to block migrant deportations using the convention earlier this month.
The Prime Minister has held talks on illegal migration with Giorgia Meloni, Italy's hard-Right prime minister, and Mette Frederiksen, Denmark's prime minister, since his election last year.
But Sir Keir has ruled out leaving the European Court of Human Rights, having previously said doing so would represent a 'betrayal' of Britain's role in the drafting of the convention.
'We will never withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights. Churchill himself was among the chief architects of the Convention,' he said, speaking at Blenheim Palace in July 2024.
On Saturday, a new paper from Policy Exchange questioned the view that the European Convention on Human Rights is a 'British legacy', and disputed claims that leaving the Convention would constitute a 'betrayal' of Sir Winston Churchill.
The report argues that, while Britain helped draft the convention, its modern form is far removed from the limited safeguard against fascism and communism originally envisioned by the government.
The report was backed by Lord Jonathan Sumption, former Supreme Court Justice, and historian Andrew Roberts, Baron Roberts of Belgravia.
'Invoking the memory of Churchill to support the ECHR, or to oppose UK withdrawal from it, is either base opportunism or basic historical misunderstanding,' wrote Lord Roberts, author of Churchill: Walking with Destiny.
'The historical record matters and the memory of Churchill should not be weaponised for political advantage, not least in service of a cause that he would have viewed as wholly incompatible with parliamentary democracy and the prerogatives of the nation state.'
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