§ Lord Lester of Herne Hillasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to their Answer of 7th December 1994 (HL WA 84), whether they consider that local authorities, in discharging their public functions, have a duty to comply with the terms of the European Convention on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; and
Further to their Answer of 7th December 1994 (HL WA 84), how, in the absence of legislation to incorporate the European Convention on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights into the law of the United Kingdom, victims of failure by Ministers and civil servants to comply with the terms of the treaties, in the discharge of their public functions, are able to obtain effective domestic remedies against the Crown; and
Further to their Answer of 7th December 1994 (HL WA 84), whether they consider that Her Majesty's judges, in discharging their public functions, have a duty to comply with the European Covenant of Human Rights and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
§ The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Chalker of Wallasey)As I stated in my Answer of 7th December, the treaties referred to, in common with treaties in general, are binding on States party to them and not individuals. The acts or omissions of public officers or authorities may engage the international responsibility of the United Kingdom in so far as they raise issues in respect of the fulfilment of the United Kingdom's obligations under the treaty. The position in international law in this regard is no different for the treaties referred to by the noble Lord than for other treaties. In the cases of the European Convention on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the determination whether a particular act or omission does engage the responsibility of the United Kingdom is specially entrusted (subject to the rules and procedures laid down in the treaties) to the supervisory bodies established by those treaties.
The obligation to provide an effective domestic remedy is an obligation of the State under the treaties in question. Whether the United Kingdom has complied with that obligation falls to be determined in the same way as whether it has complied with any of the other obligations under those treaties. In so far as the European Convention on Human Rights is concerned, the European Court of Human Rights has consistently held that the Convention does not lay down for the Contracting States any given manner for ensuring within their internal law the effective implementation of any of its provisions.