Slashdot Mirror
GCHQ Does Not Breach Human Rights, Judges Rule
An anonymous reader writes The current system of UK intelligence collection does not currently breach the European Convention of Human Rights, a panel of judges has ruled. A case claiming various systems of interception by GCHQ constituted a breach had been brought by Amnesty, Privacy International and others. It followed revelations by the former US intelligence analyst Edward Snowden about UK and US surveillance practices. But the judges said questions remained about GCHQ's previous activities. Some of the organisations who brought the case, including Amnesty UK and Privacy International, say they intend to appeal the decision to the European Court of Human Rights.
What worries me about the article is that it keeps mentioning the European Convention on Human Rights, but singularly fails to clarify that the IPT is a UK body and not a European one. The whole point of the European court system is to help citizens overturn the decisions of an entrenched national establishment that refuses to police itself. The UK keeps complaining about the EU "interfering" in our laws, but they only do so at the request of British citizens (or less commonly other EU citizens who aren't receiving fair and equal treatment).
Got them moderator blues I blieve I walk out the do', With these mod-points I been gettin', I 'most never post no mo'
A non-political body called the Judicial Appointments Commission, the 15 members of which include barristers, judges, normal everyday people and legal professionals. The government have no say in appointments, and have no power over the commission - its completely independent.