A genuine and comprehensive Bill of Rights is a distant prospect, says Geoffrey Bindman
A Bill of Rights is a constitutional document setting out the rights which every citizen is entitled to expect its government to guarantee. Britain has had Bills of Rights in the past. Magna Carta is one example; and in 1688 Parliament drew up a Bill of Rights which limited and defined the power of the monarchy and established Parliamentary sovereignty. The value of a Bill of Rights is in its overriding authority and general acceptance but it need not be, and has not been in Britain, binding on Parliament. That is why we say we do not have a “written constitution”, unlike many other countries, including the USA, where legislation must conform to the constitution or be invalidated.
When the UK signed up to the European Convention on Human Rights in 1950—it was largely the brainchild of British lawyers—it could be claimed that it had adopted the convention as its Bill of Rights. However, even after 1966, when individuals were enabled to claim violations of the convention at
