Prisoners voting rights: UK Government loses final appeal in European Court

The government has lost its final appeal against giving prisoners the right to vote following a ruling by the European court of human rights.

A five-judge panel said the UK must now draw up proposals within six months to end the blanket ban on prisoners voting. The court delivered the ultimatum after upholding its decision last November to award two UK prisoners €5,000 (£4,350) in costs and expenses for their loss of voting rights, which was ruled a breach of their human rights.

In February MPs overwhelmingly backed a motion calling for the maintenance of a blanket ban on prisoners voting, a move that apparently strengthened the government's hand as it sought to introduce the minimum possible requirements on voting rights for prisoners.

However, the court yesterday dismissed the government's request for an appeal hearing and decreed its original verdict final.

A statement issued by the court said: "The court now gives the UK government six months from 11 April 2011 to introduce legislative proposals to bring the disputed law in line with the [European Human Rights] Convention."

"The government is further required to enact the relevant legislation within any time frame decided by the Committee of Ministers, the executive arm of the Council of Europe, which supervises the execution of the Court's judgments".

More than five years ago the same court delivered a similar verdict in a separate case brought by a prisoner, but the then Labour government left the blanket ban in place despite publishing a timetable for legislation and issuing two consultation papers proposing different solutions.

Last November's second ruling, in which the Strasbourg court set a deadline of August 2011 for the introduction of UK legislation, came in a case brought by prisoners named as Robert Greens and MT, both serving time at Peterhead prison.

By then, the government had announced that it reluctantly accepted there was a legal obligation to offer voting rights to at least some prisoners, and scrap the total ban.

The minister for political and constitutional reform, Mark Harper, said at the time: "I think every member in the House is exasperated about this but we have no choice about complying with the law."

The next day, the prime minister told MPs: "It makes me physically ill to contemplate giving the vote to prisoners. They should lose some rights including the right to vote."

But Cameron said the government had to comply or face possible compensation claims running into millions in a flood of human rights claims by inmates.

A spokesperson for the Cabinet Office said last night: "We are disappointed with the court's decision. We will consider the next steps."

The UK is one of several European countries, including Armenia, Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary and Romania, which automatically remove voting rights from sentenced prisoners, although remand prisoners still have the vote.

The human rights judges are not insisting that all prisoners have the right to vote, declaring only that it is a blanket ban on such a right that breaches the human rights code.

It leaves the government free to decide how to implement voting rights, for example by offering the right to vote to prisoners serving relatively short sentences, while maintaining a ban for long-term prisoners jailed for more serious crimes.

About 40% of the countries in the Council of Europe – which include all 27 EU member states – have no restrictions on prisoners voting. Others ban only some sentenced prisoners from voting.

In France and Germany courts have the power to impose loss of voting rights as an additional punishment, while Sweden, Switzerland and Denmark are among countries with no ban at all on voting for prisoners.

Ireland ended a voting ban five years ago, giving all prisoners a postal vote in the constituency where they would normally live.

Source:http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/apr/12/prisoners-vote-government-loses-appeal

140-year-old ban is lifted; 28,000 prisoners will have right to vote in Britan

More than 28,000 prisoners are to win the right to vote, new figures showed yesterday, as David Cameron faces a growing revolt from the Tory right against the lifting of the 140-year-old ban on inmates voting in British elections.

Crispin Blunt, the justice minister, announced that 28,770 prisoners serving sentences of up to four years will be given the right to vote. The figures include 5,991 prisoners convicted of violent offences and 1,753 inmates convicted of sexual offences.

The government revealed the change last year in response to a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights at Strasbourg six years ago that a blanket voting ban on convicted prisoners in British jails was unlawful.

Philip Hollobone, the Eurosceptic Tory MP for Kettering, is to intensify pressure on the government to restore the ban when he holds a debate at Westminster Hall next week.

Hollobone said: "There is no reason at all for the government to change the status quo. Just because the European court has made a pronouncement doesn't mean that the British government needs to accept that. Anyway, the British parliament decided these matters in 1870 – 75 years before the European court was established.

"The idea that the British parliament hasn't talked about this issue, which was mentioned in the European court judgment, is ludicrous. It was the 1870 forfeiture act which said prisoners shouldn't have the right to vote.

"I really don't see why the Conservative party should be forced to accept a LibDem manifesto commitment. The vast majority of my constituents are absolutely appalled at the idea of prisoners being given the right to vote."

Sadiq Khan, the shadow justice secretary, criticised the high numbers of prisoners who will be allowed to vote. "This is a slap in the face for victims of crime. We have already seen the Conservative-led government break their promise on knife crime. Now they are also giving thousands of offenders the vote.

"MPs on all sides of the House and the public are right to be angry about this decision. But they should also be angry at the manner in which it was announced – sneaked out on the day parliament broke up for Christmas."

A cabinet office spokesman said: "The government's proposals for giving prisoners the right to vote automatically exclude all offenders serving four years or more. For prisoners serving less, the sentencing judge will still have the power to remove the vote.

"Removing the blanket ban on prisoners voting is not a choice, but a legal obligation as a result of a court ruling. Failing to implement the ruling would put the government in breach of its international obligations and risk paying out taxpayers' money in compensation claims.

"We believe drawing the line at prisoners serving less than four years is enough to meet our legal obligations but goes no further than that. It ensures the most serious offenders are excluded."

Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/jan/05/prisoners-right-to-vote-britain