Re: Erosion of Civil Liberties.

["Roger Stenning \(G1LIW\)" <g1liw@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Charles wrote...

> Although the Human Rights Act, 1998 does act in some ways like the US
> constitution.

OK, the Human Rights Act, eh? I was wondering when someone would mention that...

The  Human Rights Act 1998 (available through www.hmso.gov.uk) gives exceptions "in the interests of national security,
public safety or the economic well-being of the country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of
health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others." (the section 'Schedules' refers).

This then allows HMG to suspend your Human Rights if, with reasonable grounds, it suspects you of planning committing
and or conspiring to commit crimes, and or endanger, and or through and or with others, endanger the state, its
subjects, and/or national security. Basically, if you're a bad boy, your so-called Human Rights go with down the toilet.

In other words, the HRA'98 ain't worth the paper it's written on, except that it, through a very sneaky backdoor,
removed the right of UK courts to require the death penalty of persons convicted of High Treason (assassination of the
Monarch) or Arson in a Royal Dockyard (A Royal Navy shipyard). The only offences, I might add, that had the death
penalty in the UK for the last few decades. It also removes the possibility, except in wartime or the lead up to war, of
such penalty, without a complete re-write of the HRA. I'm NOT impressed. There are those criminals who, frankly,
*should* be put to death. Such as certain terrorists and peadophiles. In My opinion. Which opinion, I might add, is NOT
negotiable. Tough if you don't agree. The HRA gives me the right to state that, by the way ;->

In terms of Millennium's End, the only thing that the HRA introduced was that it is now mandatory for persons arresting
another, even comiting a so-called Citizen's Arrest (S2.2 Criminal Law Act 1967, and the whole of the Police And
Criminal Law Act 1984) to properly caution the suspect at the time of arrest. In other words, if your UK-based game
involves arresting someone, and the character fails to caution the suspect, your character can (a) be sued, and lose,
and (b) go to jail. Interesting possibilities, eh?

BTW - for those interested, the current UK Caution goes like this:

    "You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your
    defence if you fail to mention something, when questioned,
    that you later rely on in court; Anything you do say may be
    given in evidence."

The slightly off-colour version we devised to help us remember this PoS in the Basic Provost Course in the RMP went like
this:

    "You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your
    financial well-being if you fail to mention something, when
    questioned in the pub, that you later rely on with your
    wife; Anything you do say may be used to divorce you."

Best regards,

Roger Stenning
Organiser, The Impossible Scenarios Group
www.the-isg.co.uk
ICQ: 74721632
UK Amateur Radio call sign: G1LIW
(PGP public key available on request)
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