Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2015-11-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what role the Secretary of State has in ensuring that the law of defamation in Northern Ireland is compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.

Lord Faulks

As set out in my Written Answer HL2680 on 30 October 2015, under the Human Rights Act 1998 (section 6), all public authorities are under a duty to act in compliance with the Convention rights set out in that Act. As the law on defamation in Northern Ireland is a devolved matter, it is for the Northern Ireland Executive, in considering its policy on the subject, to reach a view on whether the policy under consideration is compatible with the Convention rights.