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Conversation about the laws making headlines, and the laws that shape everyday life.

The Law Show is your guide to the law and the legal decisions that have a bearing on everyone in the UK.

Weekly conversation that will give you an in-depth understanding of the law stories making news and the legal decisions that could have a bearing on everyone in the UK. Whether it's unpicking a landmark legal ruling, explaining how laws are made or seeking clarity for you on a legal issue, The Law Show will be your guide.

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The Law Show: The UK and the European Court of Human Rights

15/11/2022

The UK and the European Court of Human Rights

BBC Radio 4 - The Law Show, The UK and the European Court of Human Rights

The UK and the ECHR: trouble ahead? Do cohabiting couples have rights? Ownership disputes.

The UK government and the ECHR: on a collision course? Its former top judge speaks out. Time to improve cohabiting couples' rights? Who owns the reclining seat space on a plane?

Is the UK on a collision course with the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg?  So far the UK's relationship with the ECHR has been a good one, and the UK has proportionately fewer cases before the court than the other 45 member states. But might Justice Secretary Dominic Raab's Bill of Rights bill change that? Former judge Robert Spano, the president of the ECHR until last month, speaks to Joshua Rozenberg. 

Is it time to improve the legal protection of the UK's 3.6 million cohabiting couples? Many wrongly believe that after a period of time together or having children, they have similar rights to married couples or people in civil partnerships. But that is not the case, and the government recently rejected the House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee's recommended reforms.  In Scotland, cohabiting couples gained some statutory rights for the first time in 2006, but a report by the Scottish Law Commission now says that they need to be updated and made fairer.  

What is mine and what yours? Not always easy to answer. Say you're on a plane, and are using your tray table when the person in front of you reclines their seat - who owns the space above your knees? You or the other passenger? The authors of the book 'Mine!' tackle some ownership conundrums. 

And to end the series we hear some powerful reflections from Robert Spano on the future of democracy. 

Picture Credit: Image of Robert Spano, former President of the ECHR by Candice Imbert, Council of Europe.

Presenter: Joshua Rozenberg
Producer: Arlene Gregorius 
Researcher: Diane Richardson
Production co-ordinators: Maria Ogundele and Helena Warwick-Cross 
Sound engineer: Graham Puddifoot
Editor: Simon Watts

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

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