Wait for Hunting Act appeal result

The Countryside Alliance (CA) will have to wait at least five weeks to learn the Law Lords’ reaction to a series of appeals against hunting law to the House of Lords.

The first hearing in the Lords began on Wednesday, 10 October and concluded on Thursday, 18.

In the first challenge, the CA claimed the Hunting Act infringes the European Convention on Human Rights. The second case brought by the CA says the Act is contrary to European law on free trade, and in the third case hunt supporter Brian Friend claims Scottish law infringes his personal human rights.

If the appeal to European law were successful, it would mean an immediate overturn of the Act. The appeal to human rights legislation would force the government to look again at the Act, if upheld, and if Mr Friend’s appeal were successful it would overthrow the Scottish law.

The CA’s Tim Bonner said: “This case is not about the relative merits of hunting; it is about whether Parliament acted lawfully in seeking to abolish it.”

This news story was first published in Horse & Hound (25 October, ’07)

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