Recommendation 17

A declaration of incompatibility does not provide victims with a prompt and effective remedy for human rights violations. It nevertheless represents a reasonable compromise between the protection of human rights and respect for parliamentary sovereignty. Without this strong constitutional justification there is no need for resort to a declaration of incompatibility, and no such justification applies to giving the courts the power to making declarations of incompatibility in respect of all subordinate legislation. Particularly given the remedial flexibility recently confirmed for the courts in the Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022, there is no justification for extending declarations of incompatibility beyond their current application under the HRA.