Word: strasbourgers
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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Thatcher also started to prepare herself for an upcoming itinerary of international summits that would daunt an experienced statesman, not to mention a seldom-traveled novice. They include a round table of European leaders in Strasbourg following the European Parliament election on June 10; the Big Five economic summit with the U.S., West Germany, France and Japan in Tokyo a week later; and a potentially tension-laden Commonwealth Conference in Zambia in August, at which the Queen will preside...
...Strasbourg has always felt that it must go cautiously for fear that national governments will pull the rug out from under it," says Cedric Thornberry, an international lawyer who has brought more than 100 cases to Strasbourg. Indeed, the human rights commission refuses to hear most cases and tries to settle the rest amicably. Only when that fails, or a really significant test like the Sunday Times case comes along, does the full court pass judgment on one of its member nations...
...Still, Strasbourg's power of gentle persuasion has produced results, from broadening trade union freedom in Belgium and Sweden to expanding legal aid in Ireland and protecting prisoners' rights in Britain and Germany. Strasbourg has helped induce the British government to loosen its immigration laws, stop mistreating prisoners in Ulster and persuade authorities on the Isle of Man to stop "birching" the bare behinds of petty criminals...
Britain, in fact, is the commission's best client. In the past three years Strasbourg has received 398 complaints against the British government, more than against any other country. Unlike many other European countries, England does not recognize the European human rights convention as national law. Its own constitution is largely unwritten; there is no bill of rights set above the power of Parliament. That makes it more difficult to persuade a British court that the government has trespassed on individual rights. And it helps explain why so many Britons turn to Strasbourg for redress...
...characteristically British obstacles in the way of real reform. One is that Parliament is loath to give up its traditional supremacy over the courts, which would happen if judges were allowed to declare laws unconstitutional. Another is the sheer slowness of change in Britain. But after his success at Strasbourg, Sunday Times Editor Harold Evans promised to do his best to speed it along. If the Sunday Times, closed since Nov. 30 in a dispute with its printers, ever resumes publishing, Evans says he intends to challenge the contempt laws by reporting on important cases under trial...