England losing its grip on law



Published 11/30/2001



Anglophiles had best pop over to the Misty Isles for a last experience
of Britain before the country is re-
duced to an oppressed province of the European Union.
Napoleon could not conquer England, nor could Hitler, but Socialist
bureaucrats in Brussels have, with help from Tony Blair's New Labor and
British nonchalance. Britain is on its way back to the reign of Charles I,
with its secret courts and imprisonment without trial or evidence.
Once-proud Brits are suffering the indignity of being gradually brought
under European law by ministerial edicts that bypass Parliament. Recently,
the British lost their ancient system of weights and measures, and now they
are on the verge of losing their legal system, the development of which is,
essentially, the history of Britain.
Although willing to be bullied along the path to European integration,
the British steadfastly have held on to their justice system. And for good
reason.
Historically, English law has been a shield of the people, standing in
stark contrast to Europe's Napoleonic criminal law, which does not safeguard
law against its use by government as a weapon.
English law does not permit police to arrest citizens without evidence
or to hold them more than 48 hours without presenting charges in open court.
The European system permits police to arrest citizens on suspicion and to
detain them indefinitely while preparing a case against them.
Moreover, the accused European has no right to see the evidence against
him, no right to a jury trial and no right to an open court. His case is
decided by a professional judge, whose career and advancement is dependent
on the state that brings the case.
Under European law, there is no presumption of innocence or protection
against double jeopardy. The accused can be subjected to repeated trials on
the same charges until the state wins a guilty verdict.
The English fought a civil war to rid themselves of such an oppressive
"justice system," and now in a sweep of anti-terrorism hysteria the Blair
government is sponsoring a "terrorism bill" that signs away the English
birthright.
The Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Bill currently moving through
Parliament contains a provision that removes Parliament from the decision to
replace English law with Europe's Corpus Juris. Unless Parliament rejects
this provision, the EU Council of Ministers in Brussels, with the
concurrence of the British Home Secretary, can vote away English legal
protections and replace Habeas Corpus with the Napoleonic code.
The British also face the unpleasant prospect of being tried by
European prosecutors for offenses that are not crimes in Britain. A few days
ago, Law Lord Richard Scott asked the government to give more careful
thought to the European arrest warrant. The warrant does not require
evidence and would permit British citizens to be extradited to Europe for
interrogation should they be suspected of crimes such as racism and
xenophobia (fear or hatred of foreigners). Surely this spells the end of
soccer.
Will this direct threat to British liberty cause the Brits to confront
honestly the loss of sovereignty required by European integration? Lord
Tebbit was succinct on Nov. 1 when he said ratification of the Nice Treaty
(European integration) "would be both contrary to Magna Carta and a breach
of the Coronation Oath, which sprang from the settlement of 1688" that
established the accountability of law.
If the British decide to give up sovereignty, they might try for better
terms. Why not form a European Union on the basis of English law? This would
be a huge gain for all of Europe by bringing English liberties at long last
to the Continent. Are the British people so smitten by Europe that they woul
d give up their historic achievements and replace "law as shield" with "law
as weapon"?
The Labor government has not been honest with the people about the
implications of European Union. Instead, Brits have been led down the path
with assurances that they can be both British and European. Now that
shopkeepers are being arrested for selling by the pint and pound instead of
by the liter and kilo, the British might realize that Europe is a threat to
their national character and to their liberty.