Reforming (or at least tweaking) the ECHR

On 10 December, at a meeting of the Justice Ministers of the Council of Europe, a joint statement was delivered, signed by 27 countries, including the UK. Its principal purpose was to call for action to ensure that “the Convention framework is fit to address today’s challenges”, most notably:

• expulsion of foreigners convicted of serious crimes;
• clarity about inhuman and degrading treatment;
• innovative and durable solutions to address migration;
• decision-making in migration cases; and
• instrumentalisation of migration.

It asserts:

• the right of states parties, “as a matter of well-established international law and subject to their Treaty obligations”, to control the entry, residence, and expulsion of foreigners from their territories;
• the principle of subsidiarity;
• the principle of shared responsibility “by which it is primarily for the State Parties themselves, through their national courts and within the margin of appreciation defined by the Court, to ensure compliance with the guarantees of the Convention and to prevent the Court from becoming a fourth instance”;
• proportionality; and
• the de minimis principle.

The statement also notes that the “living instrument” doctrine has “evolved significantly in recent decades” in ways that “were unforeseen at the time the Convention was drafted” – presumably, with a view to setting some limits to it.

Preventing lawful burial

BBC News reports that two funeral directors, Richard Elkin and Hayley Bell, have been found guilty of preventing lawful burial at Portsmouth Crown Court after keeping 46 bodies in an unrefrigerated room for more than a month at their premises in Gosport in 2022 and 2023. According to the report, the body of William Mitchell, 87, “showed obvious signs of decomposition” after remaining in the room for 36 days. They were also convicted of fraud and intentionally causing a public nuisance. They are to be sentenced on 19 February.

The Crown Prosecution Service issued a statement saying that Elkin and Bell

“showed a grave disregard for the dignity owed to the deceased in their care and the trust placed in them by grieving families and failed to provide a proper and lawful burial for one gentleman which they were contractually obliged to do. Their conduct caused serious harm to those coming into contact with their business and the families who had placed the care of deceased loved ones in their trust”.

In October 2024, a statutory inquiry chaired by Sir Jonathan Michael recommended that the Government “should establish an independent statutory regulatory regime for funeral directors in England as a matter of urgency in order to safeguard the security and dignity of the deceased”.

Religiously aggravated intentional harassment

On Monday, The Guardian reported that a 47-year-old man, Benjamim Lewis, had pleaded guilty at Southampton Crown Court to five counts of religiously aggravated intentional harassment, alarm or distress and two counts of theft of lambs. The offences took place between 5 February and 30 April and related to incidents at locations including Christ Church in Colbury, St Peter’s in Bramshaw, St Theresa’s in Totton, and Christ Church in Emery Down. In April, a dead lamb had been found hanging outside St Theresa’s, and another had been found at St Peter’s. The court heard that Lewis intended to “cause hostility” with Christians or people whom he perceived to be Christians.

Charities SORP: a reminder

The updated Charities Statement of Recommended Practice, which provides guidance to those preparing charity accounts, applies to accounting years beginning on or after 1 January 2026. The Charity Commission has produced updated guidance to the new requirements, here.

The Ghost of Christmas Past

The Church of England has posted the outline of Business for the General Synod in February 2026. It commences with an item on the Revival of Temporary Standing Orders, which are required to enable Synod to hold a hybrid meeting, as the current provision expires on 6 February 2026. In November 2020, General Synod (Remote Meetings)(Temporary Standing Orders) Measure 2020 No. 3 received Royal Assent; it permitted remote meetings of General Synod, enabling members to participate both in person and remotely. These provisions, first introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic, were revived in 2024 and will expire in 2026 unless renewed.

Parochial fees

The February General Synod will also consider the legislative business on the Parochial Fees Order, which will set wedding, funeral and other parochial fees for up to the next five years, i.e. 2027 to 2032. The Church Times reported that the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) had urged the Church of England to cover wedding costs for low-income couples, to encourage “a pro-family, pro-marriage nation”. To promote marriage and family stability, the CSJ called on the “established state religion” — ie the Church of England — to “commit to removing the administrative, legal and booking costs up to £650 to lower-income parishioners who marry in their parish church”. This echoes the message in a CSJ report in May 2024, Lost Boys: Boyhood, although this suggested that the Government should subsidise weddings for low-income couples in a bid to tackle loneliness.

Archdiocese of Westminster

It was announced on Friday that Bishop Richard Moth, currently Bishop of Arundel & Brighton, is to be the new Archbishop of Westminster in succession to Cardinal Nichols. He will be installed on 14 February.

Quick links

• Archdruid Eileen: Beaker Folk of Husborne Crawley: Tice Grenfell goes to School-Church.  
  
• Philip Jones: Ecclesiastical Law: Catholic and Reformed: Two Repudiations and Three Compromises.

AND A HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OUR READERS!