# Brexit: UK still going to be member of Council of Europe/European Court of Human Rights? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 2, 2017, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brexit-uk-still-going-to-be-member-of-council-of-europe-european-court-of-human-rights/783603 "2017-04-02T20:43:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2017, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brexit-uk-still-going-to-be-member-of-council-of-europe-european-court-of-human-rights/783603/1 "2017-04-02T20:43:52Z")
Am I correct in thinking that the UK’s withdrawal from the EU doesn’t affect its membership in the Council of Europe, ratification of the European Convention on Human Rights, and jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights? I’ve read the [Brexit 50 lette](http://fortune.com/2017/03/29/article-50-letter-brexit-theresa-may/)r that PM May sent to President Tusk, and it doesn’t mention those things, which I understand are all separate from membership in the EU? ---
**Author:** ![Malden\_Capell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malden_capell/32/5274_2.png) [@Malden\_Capell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malden_Capell)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2017, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brexit-uk-still-going-to-be-member-of-council-of-europe-european-court-of-human-rights/783603/2 "2017-04-02T21:40:03Z")
Yes, it does not affect them. Britain is a member of the Council of Europe and the ECHR separately from its membership of the EU. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2017, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brexit-uk-still-going-to-be-member-of-council-of-europe-european-court-of-human-rights/783603/3 "2017-04-02T21:54:42Z")
Once Brexit is a done deal, the ECHR is next on the list (allegedly) > [@](#): > > Theresa May reportedly plans to take Britain out of the ECHR > The Prime Minister is said to have pushed back plans to jettison the Court until after Brexit negotiations. > > David Cameron’s Government had previously pledged to replaced the Human Rights Act with a British Bill of Rights that would have given the ECHR a continued role in appeals. > > But Mrs May now reportedly plans to go a step further by removing the UK from ECHR jurisdiction completely, giving the final say on human rights cases to the UK Supreme Court. > > [What is the European Court of Human Rights and why does Theresa May want to scrap it? | Politics | News | Express.co.uk](http://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/748186/What-is-European-Court-of-Human-Rights-EU-Theresa-May-scrap) ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2017, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brexit-uk-still-going-to-be-member-of-council-of-europe-european-court-of-human-rights/783603/4 "2017-04-02T21:57:28Z")
People are talking about taking evictions of EU residents from the UK to ECHR. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2017, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brexit-uk-still-going-to-be-member-of-council-of-europe-european-court-of-human-rights/783603/5 "2017-04-03T01:19:12Z")
When Teresa May was but a simple Home Secretary, she used to muse out loud about taking the UK out of the European Convention of Human Rights. Then came the Brexit vote and David Cameron’s resignation, and when Teresa blushingly put her name forward as a possible new PM she abandoned the idea, saying that there was no Parliamentary will to make the move. Presumably she felt that if elected PM she’d have enough on her plate implementing Brexit without doing the ECHR thing as well. She might also have felt that being commited to leaving the ECHR as well as the EU would’t stand to her in the leadership election. But recently it has been reported that she wants to make a commitment to withdraw from the ECHR an element of the Tories’ manifesto for the 2020 general election. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2017, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brexit-uk-still-going-to-be-member-of-council-of-europe-european-court-of-human-rights/783603/6 "2017-04-03T14:26:08Z")
Thanks for the info, everyone. So it’s a “stay-tuned” kind of thing. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2017, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brexit-uk-still-going-to-be-member-of-council-of-europe-european-court-of-human-rights/783603/7 "2017-04-03T14:28:08Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Thanks for the info, everyone. So it’s a “stay-tuned” kind of thing. As with so much in politics and especially now. Unlike some political leaders, our PM is pretty careful to only put forward policies that have a good chance of success. She can be easily fired if she fails to carry the House.