UK supreme court judges air concerns over having to follow Europe's lead

The UK's supreme court is not always "supreme" because it has to follow the lead of the European court of human rights in Strasbourg, whose rulings are sometimes too narrow in scope, according to the country's most senior judge, Lord Phillips.

Many recent, high-profile legal battles over privacy and immigration, both in the courts and with parliament, have revolved around disputed interpretations, in particular, of article 8 of the European convention on human rights, which guarantees respect for private and family life.

In interviews with the Guardian, justices at the supreme court admitted difficulties in translating the "very abstract" wording of the convention into practical legal effect, but defended their right to make decisions that may not be welcomed by the government.

"It's quite plain that, so far as issues of the European convention on human rights are concerned, we are not really supreme," said Phillips, the supreme court's president. "The Strasbourg court has the last word.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2011/oct/26/uk-supreme-court-european-court-human-rights