UK plans to curb influence of European court could jeopardise Brexit deal, EU warns

British plans to curb the influence of the European Court of Human Rights could lead to Brussels tearing up the Brexit trade deal, the EU has warned.

"We will be watching this very carefully," an EU official said. "It could have a major impact on the Trade and Cooperation Agreement."

Dominic Raab, the new Justice Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister, told The Telegraph he wants ministers to have the power to "correct" judgements from the Strasbourg court by introducing ad hoc legislation.

The European Court of Human Rights is not an EU body. Its convention is put into national law by the Human Rights Act, which Mr Raab, the former Brexit negotiator, wants to reform.

But under the Brexit trade deal and a new extradition treaty with the UK, the EU secured commitments that the body would be respected.

Those obligations could now tie Mr Raab’s hands, or further strain relations with Brussels, as he tries to ensure the UK Supreme Court has the last word on cases such as accusations of abuses against British soldiers fighting abroad.

Officials insist the new legislation won’t compromise the UK’s commitment to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) or its court.

But David McAllister, the chairman of the UK Coordination Group of the European Parliament, warned: "The European Parliament considers the ECHR as an integral and indispensable part of the democratic foundations of Europe."

The EU-UK free trade deal has a chapter on cooperation on criminal matters, which includes a post-Brexit extradition treaty to replace the European Arrest Warrant.

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'EU can terminate operation of EU-UK free trade agreement'

Bart Van Vooren, of law firm Covington & Burling, said: "Law enforcement and judicial cooperation in criminal matters will automatically cease to apply if the UK would denounce the ECHR.

"If the EU considers that the UK has seriously and substantially failed to respect human rights, it can terminate or suspend the operation of the EU-UK free trade agreement."

Steve Peers, professor of EU law at the University of Essex, said: "If the UK chips away at the Human Rights Act it is possible that the EU, or courts in the EU, might consider suspending at least some of that cooperation."

Sacha Deshmukh, Amnesty International UK’s CEO, added: "The ECHR is not a sweet shop. Politicians of the day cannot just pick and choose the rights they like."

A Government spokesperson said, "We are reforming our human rights framework to make sure it commands public confidence. There is no plan to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights – and no need to do so to deliver our objectives.”

The UK has separately called for the European Court of Justice, which is an EU court, to be stripped of its role in Northern Ireland in ongoing talks over the Brexit treaty.