,
The next thing for the United Kingdom to do will be to ratify the Convention.
At the point when a state ratifies a convention, it will be bound by the obligations placed on it (provided the convention has come into force - at least 20 states have to consent to be bound). The state is required to ensure that its law, policies, practices and procedures are and remain compatible with the convention's obligations.
We don't know at this stage how much time will be needed for the UK to ratify the convention but the aim is to do so without undue delay. On 12 November 2007, Anne McGuire told the Joint Committee on Human Rights of Adults with Learning Disabilities Inquiry that she had set her officials the aim of securing ratification no later that the end of 2008.
Government departments and devolved administrations are currently checking that laws, policies, practices and procedures are in line with what the convention says. If they are not, the UK will have to either change them or say that it won't change them by making a `reservation'. We may also enter `interpretive declarations'
A `reservation' excludes or modifies the legal effect of certain provisions of a convention in their application to the state making the reservation. An `interpretative' declaration is a unilateral statement in which a state purports to clarify the meaning or scope of the convention or certain of its provisions. Such a declaration should not modify a state's obligations.
This is the first human rights convention the European Community has been allowed to sign. Because of shared competence with the European Community in certain areas, our current understanding is that we shall need to work closely with the Community (represented by the European Commission) in progressing towards ratification of the Convention.
Other countries in the European Community, and the European Commission itself, have also signed the Convention and are therefore going through a similar process of checking their laws before deciding when to ratify it.
Page last reviewed: 18 August 2008