NEWS RELEASE FROM THE LIBERTARIAN ALLIANCE
In Association with the Libertarian International
London, Wednesday, 30 October 2002
For Immediate Release
Contact Details: David Carr, 07951 777307
carr@libertarian.co.uk
For other contact and link details, see the foot of this
message
"New Race Relations Law Misconceived and Potentially
Damaging", Says Free Market and Civil Liberties Think
Tank
The proposal by the Home Office, to extend the terms of the Race
Relations Act to cover employment in and around the home, is both
misconceived and potentially damaging.
Speaking Today in London, David Carr, a practising lawyer and
Libertarian Alliance Executive Committee Member, said:
"The government's decision to force the equal opportunities
laws on householders seeking to employ nannies, cleaners or
gardeners cuts a swathe through the meritorious distinction
between the private and the public and places upon those householders
an added dimension of risk in a process that is already fraught with
potential pitfalls and dangers.
"This alone would be bad enough but the effects will be
exarcerbated by the proposal that, in the event of a claim of
discrimination being made, the Common Law tradition of the burden of
proof being on the Claimant, be reversed.
"This means, that once the Claimant has made a prima facie case,
it will up to the Defendant to prove that he or she was not racist.
It is always decidedly difficult to prove a negative and any putative
employers so accused face the prospect of a ruinous law-suit which
they stand very little chance of being able to successfully
defend.
"Not to mention that blanket powers to accuse without the burden
of consequence are a gilt-edged opportunity for charlatans and rogues
to make malicious claims (or threaten the same) with a view to
obtaining money or other favours by dint of their menace.
"Presumably, the motive behind this proposal is to promote
better race relations in this country. For sure, a laudable goal but
one that will not be achieved by this measure which will, in fact,
tend to have the very contrary effect. It means that home
employers are being invited to view Black or Asian people not just as
fellow human beings but as harbingers of potential bankruptcy.
"The pursuit of racial harmony should not be an excuse for the
government to so imperil otherwise law-abiding citizens nor traduce
long-established Common Law safeguards from which we all benefit
regardless of our racial background."
ENDS
Note to Editors
(1) David Carr is a practising lawyer and a member of the Libertarian
Alliance Executive Committee
Mr Carr can be contacted for further comment at 07951 777307 or by
email at carr@libertarian.co.uk
Extended Contact Details:
The Libertarian Alliance is Britain’s most radical free market
and civil liberties policy institute. It has published over 700
articles, pamphlets and books in support of freedom and against
statism in all its forms. These are freely available at
The Libertarian Alliance
Suite 35
2 Lansdowne Row
Mayfair
London
W1J 6HL
Tel: 07956 472 199
Associated Organisations
The Libertarian International - http://www.libertarian.to - is a
sister organisation to the Libertarian Alliance. Its mission is to
coordinate various initiatives in the defence of individual liberty
throughout the world.
Sean Gabb's personal website - http://www.seangabb.co.uk - contains
about 800,000 words of writings on themes interesting to libertarians
and conservatives
Candidlist - http://www.candidlist.com - owned and
maintained by LA Executive member Sean Gabb, it lists Conservative
MPs and candidates according to their views on European integration.
It had a major effect before the 2001 general election, and remains
an important resource.
Liberalia - http://www.liberalia.com - maintained
by by LA Executive member Christian Michel, Liberalia publishes
in-depth papers in French and English on libertarianism,
anarcho-capitalism and the free market. It is a prime source of
documentation on these issues for students and scholars.
Libertarian Samizdata - http://www.samizdata.net - works in
association with the Libertarian Alliance and has an ever larger
following. Check it out.
