She wants emergency legislation to be brought in and block off the EHCR. 

Former Policy and Resources Vice-President, Deputy Heidi Soulsy, took to Twitter to air her concerns about this move. 

“Concerning to hear U.K. Government looking to leave ECHR,” she said. “This could well impact Guernsey as we’re not a sovereign state. This is the 70th year since our participation was extended. I hope that @letocq and P&R will be lobbying on our behalf, alongside other CDs [Crown Dependencies].” 

In response Deputy Le Tocq – who is the island’s lead on external relations - said: “We’ve consistently stated for some time now to the U.K. that we have no intention & see no reason to leave ECHR. We decide & make our own laws, being aligned has benefited us. Furthermore it would be foolishly very expensive to do so.” 

Pictured: Deputy Heidi Soulsby raised concerns about the move towards leaving the ECHR. 

Deputy Le Tocq expanded on that position in a statement to Express: 

“The UK is a participant in the European Convention of Human Rights and this participation was extended to the Bailiwick in 1953. The Bailiwick has been and remains dedicated to the principles of the Convention.  We continue to closely monitor the situation in the UK  and engage with the UK government regarding developments. The Bailiwick has its own human rights legislation based on our longstanding alignment to the Convention and has consistently demonstrated its commitment to upholding human rights.” 

The discussion on social media also drew the attention of Deputy Peter Roffey, who suggested work could be done to protect Guernsey’s position. 

"Would it be worth a pre-emptive states resolution stating that the island wished to remain as signatories to the ECHR?” he asked. 

European Court of Human Rights 

The European Court of Human Rights is an international court that rules on applications that allege violations of the European Convention on Human Rights.