STRASBOURG(France),Jan26 , 2012(AP): Taking a sharp new swipe at European meddling in the work of national governments, British Prime Minister David Cameron chided the continent’s human rights judges Wednesday — insisting they must curb their role.Cameron made the France-based European Court of Human Rights the latest target for his euroskeptic scorn, warning that judges had overstepped their powers by repeatedly overturning decisions made by domestic authorities. Britain has frequently tussled with its European neighbors since Cameron took office in 2010 and insisted that national governments and courts must win back powers lost in recent decades to the continent’s power bases. Cameron said it had made him “physically ill” when Britain was ordered by European judges to grant prisoners the right to vote, and has railed against attempts to stop the United Kingdom from deporting suspected terrorists to countries with poor human rights records. His latest assault, in a speech to the Council of Europe — the 47-member group based in Strasbourg — follows a decision to snub colleagues at the European Union over the debt crisis. “Britain in Europe plays an important role in pushing forward the things that would really make a difference,” Cameron told the council, as he answered questions about his often combative approach. In December, Cameron became the only leader among the EU’s 27 members to refuse to join a fiscal pact aimed at solving Europe’s woes.Though it left Britain isolated from fellow European leaders, Cameron was feted by many at home for his refusal to back the deal — under which nations submit their budgets for central EU review and limit the deficits they can run. Cameron has also stared down his French and German counterparts over their hope of levying a Europe-wide tax on financial transactions — a move the British chief sees as deliberately aimed at London’s lucrative finance sector. “On this issue we don’t agree,” Cameron told the council. “I think it would be a mistake.” His sharp criticisms of interference by Europe have been bolstered by deep skepticism over ties to the EU among his Conservative Party, the senior member of Britain’s coalition government. Though some have questioned whether Britain might quit the EU altogether, Cameron insists Britain must remain within the bloc — not least because it is his country’s key trading partner. A vote in the House of Commons in October calling for a public referendum on whether Britain should quit the EU was soundly beaten, though 81 members of Cameron’s party rebelled against his demand that they oppose the motion. In his new criticism of Europe’s human rights court, Cameron said it had built up a backlog of about 150,000 cases — mainly because judges were taking on too many challenges to decisions made by national courts. “It should not undermine its own reputation by going over national decisions where it does not need to,” Cameron said. “For the sake of the 800 million people the court serves, we need to reform it so that it is true to its original purpose.” Britain claims that the U.K. alone has 3,650 cases waiting to be resolved — though that figure is dwarfed by Russia, with 40,850 pending decisions. “The court should be free to deal with the most serious violations of human rights. It should not be swamped with an endless backlog,” Cameron said. He said Britain hopes to win support to press the court to scale back its work, so that “where possible, final decisions should be made nationally.” Cameron’s criticism follows a 2010 demand that the U.K. should overturn a centuries-old law and allow prisoners to vote in national elections. The decision has not yet been implemented. Last week, the court blocked Britain’s deportation to Jordan of extremist cleric Abu Qatada, described as one of Europe’s leading al-Qaida figures, over fears evidence obtained through torture would be used against him in Jordanian courts. In May 2010, the court also prevented the alleged ringleader of an al-Qaida bomb plot and a man regarded by authorities as a threat to national security from being sent to their native Pakistan. European judges caused further tensions when they ruled England’s football Premier League could no longer sell exclusive television contracts to each EU nation. However, Home Secretary Theresa May was embarrassed over one bogus criticism — when she claimed last year that the European court had blocked the deportation of a Bolivian criminal, in part because he would be separated from his pet cat. Britain’s Judicial Office later confirmed the “cat had nothing to do with the decision.” The European court declined to comment Wednesday on Cameron’s planned speech. Writing an op-ed article published Tuesday in The Independent newspaper, Nicolas Bratza, president of the European Court, said it was “disappointing to hear senior British politicians lending their voices to criticisms more frequently heard in the popular press, often based on a misunderstanding of the court’s role and history.”
