Human Rights assessment
171.The COTIF provisions of this Act are considered to be compatible with the ECHR. One particular effect of the COTIF provisions of this Act, and the regulations which may be made under those provisions, will be to ensure that certain dangerous goods may not be carried by rail. It is considered that where this interferes with a person’s economic interests in running a business (protected by Article 1 of the First Protocol), this prohibition may be justified on general public interest grounds. The prohibition also goes towards ensuring that the UK upholds the Article 8 right to respect for a person’s home which right could otherwise be affected by environmental blight or pollution from the carriage of those goods.
Section 104: Office of Rail Regulation: general duties
172.Section 104 makes a minor amendment to Section 4(5) of the Railways Act 1993 by repealing the words shown in bold:
“The Office of Rail Regulation shall also be under a duty in exercising the functions assigned or transferred to it under this Part;
to have regard to the financial position of the [Strategic Rail] Authority in discharging its functions under this Part.”
This ensures that the Office has regard to the Strategic Rail Authority’s financial position in respect of all of its functions. It is a consequential amendment not picked up in the Transport Act 2000 arising from the creation of the Strategic Rail Authority in place of the Franchising Director. The Authority’s financial position, unlike that of the Franchising Director, is not limited to discharging its functions under the Part of the 1993 Act referred to in the deleted words.
Section 105: Railway safety levy
173.Section 105 extends to England, Scotland and Wales.
