Demand for commercial courts hits new peak as competition circles – Litigation Futures

Posted May 10th, 2019 in brexit, Commercial Court, courts, jurisdiction, London, news, statistics by sally

‘The number of commercial cases heard in London grew significantly last year, according to new research which highlights the difficulties for new international courts to challenge the UK’s position post-Brexit.’

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Litigation Futures, 8th May 2019

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Impact of Brexit on UK courts “exaggerated”, judges say – Litigation Futures

Posted May 10th, 2019 in brexit, courts, dispute resolution, judges, jurisdiction, news by sally

‘The likely legal impact of Brexit on English law and the UK’s role in international dispute resolution, has been exaggerated, a Court of Appeal judge said yesterday.’

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Litigation Futures, 8th May 2019

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Abuse of MPs hitting unprecedented levels, says Met police chief – The Guardian

Posted May 9th, 2019 in brexit, harassment, news, parliament, police, statistics by tracey

‘Criminal abuse and harassment of MPs are running at unprecedented levels, reflecting “polarised opinions” in the aftermath of the Brexit vote, Britain’s most powerful police officer told a parliamentary committee on Wednesday. The warning from Cressida Dick, the Metropolitan police chief, was accompanied by official statistics showing that the number of crimes committed against MPs had more than doubled to 342 in 2018 from 151 the year before.’

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The Guardian, 9th May 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Speech by Chancellor of the High Court: The effect of Brexit on Financial Services Disputes in London – Courts and Tribunals Judiciary

Posted May 8th, 2019 in brexit, judges, jurisdiction, London, speeches by tracey

‘Speech by Chancellor of the High Court: The effect of Brexit on Financial Services Disputes in London.’

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Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 7th May 2019

Source: www.judiciary.uk

Speech by The Rt Hon Sir Nicholas Hamblen: Litigating financial disputes in London and the Financial List – Courts and Tribunals Judiciary

‘Speech by The Rt Hon Sir Nicholas Hamblen: Litigating financial disputes in London and the Financial List.’

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Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 7th May 2019

Source: www.judiciary.uk

Meet The Campaigners Behind The UK’s First Social And Economic Rights Bill – Rights Info

Posted April 26th, 2019 in bills, brexit, consultations, EC law, education, health, housing, human rights, news by sally

‘Two years ago, human rights campaigners Koldo Casla and Peter Roderick first discussed creating a bill enshrining social and economic rights in the UK. With a draft version now out for consultation, their vision is creeping closer to reality. Ella Braidwood finds out more.’

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Rights Info, 25th April 2019

Source: rightsinfo.org

Police call for change to ‘outdated’ protest laws after MPs threatened over Brexit – The Independent

Posted April 25th, 2019 in brexit, demonstrations, news, parliament, police, public order by tracey

‘A senior police officer has called for the government to change “outdated” protest laws amid a rise in threats against MPs. In the wake of protests by the UK “yellow vests” and other Brexit-related groups stationed outside parliament, Metropolitan Police commander Adrian Usher said officers were struggling to enforce current laws.’

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The Independent, 24th April 2019

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Stephanie Reynolds: Brexit and the (Not Quite) Constitutionalised Status of EU Citizenship – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted April 24th, 2019 in brexit, citizenship, constitutional law, EC law, news by sally

‘Since its formal introduction in the Maastricht Treaty, EU citizenship has laid claim to a constitutional status. The Union Treaties – long described by the Court of Justice as the EU’s constitutional texts – explicitly confer the status of Union citizenship on all nationals of the Member States. The asserted significance of this was subsequently confirmed in the seminal Grzelczyk judgment, in which the Court famously declared that EU citizenship was ‘destined to be the fundamental status of nationals of the Member States’.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 24th April 2019

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

New acts – legislation.gov.uk

Posted April 18th, 2019 in animal cruelty, animals, brexit, EC law, legislation by tracey

European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2019

Animal Welfare (Service Animals) Act 2019

Source: www.legislation.gov.uk

Clean air zones: Where will UK drivers pay for polluting? – BBC News

‘Drivers of the most polluting vehicles now have to pay to drive into central London – and soon other towns and cities across the UK will follow suit.’

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BBC News. 12th April 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

David Howarth: Westminster versus Whitehall: Two Incompatible Views of the Constitution – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted April 11th, 2019 in brexit, constitutional law, ministers' powers and duties, news, parliament by sally

‘Lawyers like to make as much sense as possible of the material in front of them, transforming it, if they can, from a jumble of decisions and remarks into a coherent whole. For constitutional lawyers that habit of mind is both a blessing and a curse. It is a blessing because it causes lawyers to look for subtleties others miss (albeit sometimes subtleties they themselves create). It is a curse because when the material is generated by underlying mechanisms and ideas that fundamentally conflict, it leaves lawyers at a loss, or, worse, going round in circles.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 10th April 2019

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Instances of judges bullying female barristers exaggerated, says LCJ – Legal Futures

‘The problem of male judges bullying female barristers in court has been exaggerated, the Lord Chief Justice suggested yesterday.’

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Legal Futures, 4th April 2019

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

David Vitale: Leaving the EU: A Matter of “Trust”? – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted April 9th, 2019 in brexit, news, referendums, treaties by sally

‘Since the referendum in 2016, the Government has repeatedly justified its decisions on Brexit by invoking the concept of public trust. In December last year, the Prime Minister rejected the idea of a second referendum because, in her view, it “would do irreparable damage to the integrity of our politics, because it would say to millions who trusted in democracy, that our democracy does not deliver”. Then, last month, the Prime Minister said that not leaving the EU would cause “potentially irreparable damage to public trust”. And most recently, the Government – when confronted with a public petition to revoke Article 50 and remain in the EU – relied upon this concept of public trust to justify its ultimate rejection of that petition.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 9th April 2019

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Could ministerial advice to the Queen to prorogue Parliament or to refuse assent to a Parliamentary Bill be challenged in the courts? – Brexit Law

‘This post continues the debate that has arisen following recent Parliamentary efforts to seize the initiative from the Government to avoid a no-deal Brexit, in particular the Cooper- Letwin Bill, and certain proposals that have emerged by which it is suggested the Government could thwart these efforts.’

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Brexit Law, 8th April 2019

Source: brexit.law

Ofcom investigating ‘white people’ remark by Jon Snow – The Guardian

Posted April 9th, 2019 in brexit, complaints, demonstrations, media, news by sally

‘The media regulator has launched an investigation into comments made by the Channel 4 News presenter Jon Snow, who said of a pro-Brexit protest that he had “never seen so many white people in one place”.’

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The Guardian, 8th April 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Inquiry launched into data use from no-deal Brexit ads on Facebook – The Guardian

Posted April 5th, 2019 in advertising, brexit, data protection, internet, news, referendums by tracey

‘The information commissioner’s office will use its legal powers to obtain information from Facebook about a secretive network of pro-Brexit advertising campaigns on the social network, following revelations about the involvement of Sir Lynton Crosby’s company in campaigns pushing for a hard no-deal Brexit.’

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The Guardian, 4th April 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Ewan McGaughey: What Is Needed in Our Constitution to Revoke Article 50? – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted April 4th, 2019 in brexit, constitutional law, news, parliament by sally

‘Professors Gavin Phillipson and Alison Young have argued on this blog that an Act of Parliament is needed to revoke article 50. An alternative view is that, while an Act may be desirable, it is not necessary. This is still an important issue because on Wednesday 27th of March 2019, 184 votes in the House of Commons were cast in favour of revoking article 50 before ‘exit day’ if no agreement had been reached, 293 votes were cast against, and 164 MPs abstained. By contrast, 400 MPs voted against ‘no deal’. Mathematically the question of revocation remains in play, because in an emergency a positive majority of the Commons may emerge. Because an Act takes longer than executive action, the question of the legal mechanism to revoke article 50 must be scrutinised.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 4th April 2019

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Stefan Theil: Unconstitutional Prorogation – UK Constitutional Law Association

‘Parliament voted on the evening of 1 April in a series of indicative votes to determine what, if any, alternative plan for withdrawal from the European Union could command the support of the House of Commons: all plans put forward again failed to command a majority. In a recent intervention, John Finnis has suggested that the government should prorogue Parliament until after 12 April in order to terminate the current parliamentary debate. Mark Elliott has offered a critique of the broader implications of this argument, namely the claim that such a course of action would be ‘(…) wholly legitimate as a matter of constitutional principle.’ Elliott concludes that parliamentary control of the process is entirely legitimate and in keeping with the British constitution. This piece adds to this analysis by elaborating why the prorogation Finnis advocates under these specific circumstances would be, as Elliott summarily puts it, ‘(…) an argument for unconstitutional action on the part of the Government.’ The piece develops a twofold argument: first, that ministerial advice tendered to seek a prorogation of Parliament under these circumstances is unconstitutional and that the Monarch should disregard it as a matter of constitutional convention; and second that holding otherwise would in effect grant the Prime Minister an unqualified veto over parliamentary business, leaving the government in an unconscionable position of power over the sovereign Parliament. Such an outcome would be fundamentally at odds with British parliamentary democracy, especially principles of democracy and representative and responsible government.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 3rd April 2019

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

EU law does not compel UK to participate in European Parliament elections – Brexit Law

Posted April 1st, 2019 in brexit, EC law, elections, news by sally

‘Lord Anderson of Ipswich KBE QC, Marie Demetriou QC and Emma Mockford of Brick Court Chambers have today published an Opinion, along with two other QCs and Professor Piet Eeckhout, Dean of the Law Faculty at UCL, grappling with the controversial issue of whether the UK need hold European Parliamentary elections in the event that there is any further extension of Article 50 beyond April 2019.’

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Brexit Law, 28th March 2019

Source: brexit.law

Ep. 74: Brexit Delayed – Law Pod UK

Posted March 27th, 2019 in brexit, delay, EC law, news by sally

‘Professor Catherine Barnard, discusses the latest Brexit developments and looks at the options now with just four days to go before the UK was originally set to leave the EU.’

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Law Pod UK, 26th March 2019

Source: audioboom.com