“Britain’s Supreme Court should make final rulings on contentious human rights cases, not the European Court of Human Rights, the Justice Secretary has said.”
Daily Telegraph, 25th September 2013
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“Does the recent vote in the House of Commons on military action against Syria have real constitutional significance? Is it the final piece of evidence that there is a constitutional convention that the consent of the House of Commons must be sought before armed force is used? If so, should anything be done to concretise and clarify this Convention? And what is the broader constitutional significance of this episode in terms of the evolution of controls over the prerogative power and its significance for the evolving separation of powers in the UK?”
UK Constitutional Law Group, 19th September 2013
Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org
“Writers on the British constitution have always faced the problem that, contrary to what Mr Podsnap thought, it cannot simply be held up to the light and admired. The constitution is simultaneously a description of how, for the moment, we are governed and a prescriptive account of how we ought to be governed. In both respects (the former much more than the latter) it undergoes constant change; and there are concerns, highlighted by the radical changes currently being made to the legal aid system, that the process may be accelerating into a critical and damaging phase.”
London Review of Books, 12th September 2013
Source: www.lrb.co.uk
“The morally and politically charged area of assisted suicide has many of the hallmarks of an insoluble problem. This has not prevented courts in some jurisdictions considering how they might ‘legalise’ assisted suicide without really legalising it. In doing so, they have raised manifold challenges in the minds of administrative and constitutional lawyers, including, in some jurisdictions, whether the prohibition on assisted suicide is itself constitutional, such as Rodriguez in Canada, Fleming in Ireland and Pretty in the ECtHR.”
UK Constitutional Law Group, 7th August 2013
Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org
“This week, the government’s controversial legislation on same sex marriage received Royal Assent. And, as we welcome a new royal baby, less glamorous facets of the UK’s constitutional arrangements have been in the news.”
UK Human Rights Blog, 23rd July 2013
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
“In anticipation of the birth of the Royal baby, Parliament passed the Succession to the Crown Act in April 2013. It provides that in future the eldest child will be next in line of succession, whether it is a girl or a boy. The law will not come into force in time for the Royal birth, but the new baby when born will be next in line. This Blog post explains the background, and the difficulties involved in changing the rules of succession.”
UK Constitutional Law Group, 15th July 2013
Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org
“A bill which ends succession to the Crown based on gender has become law.”
BBC News, 25th April 2013
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“Dame Julie Thérèse Mellor, DBE was appointed as Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration and the Health Service Commissioner for England (Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman) in January 2012.
The Ombudsman is mandated to consider complaints that public bodies have not acted fairly. As a watchdog body independent of government and accountable to Parliament, its constitutional role is delicate and complex. Dame Julie will discuss that role, and how best the Ombdusman can maximize its independence and impact as a check on executive power.”
UCL Constitution Unit, 23rd April 2013
Source: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit
“The consequences of Margaret Thatcher’s administration have been long lasting. In many areas of national life Thatcher took the British Bulldog by the scruff of the neck and house-trained it. In the context of the constitution her impact was no less significant.”
UK Human Rights Blog, 10th April 2013
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
“Last week, the House of Commons Political and Constitutional Reform Committee published their report, Do We Need A Constitutional Convention For the UK? (HC 2012-13 371). It is an interesting document, mainly because its very existence shows that the idea of a constitutional convention is becoming more mainstream within Westminster. But the report raises many questions, not all of which are fully answered. The central thrust of the report is that considering the raft of changes made to the constitution since 1997, particularly devolution, ‘it is time to conduct a comprehensive review so that the Union can work well in the future’ (para 111), and that this review should take the form of a ‘constitutional convention to look at the formal constitutional structure of the UK’.”
UK Constitutional Law Group, 3rd April 2013
Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org
“Does the Chris Huhne affair have constitutional implications? In one sense, the answer to this question might be a rather obvious one. From a constitutional perspective – although certainly not from a political perspective – the case seems relatively uncontroversial.”
UK Constitutional Law Group, 25th March 2013
Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org
“Joining us this week is Theo Huckle QC, the chief legal officer of Wales who – controversially – says it’s ‘inevitable’ that Wales will become a separate legal jurisdiction. Are centuries of legal union with England really coming to an end?”
BBC Law in Action, 19th February 2013
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“The Commission on a Bill of Rights was established in March 2011 and mandated to investigate the creation of a UK Bill of Rights which draws upon current ECHR obligations. On 18 December 2012, the Commission published its report. Seven of the nine committee members advocated the creation of a UK Bill of Rights, while the two dissenting members have voiced concerns that a Bill could be used as a means of decoupling the UK from the ECHR. The Commission’s Chair, Sir Leigh Lewis KCB, will discuss the report’s findings and likely impact.”
UCL Constitution Unit, 26th January 2013
Source: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit
“Don’t be fooled! We have been led to believe there was a two-way split on the government-appointed Bill of Rights Commission, which published its report on Tuesday, but the split was at least three-way. The Commissioners tell us that ‘it [was] not always easy to disentangle in the opinions expressed to [them] what are tactical positions rather than fundamental beliefs’. The same must surely be said of the report’s seven ‘majority’ authors.”
UK Human Rights Blog, 20th December 2012
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
“Looking above and beyond current debates about the House of Lords’ composition, Baroness D’Souza will discuss the Lords in terms of its place in the parliamentary process. Having now been in post for over a year, Baroness D’Souza will present her vision for the Lords’ future, its contribution to the political system, changes to its working practices and the role of the Lord Speaker. She will also cover public perceptions of the Upper House and the importance of outreach.”
UCL Constitution Unit, 14th December 2012
Source: ww.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit
“A recent case concerning Welsh byelaws saw the UK’s highest court acting as a constitutional court.”
The Guardian, 28th November 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Do Human Rights Make Bad Citizens? (PDF)
Lord Justice Laws
Northumbria University, Inaugural Lecture 2012
Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk
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