Graham John Wheeler: When Should the Lords Reject Secondary Legislation? – UK Constitutional Law Association

‘On 26 October 2015, the House of Lords debated the Tax Credits (Income Thresholds and Determination of Rates) (Amendment) Regulations 2015. The Regulations were approved, but subject to two riders. Critics claimed that these riders constituted “fatal” amendments, and that they were therefore tantamount to a rejection of the legislation. It was argued that it is constitutionally improper for the House of Lords to reject financial legislation in this way.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 7th December 2015

Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org

Government accused of risking ‘disunited kingdom’ as Commons approves English votes for English laws – Independent

Posted October 23rd, 2015 in bills, devolution, news, parliament, Scotland, veto by michael

‘The Government was accused of risking the creation of  a “disunited kingdom” after the Commons approved an historic change to give English MPs a veto over laws which affect only England.’

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Independent, 22nd October 2015

Source: www.independent.co.uk

‘Black Spiders’ case shows need for guidance on FOI veto powers – OUT-LAW.com

‘The UK government must give new guidance to public authorities on when government ministers can exercise powers of veto to prevent the disclosure of information under freedom of information (FOI) laws.’
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OUT-LAW.com, 2nd June 2015

Source: www.out-law.com

Publication of the Black Spider Memos: a hollow victory? – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

‘On 13th April, the Guardian were finally able to publish the ‘black spider memos,’ private correspondence between Prince Charles and several government departments between September 2004 and March 2005.’

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 18th May 2015

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

R (on the application of Evans) and another (Respondents) v Attorney General (Appellant) – Supreme Court

R (on the application of Evans) and another (Respondents) v Attorney General (Appellant) [2015] UKSC 21 (YouTube)

Supreme Court, 26th March 2015

Source: www.youtube.com/user/UKSupremeCourt

Alison Young: R (Evans) v Attorney General [2015] UKSC 21 – the Anisminic of the 21st Century? – UK Constitutional Law Association

‘On Thursday 26th March the Supreme Court concluded, to the delight of The Guardian and the dismay of the Prime Minister, that communications between Prince Charles and government Ministers – the so-called ‘black spider memos’ – should be released. This has been a long saga, involving issues of freedom of information, discussion of constitutional conventions surrounding the behaviour of a Monarch in training, which now also includes the principle of legality and the nature of the relationship between parliamentary sovereignty and the rule of law. Such a cornucopia of delights for constitutional lawyers guarantees that the case has earned its place in the ‘Constitutional law Case list Hall of Fame’, with the promise of further delight as the memos, once released and savoured, cast an insight into the relationship between the Crown and the Government.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 31st March 2015

Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org

The Tale of the Black Spider: The Supreme Court speaks – UK Human Rights Blog

‘And so, the long legal saga of the Black Spider Letters finally comes to a close.

I last blogged about this case back in October 2012. At that time, the Attorney General had ignited controversy by invoking a little-known power under section 53 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 27th March 2015

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Why Evans gets the spiders – Panopticon

‘The Supreme Court’s judgment in R (Evans) v Attorney General [2015] UKSC 21 has received vast amounts of media coverage – more in a single day than everything else about FOI has received in ten years, I reckon. No need to explain what the case was about – the upshot is that Rob Evans gets Prince Charles’ ‘black spider’ letters. Here’s why.’

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Panopticon, 26th March 2015

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

Supreme court clears way for release of secret Prince Charles letters – The Guardian

Posted March 26th, 2015 in appeals, attorney general, disclosure, documents, news, royal family, Supreme Court, veto by sally

‘The UK supreme court has cleared the way for the publication of secret letters written by Prince Charles to British government ministers, declaring that an attempt by the state to keep them concealed was unlawful.’

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The Guardian, 26th March 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Human Rights at the Crossroads? – BBC Unreliable Evidence

Posted February 6th, 2015 in constitutional law, elections, human rights, news, parliament, Supreme Court, treaties, veto by sally

‘Clive Anderson and guests get behind the political rhetoric to debate the potential impact on the rights of British citizens if the Government carries out a proposal to scrap the Human Rights Act and replace it with a “more British” Bill of Rights.’

Listen

BBC Unreliable Evidence, 24th January 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Attorney general’s rejection of ruling on Charles letters was unlawful, court told – The Guardian

Posted November 25th, 2014 in attorney general, disclosure, documents, news, royal family, Supreme Court, trials, veto by sally

‘The government’s most senior legal adviser acted unlawfully when he overrode a court and blocked the publication of secret letters written by Prince Charles, the supreme court has been told.’

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The Guardian, 25th November 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Prince Charles letters row: Supreme Court to hear case – BBC News

Posted November 24th, 2014 in confidentiality, disclosure, freedom of information, news, royal family, veto by sally

‘The Supreme Court is set to consider whether letters from Prince Charles to the government should be made public.’

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BBC News, 24th November 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Tories ‘would curb human rights rulings’ from Europe – BBC News

Posted October 3rd, 2014 in human rights, news, parliament, political parties, veto by tracey

‘Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said if the Tories won the election, a new Bill of Rights would give UK courts and Parliament the “final say”.’

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BBC news, 3rd Ocotber 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Veto of human rights rulings will damage Britain’s stance on Iraq, Dominc Grieve warns – Daily Telegraph

Posted August 13th, 2014 in elections, human rights, international relations, news, prisons, veto by sally

‘Dominic Grieve warns that a veto on European Court of Human Rights rulings would be a ‘disaster’ and would would place Britain in ‘great difficulty in terms of our international standing on human rights’.’

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Daily Telegraph, 13th August 2014

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Will Prince Charles’s musings see the light of day? – RPC Privacy Law

‘Prince Charles as heir to the British throne is an assiduous letter-writer and has sent a number of letters to ministers regarding government policy on matters such as environmental issues in which he has a strong interest rather than, it would appear, the more lower level political issues of the day.’

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RPC Privacy Law, 7th May 2014

Source: www.rpc.co.uk

Prince Charles, the Guardian and the Unreasonable Veto – Panopticon

‘As promised last week, this post contains a slightly fuller account of the Court of Appeal’s judgment in R (Evans) v HM Attorney General [2014] EWCA Civ 254. The history of the case is manifold and has been covered on this blog innumerable times (see: here, here and here). In essence, the Upper Tribunal held in a very lengthy judgment that some of the correspondence written by Prince Charles to various governmental departments ought to be disclosed in the public interest. The Attorney General then issued his statement of reasons under section 53 FOIA, which has the effect of vetoing the judicial decision. On any view, the veto is a highly unusual provision. The Divisional Court dismissed the judicial review of that veto. Mr Evans, a Guardian journalist, appealed.’

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Panopticon, 18th March 2014

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

Prince Charles’s letters: recipients’ identities must stay secret, say lawyers – The Guardian

Posted February 27th, 2014 in appeals, confidentiality, disclosure, freedom of information, news, royal family, veto by sally

‘The identities of the ministers who received confidential letters from Prince Charles promoting his personal views must remain concealed, government lawyers argued on Wednesday.’

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The Guardian, 26th February 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Decision to block Prince Charles’s letters challenged – BBC News

Posted February 25th, 2014 in appeals, attorney general, disclosure, freedom of information, news, royal family, veto by sally

‘A move by the government to block the release of letters from Prince of Wales to ministers are being challenged in the Court of Appeal.’

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BBC News, 24th February 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Prince Charles faces fresh challenge to secret communications with ministers – The Guardian

‘Prince Charles is to face a fresh challenge to his secret communication channel to government ministers when a court is asked to reveal whether he lobbied for an exemption to property laws affecting his £800m estate.’

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The Guardian, 3rd December 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Prince Charles faces scrutiny by MPs over veto on laws – The Guardian

Posted August 13th, 2013 in consent, constitutional law, legislation, news, royal family, royal prerogative, veto by sally

“The British parliament is to investigate Prince Charles’s controversial role in helping to shape government legislation in a move likely to increase pressure on Whitehall to reduce the secrecy around alleged royal lobbying.”

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The Guardian, 12th August 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk