Administrative Law
The (constitutional) state we’re in: A week in British politics
If proof were needed that a week can be a long time in politics, one would need to look no further than the events of the last seven days in […]
1,000 words / The Supreme Court’s Judgment in Cherry/Miller (No 2)
This short piece, which forms part of my 1,000 words series of posts, aims to set out in an accessible way the key points of the Supreme Court’s judgment in […]
A new approach to constitutional adjudication? Miller II in the Supreme Court
The following is my detailed, initial analysis of the Supreme Court’s judgment in the Cherry/Miller (No 2) case. For a shorter explanation of the case, see this 1,000 words post. […]
Prorogation and justiciability: Some thoughts ahead of the Miller II case in the Supreme Court
A good deal has been said in recent days about whether the Government’s advice to the Queen concerning the prorogation of Parliament raises a legal question on which courts can […]
The Brexit Secretary says he has “set in stone” the repeal of the European Communities Act 1972 — but the legal significance of this misleading claim is very limited
Earlier today, the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, Stephen Barclay MP, posted a tweet saying that he had “signed the legislation setting in stone the repeal” of […]
Letter to The Times: Parliament’s (limited) capacity to prevent a no-deal Brexit
The following letter was published in The Times on 12 August 2019. It responds to an article, published in the same newspaper on 9 August, in which Professor Vernon Bogdanor […]
Can Parliament prevent a no-deal Brexit?
Boris Johnson, the UK’s new Prime Minister, says that the UK will leave the EU on 31 October “do or die”. With negotiations between the UK and the EU apparently […]
House of Lords Constitution Committee reports on Parliamentary Scrutiny of Treaties
By Mark Elliott and Stephen Tierney The topic of parliamentary scrutiny of the making of treaties could hardly be more topical, given the role that Parliament is currently playing in […]
Royal Assent and constitutional principle: A further response to John Finnis
A good deal has been written over the last couple of weeks about the granting of Royal Assent to legislation — and, in particular, about whether the Government can prevent […]
Does the Prime Minister’s request for an Article 50 extension scupper the Cooper-Letwin Bill?
Earlier today, the Prime Minister wrote to the President of the European Council requesting a further extension of the Article 50 period to 30 June 2019. Meanwhile, the Cooper-Letwin Bill […]
Letter to the Times: Response to Professor Brazier’s letter on Royal Assent
A number of colleagues and I wrote to The Times earlier this week on the subject of Royal Assent to legislation. The Times subsequently published a further letter on this […]
The Cooper-Letwin Bill: Parliamentary control over the extension of Article 50
The House of Lords is today considering the Cooper-Letwin Bill — or, to give it its formal title, the European Union (Withdrawal) (No 5) Bill — which would enable the […]
Royal Assent: Letter to The Times
I am pleased to be a signatory to the following letter, which is published in today’s edition of The Times. The letter argues that it would be clearly unconstitutional for […]
Brexit, the Executive and Parliament: A response to John Finnis
In a recent article in the Telegraph, Professor John Finnis advances two quite astonishing arguments. First, he advocates proroguing Parliament until after 12 April (the day on which the UK […]
Meaningful Vote 3: The legal implications of separating the Withdrawal Agreement and the Political Declaration
The Government has confirmed that tomorrow, Friday 29 March, it will lay a motion before the House of Commons seeking its approval of the Withdrawal Agreement — but not of […]
Did the UK Government act unlawfully by extending Article 50?
A group of Conservative MPs — including Suella Braverman, Bill Cash and David Jones — have written to the Prime Minister arguing that the UK Government acted unlawfully by obtaining […]
What if ‘exit day’ is not redefined in domestic law?
I wrote yesterday about the statutory instrument that the Government has laid before Parliament so as to realign the domestic definition of ‘exit day’ in the European Union (Withdrawal) Act […]
