Richard Bacon MP and Nick Herbert MP on human rights
On 4 December 2012, Richard Bacon MP introduced—under the “ten minute rule”—a Bill to repeal the Human Rights Act 1998. The Bill was rejected when put to a vote. But […]
Justice Secretary on prisoner voting and disproportionate force against burglars
I have posted before (here and here) on the appointment of Chris Grayling as Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary. Since his appointment, two major issues that Grayling has had (in […]
The prisoner voting saga, human rights, and the rule of law: the thin end of a very unpleasant wedge
The government has got itself into an enormous mess in relation to whether prisoners should be allowed to vote. Under UK law as it stands, prisoners are not allowed to vote in elections. But the European Court of Human Rights decided in 2005, in the case of Hirst v UK (No 2), that a complete ban on voting by prisoners […]
Hidden influence, Prince Charles and freedom of information
You may or may not think that having an unelected monarch as head of state is an outrageous anachronism. But, either way, it is hard to dispute that the Queen […]
Why Chris Grayling’s appointment as Justice Secretary is significant #2: The fate of the Human Rights Act
In an earlier post, I explained why the appointment of a non-lawyer – Chris Grayling – to the position of Justice Secretary and Lord Chancellor is significant. But as well […]
Human Rights Act campaign
The British Institute of Human Rights is running a campaign against the repeal of the Human Rights Act 1998 – a prospect that is arguably more likely following the appointment […]
Why Chris Grayling’s appointment as Justice Secretary is significant #1: The first non-lawyer Lord Chancellor
Yesterday’s Government reshuffle is important (although perhaps not as important as media coverage might imply) for all sorts of reasons. For lawyers, one of the most significant aspects is the […]
House of Lords Reform Bill officially withdrawn
In the least surprising news of the week so far, the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, has made a statement to the House of Commons indicating that the House of Lords Reform Bill is being withdrawn. House of Lords reform is therefore off the legislative – if not the political – agenda until 2015 (or whenever the next election is […]
The right to decide about the right to die
It was impossible to feel anything but sympathy for Tony Nicklinson, who died a few days ago of pneumonia. Nicklinson suffered from “locked-in syndrome”: left almost entirely paralysed (but intellectually unimpaired) […]
“Obamacare” and the US Supreme Court
In a previous post, I pointed out that appointments to the US Supreme Court typically excite far more interest than appointments to the UK Supreme Court. One reason for this […]
