The Lawyers’ Refugee Initiative
I try to avoid using this blog as a soapbox for my own personal (as distinct from academic) views. However, lawyers, I think, have a duty to speak out when […]
Public Law Update #1: Scotland and the Future of the Union
This post is the first in a series of six updates for the 2015-16 academic year. The posts in this series are co-written by Mark Elliott and Robert Thomas, the authors of Public […]
Public Law updates for the New Academic Year
I have been working, with my co-author Robert Thomas, on some updates to accompany our Public Law textbook. Our focus in the updates is on six key areas in which the constitution is undergoing, or is likely to undergo, change. We have taken as our reference point the outcome of the 2015 general election, and its likely implications for the future of the […]
Devolution in the UK: Constitutional Law and Constitutional Convention
I recently wrote a short contribution to an edited collection on the implications of the Scottish independence referendum. The abstract is as follows: In this contribution, I address the proposals in […]
UK Constitutional Law Association Conference: Debating the Constitution after the Election
On Wednesday 24 June, the UK Constitutional Law Association will be holding a one-day conference at the University of Manchester on the subject of “Debating the Constitution after the Election”. […]
Book chapter: The principle of parliamentary sovereignty in legal, constitutional and political perspective
I have just finished work on a book chapter entitled “The Principle of Parliamentary Sovereignty in Legal, Constitutional and Political Perspective”, the abstract for which is as follows: Parliamentary sovereignty has long been regarded — by most, at least — as an axiomatic feature of the United Kingdom’s constitutional arrangements. The orthodox view holds that the UK Parliament has authority that […]
Lords Woolf and Brown on proposed limitation of judicial review
I have written before about (what is now) clause 64 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill. If enacted, it will insert new provisions into s 31 of the Senior Courts Act 1981 such that relief must be refused if it appears to the court to be highly likely that the outcome for the applicant would not have been substantially […]
Judicial review reform: the report of the Joint Committee on Human Rights
The parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights has published its report on The implications for access to justice of the Government’s proposals to reform judicial review (HL 174 HC 868 […]
Cambridge Law in Focus video: Vinter v UK – whole life tariffs
Here is an excellent Cambridge Law in Focus video by my colleague Nicola Padfield on the recent judgment of the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights in Vinter v UK. The Court held that the imposition of “whole life tariffs”, under which a prisoner serving a life sentence can be denied any possibility of release on licence, […]
Prince Charles, freedom of information, judicial review and the separation of powers: R (Evans) v Attorney-General
The Administrative Court gave judgment earlier today in R (Evans) v Attorney-General [2013] EWHC 1960 (Admin). The case concerns a challenge to the legality of the Attorney-General’s decision to use […]
The Lord Chief Justice on judicial independence and the rule of law
Lord Judge, the Lord Chief Justice, spoke about judicial independence in his Mansion House speech this week. (The full text of the speech is available here on the CrimeLine Blog, and there is a report on the Telegraph website.) Lord Judge warned that we must remain vigilant against the slightest encroachment on judicial independence, not because judicial independence represents some traditional flummery, some bauble, […]
Interested in studying Law at Cambridge? Take a look at our new website
It’s open day season in Cambridge, and to coincide with it we have just launched a new website at the Law Faculty for anyone interested in applying for a place on […]
Legal aid, judicial review permission applications, and the Daily Mail: setting the record straight
According to an article published on the Daily Mail website today: Legally-aided lawyers are pocketing millions by flooding the courts with “meritless” immigration and asylum appeals. The number of review applications has soared to nearly 10,000 a year but nearly nine in ten are thrown out at the first stage. This statement (which refers to judicial review, not appeal, in […]
Legal aid proposals – a few recent developments
The (surprisingly short) window of opportunity to submit responses to the Government’s legal aid proposals closed earlier in the month. But (unsurprisingly) discussion – and criticism – of them shows little sign of abating. Three recent developments have caught my eye. First, the Backbench Business Committee of the House of Commons has announced that a debate on the legal aid […]
Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law responds to Government’s legal aid proposals
A couple of weeks ago, I posted a short piece on the Government’s legal aid proposals. The Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law has now submitted its response to […]
Legal aid, judicial review and the rule of law
The government’s proposals to make radical changes to the criminal legal aid system have received widespread attention. In particular, the proposal to introduce a system of tendering that would remove client choice has been strongly criticized as striking at the heart of the lawyer-client relationship. It has also been argued that it may amount to a breach of the right […]
