Public Law for Everyone

Professor Mark Elliott

Posts archive

All posts published on Public Law for Everyone can be found below. There are also separate archive pages for posts concerning Constitutional Law, Administrative Law and Human Rights.

Taking the constitution seriously: A response to Lord Sales

December 7, 2025
The ‘othering’ of human rights and the agenda underlying calls for ECHR withdrawal

November 7, 2025
Correcting the record on the ‘primacy’ of the House of Commons

December 15, 2025
Tyranny, anarchy and the rule of law: Reflections on a major report by the Constitution Committee

November 20, 2025
The legal and constitutional implications of the asylum white paper: Some initial thoughts

November 17, 2025
Misplaced optimism? Lord Briggs on the common law’s capacity to protect human rights in the event of ECHR withdrawal

November 14, 2025
No winners in the China espionage blame game: Six outstanding questions for prosecutors and ministers

October 16, 2025
Cock-up or conspiracy? The Security Minister’s statement on the China espionage case

October 13, 2025
On China, the Official Secrets Act and ‘enemies’: Is the Prime Minister wrong?

October 8, 2025
In Defence of Classical Administrative Law

September 16, 2025
The Supreme Court’s judgment in Shvidler: Lord Leggatt’s Liversidge v Anderson moment

July 29, 2025
The Afghan super-injunction case: Some constitutional implications

July 17, 2025
The developing domestic debate about the ECHR: Navigating two extremes

July 9, 2025
Playing politics with the rule of law

July 7, 2025
Would it be constitutionally improper for the House of Lords to block the Assisted Dying Bill?

June 20, 2025
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood on human rights reform in the UK and in Europe

June 18, 2025
The President of the UK Supreme Court on populism, the judicial role and the constitution

June 16, 2025
The principle of legality and heightened-scrutiny rationality review: The Supreme Court’s judgment in the Spitalfields case

March 28, 2025
KP v Foreign Secretary: A primer on rationality review

March 10, 2025
Could it happen here? Peter Hennessy and Andrew Blick on the ultimate ‘what if’ constitutional question

March 4, 2025
Judicial review reform: the importance of grown-up debate

February 14, 2025
The petition to call a general election: straight out of the populist playbook

November 25, 2024
Assisted dying, Private Members’ Bills and government neutrality

November 18, 2024
The new Attorney General on the rule of law

October 17, 2024
Judicial review 101: McAleenon in the Supreme Court

October 16, 2024
The Conservative leadership election and withdrawal from the European Convention on Human Rights

October 11, 2024
Saving the Union? Philip Rycroft on Whitehall and the Scottish independence referendum

October 2, 2024
Is the UK heading for a constitutional crisis because of the Rwanda Bill?

December 12, 2023
Could the Supreme Court reject the Rwanda Bill as unconstitutional?

December 11, 2023
The Rwanda Bill and its constitutional implications

December 6, 2023
Nothing to see here? Allister in the Supreme Court

July 6, 2023
Oceana: Ouster clauses and parliamentary sovereignty

July 5, 2023
Was Boris Johnson undemocratically removed from Parliament?

June 19, 2023
Legal opinion on the Privileges Committee’s ‘Partygate’ inquiry: Some comments

September 2, 2022
Boris Johnson’s resignation: Did the constitution work?

July 7, 2022
1,000 words: The Bill of Rights

June 23, 2022
The UK’s (new) Bill of Rights

June 22, 2022
On Lord Geidt’s resignation and its constitutional significance

June 15, 2022
The Northern Ireland Protocol Bill

June 13, 2022
Writing a Law essay? Remember to argue!

February 16, 2022
The common law and the European Convention on Human Rights: Do we need both?

February 11, 2022
Do we need a British Bill of Rights?

February 2, 2022
Response to the Attorney-General’s Public Law Project keynote speech

October 20, 2021
Undermining the rule of law? A comment on the Justice Secretary’s Sunday Telegraph interview

October 17, 2021
Devolution in the Supreme Court: Legislative supremacy, Parliament’s ‘unqualified’ power, and ‘modifying’ the Scotland Act

October 15, 2021
Legal exceptionalism in British political discourse: International law, parliamentary sovereignty and the rule of law

October 10, 2021
1,000 words: Constitutional conventions

October 7, 2021
Constitutional Law: The Big Picture VI — Drawing Conclusions

September 27, 2021
Constitutional Law: The Big Picture V — Lessons from EU Membership

June 29, 2021
Constitutional Law: The Big Picture IV — The Territorial Constitution

June 17, 2021
Constitutional Law: The Big Picture III — Human Rights

June 7, 2021
Oxford and Cambridge Independent Human Rights Act Review event

June 6, 2021
Constitutional Law: The Big Picture II — Judicial Review

May 28, 2021
Constitutional Law Matters: A new project and a job opportunity

May 27, 2021
Oxford/Cambridge Independent Human Rights Act Review Event

May 26, 2021
Constitutional Law: The Big Picture I — Introduction

May 24, 2021
Judicial review reform IV: Culture war? Two visions of the UK constitution

April 28, 2021
Judicial review reform III: Substantive review and the courts’ constitutional role

April 17, 2021
Judicial review reform II: Ouster clauses and the rule of law

April 11, 2021
Judicial review reform I: Nullity, remedies and constitutional gaslighting

April 6, 2021
Does the UK have a constitution?

March 28, 2021
The Miller II Case in Legal and Political Context

January 14, 2021
The UK-EU Brexit Agreements and ‘sovereignty’: Having one’s cake and eating it?

December 31, 2020
Repealing the Fixed-term Parliaments Act

December 2, 2020
The UK constitution under pressure: A lost age of civility?

November 23, 2020
Legal kryptonite? Parliamentary sovereignty, international law and the Internal Market Bill

October 10, 2020
One step forward, two steps back? Judicial review and the Government’s amendments to the Internal Market Bill

September 25, 2020
The Internal Market Bill: My evidence to the House of Lords Constitution Committee

September 24, 2020
The (constitutional) state we’re in: A week in British politics

September 13, 2020
The Internal Market Bill – A Perfect Constitutional Storm

September 9, 2020
The Judicial Review Review III: Limiting judicial review by ‘clarifying’ non-justiciability — or putting lipstick on the proverbial pig

August 20, 2020
The Judicial Review Review II: Codifying Judicial Review — Clarification or Evisceration?

August 10, 2020
The Judicial Review Review I: The Reform Agenda and its Potential Scope

August 3, 2020
The United Kingdom’s constitution and Brexit: A ‘constitutional moment’?

May 28, 2020
The Fundamentality of Rights at Common Law

February 12, 2020
1,000 words / The Supreme Court’s Judgment in Cherry/Miller (No 2)

September 25, 2019
A new approach to constitutional adjudication? Miller II in the Supreme Court

September 24, 2019
Prorogation and justiciability: Some thoughts ahead of the Miller II case in the Supreme Court

September 12, 2019
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

August 18, 2019
Letter to The Times: Parliament’s (limited) capacity to prevent a no-deal Brexit

August 12, 2019
Can Parliament prevent a no-deal Brexit?

August 8, 2019
House of Lords Constitution Committee reports on Parliamentary Scrutiny of Treaties

May 2, 2019
Royal Assent and constitutional principle: A further response to John Finnis

April 10, 2019
Does the Prime Minister’s request for an Article 50 extension scupper the Cooper-Letwin Bill?

April 5, 2019
Letter to the Times: Response to Professor Brazier’s letter on Royal Assent

April 5, 2019
The Cooper-Letwin Bill: Parliamentary control over the extension of Article 50

April 4, 2019
Royal Assent: Letter to The Times

April 3, 2019
Brexit, the Executive and Parliament: A response to John Finnis

April 2, 2019
Meaningful Vote 3: The legal implications of separating the Withdrawal Agreement and the Political Declaration

March 28, 2019
Did the UK Government act unlawfully by extending Article 50?

March 26, 2019
What if ‘exit day’ is not redefined in domestic law?

March 26, 2019
Redefining ‘exit day’ in domestic law

March 25, 2019
Revoking Article 50: Legislating to take a no-deal Brexit off the table

March 25, 2019
Extending Article 50: Separating myth and legal reality

March 23, 2019
The Supreme Court’s judgment in Finucane — II: Three unanswered questions concerning the doctrine of legitimate expectation

March 8, 2019
The Supreme Court’s judgment in Finucane — I: Legitimate expectations, reliance, procedure and substance

March 5, 2019
The Healthcare Bill: A case study in the implications (and dangers) of legislating for Brexit

February 26, 2019
Video: Cambridge Centre for Public Law event on the Scottish Continuity Bill case

February 14, 2019
Can the Government veto legislation by advising the Queen to withhold royal assent?

January 21, 2019
From Miller to the meaningful vote: Why on earth didn’t Parliament take control when it had the chance?

January 16, 2019
The Supreme Court’s judgment in the Scottish Continuity Bill case

December 14, 2018
Confidence motions and the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011

December 11, 2018
Civil legal aid as a constitutional imperative: A response to Lord Sumption

November 28, 2018
The Brexit Withdrawal Agreement: Taking back “control of our laws”?

November 23, 2018
House of Lords Constitution Committee reports on Delegated Powers

November 19, 2018
Political Pragmatism and Constitutional Principle: The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018

October 22, 2018
Parliamentary control over Brexit-related delegated legislation: An important Government climbdown

October 15, 2018
Executive law-making and Brexit: Are Parliament’s hard-won safeguards being undermined?

September 20, 2018
Britain’s constitution is buckling under the weight of Brexit

August 2, 2018
The UK Constitution After Miller: Brexit and Beyond

July 31, 2018
Legislating in the dark: The Government’s White Paper on the Withdrawal Agreement Bill

July 27, 2018
Sovereignty, Primacy and the Common Law Constitution: What has EU Membership Taught Us?

July 20, 2018
1,000 words / The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018

June 28, 2018
Consistency as a free-standing principle of administrative law?

June 15, 2018
Human Rights Post-Brexit: The Need for Legislation?

February 8, 2018
Sovereignty or supremacy? Lords Constitution Committee reports on EU (Withdrawal) Bill

January 29, 2018
Through the Looking-Glass? Ouster Clauses, Statutory Interpretation and the British Constitution

January 10, 2018
Does the Government defeat on clause 9 of the EU (Withdrawal) Bill mean Parliament has ‘taken back control’?

December 14, 2017
The Brexit agreement and citizens’ rights: Can Parliament deliver what the Government has promised?

December 11, 2017
Privacy International in the Court of Appeal: Anisminic distinguished — again

November 26, 2017
Judicial Power and the United Kingdom’s Changing Constitution

October 31, 2017
Can Parliament block a ‘no deal’ Brexit?

October 16, 2017
Brexit Briefing Paper: Implementing Transition — How Would it Work?

October 16, 2017
Did the Prime Minister accurately answer MPs’ questions about the Miller case and revoking Article 50?

October 10, 2017
Public Law Update #4: Brexit, the separation of powers and devolution

October 5, 2017
Public Law Update #3: The EU (Withdrawal) Bill, legal certainty and the rule of law

October 3, 2017
Public Law Update #2: The wider constitutional implications of the 2017 general election

September 28, 2017
Public Law Update #1: The 2017 election, fixed-term Parliaments and ‘confidence and supply’ arrangements

September 26, 2017
Q: What does the Space Industry Bill have to do with the separation of powers? A: More than you’d think

September 23, 2017
Article for Prospect Magazine on the EU (Withdrawal) Bill

September 7, 2017
House of Lords Constitution Committee issues interim report on EU (Withdrawal) Bill

September 7, 2017
The Devil in the Detail: Twenty Questions about the EU (Withdrawal) Bill

August 14, 2017
A “blatant power grab”? The Scottish Government on the EU (Withdrawal) Bill

August 10, 2017
Unison in the Supreme Court: Tribunal Fees, Constitutional Rights and the Rule of Law

July 26, 2017
Resources / The EU (Withdrawal) Bill

July 18, 2017
1,000 words / The European Union (Withdrawal) Bill

July 14, 2017
The EU (Withdrawal) Bill: Initial Thoughts

July 14, 2017
The 2017 Queen’s Speech and the (no longer “Great”) Repeal Bill

June 21, 2017
Strong and Stable? The British Constitution and the 2017 General Election

June 15, 2017
Does the Salisbury convention apply during a hung Parliament?

June 10, 2017
Elliott & Thomas: Public Law

May 30, 2017
Cambridge Centre for Public Law Seminar / The Miller Judgment: An Evaluation

May 24, 2017
The Conservative Party Manifesto and the Constitution

May 18, 2017
The Third Biennial Public Law Conference: Call for Papers

May 3, 2017
Does the law require a second referendum before Brexit takes effect?

May 2, 2017
The “bedroom tax”, Convention rights and secondary legislation

April 28, 2017
The Supreme Court’s Judgment in Miller: In Search of Constitutional Principle

April 19, 2017
The “Great Repeal Bill” White Paper in 20 tweets

March 31, 2017
The Government’s White Paper on the “Great Repeal Bill”: Some Preliminary Thoughts

March 30, 2017
The ‘Black Spider Memos’ Case: An Introduction to Constitutional Law

March 29, 2017
Discarding the fig-leaf of analytical reasoning? The Hutton case and the law/fact distinction

March 24, 2017
“She is constitutionally absolutely wrong”: The Lord Chief Justice on the Lord Chancellor

March 22, 2017
The “Great Repeal Bill” and Delegated Powers

March 7, 2017
The Admin Law Blog

March 1, 2017
European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill: Report of House of Lords Constitution Committee

February 24, 2017
Oakley v South Cambridgeshire District Council: The maturing of the common law duty to give reasons

February 22, 2017
The “Three Knights Opinion” on Brexit: A response

February 17, 2017
Distinguishing Anisminic? Ouster clauses, parliamentary sovereignty and the Privacy International case

February 10, 2017
Deal or no deal: Government ‘concedes’ parliamentary vote on terms of Brexit

February 7, 2017
House of Lords Constitution Committee takes evidence on ‘Great Repeal Bill’

February 3, 2017
Article for Counsel magazine: Miller and the modern British constitution

February 1, 2017
Analysis / The Supreme Court’s Judgment in Miller

January 25, 2017
1,000 words / The Supreme Court’s Judgment in Miller

January 25, 2017
Elliott & Varuhas: Administrative Law

January 9, 2017
Brexit, sovereignty, and the contemporary British constitution: Four perspectives on Miller

December 16, 2016
1,000 words / The Miller case in the Supreme Court: The key arguments

December 1, 2016
The House of Lords and secondary legislation: Government declines to implement Strathclyde Review (for now)

December 1, 2016
Article 50, the royal prerogative, and the European Parliamentary Elections Act 2002

November 21, 2016
Public Law Project Talk: The Limits of Judicial Authority

November 10, 2016
‘Brexit in the High Court’ — BBC Radio 4, Law in Action, 8 November 2016

November 8, 2016
Critical reflections on the High Court’s judgment in Miller

November 7, 2016
Courts, democracy and Brexit: Some home truths

November 5, 2016
The High Court’s judgment in Miller: A brief comment

November 4, 2016
Cambridge University Brexit Week Talk: The Process of Leaving the EU

November 4, 2016
House of Lords Constitution Committee Reports on ‘English Votes for English Laws’

November 2, 2016
House of Lords Constitution Committee reports on Wales Bill

October 28, 2016
Call for Papers: W G Hart Legal Workshop 2017

October 17, 2016
On the sidelining of Parliament: The Brexit Secretary’s statement to the Commons

October 10, 2016
On whether the Article 50 decision has already been taken

October 9, 2016
Theresa May’s “Great Repeal Bill”: Some preliminary thoughts

October 2, 2016
The Government’s case in the Article 50 litigation: A critique

September 30, 2016
1,000 words / Devolution

September 26, 2016
“The Unity of Public Law?” — The 2016 Public Law Conference

September 16, 2016
The House of Lords Constitution Committee reports on Article 50

September 13, 2016
The new Justice Secretary, Elizabeth Truss, on a British Bill of Rights

September 9, 2016
Constitutional legislation, fundamental rights and Article 50

September 8, 2016
Twitter and blogs: A guide for Law students (and others)

August 31, 2016
Cambridge Public Law Conference 2016 — Draft Programme and Registration Deadline

August 16, 2016
Should there, and does there have to, be a second referendum?

July 8, 2016
On why, as a matter of law, triggering Article 50 does not require Parliament to legislate

June 30, 2016
A special edition of BBC Radio 4’s Law in Action on Brexit

June 29, 2016
Cambridge Law in Focus video on Brexit

June 27, 2016
Can Scotland block Brexit?

June 26, 2016
Can the EU force the UK to trigger the two-year Brexit process?

June 26, 2016
A new Prime Minister, or a snap election?

June 24, 2016
Brexit: Legally and constitutionally, what now?

June 24, 2016
“Vote leave, take control”? Sovereignty and the Brexit debate

June 23, 2016
The House of Lords Constitution Committee’s Report on The Union and Devolution

May 25, 2016
The 2016 Queen’s Speech and the Constitution

May 18, 2016
1,000 words: Constitutional fundamentals, concisely explained

May 16, 2016
Judicial Power’s 50 “problematic” cases and the limits of the judicial role

May 9, 2016
Theresa May’s case for withdrawal from the ECHR: Politically astute, legally dubious, constitutionally naïve

April 26, 2016
Public Law Conference 2016: Full line-up of speakers

April 21, 2016
The duty to give reasons and the new statutory “makes no difference” principle

April 18, 2016
Henry VIII powers: A follow-up post

April 15, 2016
Lord Judge on Henry VIII Powers and Parliamentary Sovereignty

April 14, 2016
Parliament, Government and Secondary Legislation: Lords Select Committees respond to the Strathclyde Review

March 23, 2016
The 2016 Sir David Williams Lecture: The Lion Beneath the Throne

March 14, 2016
Ali v United Kingdom: Article 6(1) ECHR and administrative decision-making

March 13, 2016
A postscript on the Evans case: The report of the Independent Commission on Freedom of Information and the Government’s response

March 2, 2016
Bell, Elliott, Varuhas and Murray (eds): Public Law Adjudication in Common Law Systems: Process and Substance

February 26, 2016
Parliamentary sovereignty and European Union law: A short reading list

February 23, 2016
Factortame and the voluntary acceptance of limits on sovereignty: A response to Professor Mead

February 22, 2016
1,000 words / If EU law is supreme, can Parliament be sovereign?

February 21, 2016
From Heresy to Orthodoxy: Substantive Legitimate Expectations in English Public Law

February 11, 2016
A constitutional court for the UK? My letter to The Times

February 5, 2016
Youssef: Another Supreme Court decision, another set of obiter dicta on substantive judicial review

January 28, 2016
Clauses 1 and 2 of the Scotland Bill: Government Response to House of Lords Constitution Committee

January 14, 2016
The House of Lords and secondary legislation: Some initial thoughts on the Strathclyde Review

December 17, 2015
Declarations, quashing orders and declaratory judgments: The Hawke case and section 84 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015

December 15, 2015
Ekins and Forsyth on Evans: A Brief Response

December 3, 2015
The UK Supreme Court as a constitutional ‘longstop’: Michael Gove’s evidence to the House of Lords Constitution Committee

December 2, 2015
Public Law Conference 2016: Call for Abstracts

December 1, 2015
The ‘permanence’ of the Scottish Parliament and the Sewel Convention: The House of Lords Constitution Committee’s Report on the Scotland Bill

November 30, 2015
Q: How many Supreme Court Justices does it take to perform the Wednesbury doctrine’s burial rites? A: More than five

November 27, 2015
Judicial Power in Normative, Institutional and Doctrinal Perspective: A Response to Professor Finnis

November 5, 2015
The Ministerial Code and International Law

October 26, 2015
Philippe Sands’ Elson Lecture: Britain, Europe and Human Rights

October 23, 2015
Finnis on Judicial Power

October 22, 2015
1,000 words / The Rule of Law

October 16, 2015
RightsInfo: What are Human Rights?

October 14, 2015
Mandalia v Home Secretary [2015] UKSC 59: Legitimate expectations and the consistent application of policy

October 14, 2015
Public Law Updates

October 13, 2015
The Lawyers’ Refugee Initiative

October 12, 2015
Public Law Update #6: A British Bill of Rights?

October 8, 2015
Public Law Update #5: House of Lords Reform

October 5, 2015
Public Law Update #4: UK membership of the European Union and the EU Referendum Bill

September 29, 2015
The Scottish Parliament, the Sewel Convention and Repeal of the Human Rights Act: A Postscript

September 28, 2015
The End of the Road for the Salisbury Convention?

September 23, 2015
Public Law Update #3: Devolution within England — The Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill

September 22, 2015
Public Law Update #2: English Votes for English Laws

September 18, 2015
Public Law Update #1: Scotland and the Future of the Union

September 16, 2015
Public Law updates for the New Academic Year

September 15, 2015
The Unity of Public Law? — The 2016 Public Law Conference

September 7, 2015
The Cambridge Companion to Public Law

August 25, 2015
Bourgass in the Supreme Court: Solitary Confinement, the Carltona Doctrine and Procedural Fairness

July 29, 2015
Michael Gove, the Justice Committee and the Human Rights Act

July 15, 2015
Amending the Hunting Act: Would English votes for English laws make a difference?

July 14, 2015
The UK Supreme Court and the British Constitution

July 7, 2015
Devolution in the UK: Constitutional Law and Constitutional Convention

July 3, 2015
For those interested in studying Law at Cambridge: This week’s open days

June 29, 2015
RightsInfo: 50 human-rights cases that transformed Britain

June 26, 2015
New paper: A Tangled Constitutional Web — The Black-Spider Memos and the British Constitution’s Relational Architecture

June 22, 2015
Now published: Wilberg and Elliott (eds), The Scope and Intensity of Substantive Review: Traversing Taggart’s Rainbow

June 1, 2015
Why a Sovereignty Act makes no legal sense

May 27, 2015
Human Rights in the United Kingdom: Where Now?

May 22, 2015
UK Constitutional Law Association Conference: Debating the Constitution after the Election

May 19, 2015
Could the Devolved Nations Block Repeal of the Human Rights Act and the Enactment of a New Bill of Rights?

May 12, 2015
Book chapter: From Bifurcation to Calibration — Twin-Track Deference and the Culture of Justification

May 12, 2015
Replacing the Human Rights Act: The House of Lords, the Parliament Acts and the Salisbury Convention

May 11, 2015
What does a Conservative government mean for the future of human rights in the UK?

May 8, 2015
Hung Parliaments: Some election-night reading

May 7, 2015
Revising for your 2015 Public Law exam? Here are some of this year’s key developments and blog highlights

May 5, 2015
A short follow-up post on the Fixed-term Parliaments Act

April 29, 2015
Would David Cameron’s tax-lock law be legally binding or just a political gimmick?

April 29, 2015
The Fixed-term Parliaments Act: A reply to Colin Talbot

April 28, 2015
Beyond the European Convention: Human Rights and the Common Law

April 26, 2015
RightsInfo — Facilitating Reasoned Debate about Human Rights

April 24, 2015
Are the Conservatives still contemplating withdrawal from the ECHR?

April 23, 2015
#PublicLawExam 2015 — For those with upcoming exams in Public Law

April 22, 2015
Proportionality and contextualism in common-law review: The Supreme Court’s judgment in Pham

April 17, 2015
Human Rights and the Conservatives’ Manifesto: Four Comments

April 14, 2015
Of Black Spiders and Constitutional Bedrock: The Supreme Court’s Judgment in Evans

March 26, 2015
The Cambridge Companion to Public Law

March 24, 2015
Report of Political and Constitutional Reform Committee on Proposed Scotland Bill

March 23, 2015
An Introduction to Public Law by way of the Anisminic Case

March 18, 2015
Cheryl Saunders’ 2015 Sir David Williams Lecture: “Devolution. Federation. Constitution. From here to where?”

March 4, 2015
A Post-European British constitution: Plus ça change?

March 2, 2015
Lady Hale’s 2015 Bryce Lecture: The Supreme Court in the United Kingdom Constitution

February 27, 2015
#50cases — Three suggestions

February 26, 2015
The Rotherham case in the Supreme Court: Deference, reasonableness and proportionality

February 25, 2015
My submission to parliamentary committees on clauses 1 and 2 of the proposed Scotland Bill

January 29, 2015
The Draft Scotland Bill and the sovereignty of the UK Parliament

January 22, 2015
Lord Pannick on judicial review

January 22, 2015
From bad to worse: The Justice Secretary on judicial review

January 14, 2015
David Davies MP on the Paris shootings and the Human Rights Act: a short response

January 8, 2015
Moohan: Prisoner voting, the independence referendum and the common law

December 17, 2014
Wilberg and Elliott (eds): The Scope and Intensity of Substantive Review: Traversing Taggart’s Rainbow

December 15, 2014
Dominic Grieve on the Conservative Party’s human-rights proposals

December 4, 2014
The Justice Secretary on Judicial Review: Five Basic Misconceptions

December 2, 2014
A “permanent” Scottish Parliament and the sovereignty of the UK Parliament: Four perspectives

November 27, 2014
Book chapter: The principle of parliamentary sovereignty in legal, constitutional and political perspective

November 21, 2014
Lord Reed on EU law and the UK constitution

November 14, 2014
Human rights, proportionality and the judicial function: R (Carlile) v Home Secretary in the Supreme Court

November 13, 2014
What a (for now failed) attempt to curb judicial review tells us about the UK’s constitution

October 29, 2014
Beyond Sark: The implications of the Barclay case

October 23, 2014
1,000 words / Parliamentary sovereignty

October 15, 2014
My analysis of the Conservative Party’s proposals for a British Bill of Rights

October 3, 2014
David Cameron promises a “British Bill of Rights”. And what, exactly, does that mean?

October 1, 2014
The astonishingly low standard of Human Rights Act bashing

September 27, 2014
Bogdanor on “English votes for English laws”: A response

September 25, 2014
Constitutional reform following the Scottish referendum: a short(ish) reading list

September 24, 2014
Article in “The Conversation” on the Scottish independence vote

September 19, 2014
Scotland has voted “no”. What next for the UK constitution?

September 19, 2014
Cambridge Public Law Conference 2014

September 18, 2014
A lack of constitutional imagination lies at the heart of the Scottish independence debate

September 7, 2014
Constitutional legislation, EU law and the UK’s contemporary constitution

August 26, 2014
Lords Woolf and Brown on proposed limitation of judicial review

July 30, 2014
Cambridge Public Law Conference: Detailed programme published

July 29, 2014
Current Legal Problems Lecture: Abstract

July 29, 2014
The Canadian human-rights model: a brief response to Richard Edwards

July 25, 2014
ECHR withdrawal and a British Bill of Rights: some resources

July 24, 2014
Human rights reform and the role of the Strasbourg Court

July 21, 2014
A hardening of Conservative human rights policy: what are the options?

July 17, 2014
Why Dominic Grieve’s departure from the Government might hasten the UK’s withdrawal from the ECHR

July 15, 2014
Should judges lead public inquiries?

July 10, 2014
The right to die: deference, dialogue and the division of constitutional authority

June 26, 2014
Should academic lawyers blog?

June 24, 2014
Labour’s plans for the Human Rights Act

June 3, 2014
The Immigration Act 2014: Judicial review, proportionality and democratic deference

May 29, 2014
The Immigration Act 2014: A sequel to the prisoner-voting saga?

May 23, 2014
The constitutional role of the judiciary under a codified constitution: report of the Political & Constitutional Reform Committee

May 14, 2014
The “vigour” of common law rights and values: A v BBC [2014] UKSC 25

May 9, 2014
Revising for your 2014 Public Law exam? Here are some of this year’s key developments and blog highlights

May 7, 2014
Judicial review reform: the report of the Joint Committee on Human Rights

April 30, 2014
Ombudsman reform: some comments on the Public Administration Select Committee’s recent report

April 29, 2014
Parliamentary sovereignty in a multidimensional constitution: some preliminary thoughts

April 16, 2014
Now available: Second edition of Elliott & Thomas, Public Law

April 3, 2014
From legitimate expectation to a doctrine of consistency: DM v Home Secretary

April 1, 2014
Common-law constitutionalism and proportionality in the Supreme Court: Kennedy v The Charity Commission

March 31, 2014
Cambridge Conference on Process and Substance in Public Law

March 25, 2014
Cambridge Sixth Form Law Conference talk: The UK’s (unusual) constitution

March 19, 2014
Reasonableness review and the Court of Appeal’s decision in the Prince Charles correspondence case

March 12, 2014
The Miranda case, the fair-balance test, and deference

February 20, 2014
Whole life tariffs: Court of Appeal differs from, but does not defy, Strasbourg

February 18, 2014
The super-Wednesbury principle is alive and well: R (Rotherham MBC) v Business Secretary

February 17, 2014
Is Lord Neuberger right to suggest that the UK “has no constitution”?

February 13, 2014
Judicial review reform (again)

February 6, 2014
Limits on judicial review of major planning decisions to be announced, says The Times

February 4, 2014
Reflections on the HS2 case: a hierarchy of domestic constitutional norms and the qualified primacy of EU law

January 23, 2014
Devolution, federalism and a new constitution for the UK

January 8, 2014
Will the Scottish referendum (whatever the outcome) lead to a federal constitution for the UK?

January 2, 2014
Ministerial changes at the MoJ and the implications for human rights reform

December 18, 2013
The three dimensions of the relationship between UK law and the ECHR

December 5, 2013
Law, Rights and Constitutional Politics: reflections on the Human Rights Act’s past and future

December 3, 2013
Is Laws LJ right to suggest that EU law is like secondary legislation?

November 29, 2013
Lord Sumption on the limits of the judicial role

November 28, 2013
Where next for the Wednesbury principle? A brief response to Lord Carnwath

November 19, 2013
New book on accountability

November 18, 2013
The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and UK law

November 15, 2013