When he was Theresa May’s Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson famously said, apropos of Brexit, that his ‘policy on cake’ was ‘pro having it and pro eating it’ — in other words, having the best of both worlds. Although the Prime Minister doubled down on that view yesterday, claiming that he had delivered the 'cakeist' fantasy… Continue reading The UK-EU Brexit Agreements and ‘sovereignty’: Having one’s cake and eating it?
Tag: Brexit
Legal kryptonite? Parliamentary sovereignty, international law and the Internal Market Bill
The following is a lightly edited version of a piece that was first published in the autumn/winter 2020 edition of Lauterpacht Centre News, the newsletter of the University of Cambridge's Lauterpacht Centre for International Law. Lauterpacht Centre News can be downloaded via the Centre's website. Another autumn, another Brexit-related constitutional drama in the UK. A… Continue reading Legal kryptonite? Parliamentary sovereignty, international law and the Internal Market Bill
One step forward, two steps back? Judicial review and the Government’s amendments to the Internal Market Bill
In an earlier post and in evidence to the House of Lords Constitution Committee I have already drawn attention to concerns about the attempt in the United Kingdom Internal Market Bill to oust judicial review of regulations made under clauses 42 and 43 — the provisions that allow Ministers to breach the UK’s international obligations… Continue reading One step forward, two steps back? Judicial review and the Government’s amendments to the Internal Market Bill
The Internal Market Bill: My evidence to the House of Lords Constitution Committee
I was pleased to be invited to give evidence earlier this week to the House of Lords Constitution Committee on the constitutional issues arising from the United Kingdom Internal Market Bill (about which I wrote in an earlier blogpost). In giving evidence to the Committee, I appeared alongside Sir Stephen Laws, former First Parliamentary Counsel,… Continue reading The Internal Market Bill: My evidence to the House of Lords Constitution Committee
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 the UK. Three matters during the course of the last week have vividly illustrated — individually, but more importantly collectively — an increasingly clear narrative… Continue reading The (constitutional) state we’re in: A week in British politics
The Internal Market Bill – A Perfect Constitutional Storm
The willingness of the UK’s Brexiteer-led Government to pick fights with the European Union is a given. So too, now, is its appetite for a show-down with the courts, as the recently launched review of administrative law attests. It is therefore perhaps no surprise that the Government, via the United Kingdom Internal Market Bill, has… Continue reading The Internal Market Bill – A Perfect Constitutional Storm
The United Kingdom’s constitution and Brexit: A ‘constitutional moment’?
I recently completed work on an article for a special issue of the Japanese legal journal Horitsu Jiho. The theme of the special issue is the impact of the forces of globalisation and nationalism on constitutional law and the study of it. In my contribution, I consider the potential implications of the United Kingdom's departure… Continue reading The United Kingdom’s constitution and Brexit: A ‘constitutional moment’?
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 the Cherry/Miller (No 2) case. For a more detailed and technical analysis of the judgment, see this post. In its historic judgment in Cherry/Miller (No… Continue reading 1,000 words / The Supreme Court’s Judgment in Cherry/Miller (No 2)
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. Reactions to the unanimous Supreme Court judgment in Cherry/Miller (No 2) [2019] UKSC 41 have been as strong as they have been diverse. On one… Continue reading A new approach to constitutional adjudication? Miller II in the Supreme Court
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 properly adjudicate. As is well-known, English and Scottish courts have so far differed sharply on this point: in the Cherry case, the Inner House of… Continue reading Prorogation and justiciability: Some thoughts ahead of the Miller II case in the Supreme Court
