constitutional history – Current Awareness

Looking Beyond the Traditional: A Multi-dimensional Account of the Modern Judicial Role – Judicial Review

Posted June 27th, 2024 in constitutional history, constitutional law, judiciary, news by sally

‘This article makes quite a simple claim: that it is appropriate to conceptualise the role of judges in today’s constitution as one which is multi-dimensional. This article considers how we understand “the judicial role” within the constitution historically before mapping out notable moments in that history to document the evolution of the role from “old” to “new”. Next, the article asks us to think about who our judges are by offering a brief reflection on the state of the modern judiciary and its composition.’

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Judicial Review, 29th May 2024

Source: www.tandfonline.com

An Evolving Institution: The work of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council – Supreme Court

Posted February 27th, 2024 in appeals, constitutional history, constitutional law, lectures, news, Privy Council, Supreme Court by tracey

‘Lady Rose – An Evolving Institution: The work of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. The Queen’s Distinguished Lecture in Law.’

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Supreme Court, 21st February 2024

Source: www.supremecourt.uk

Knife, Stone, Paper – Stephen Sedley – London Review of Books

Posted June 24th, 2021 in constitutional history, constitutional law, legal history, news, parliament, prerogative powers by sally

‘Working in 2010 on a knotty judgment about the power of the home secretary to include additional criteria in immigration rules that she had previously laid before Parliament as required by statute, something clicked in my memory. Four centuries earlier, in 1611, in a decision known as the Case of Proclamations, it had been ruled that “the King by his proclamation or other ways cannot change any part of the common law, or statute law, or the customs of the realm … The King hath no prerogative, but that which the law of the land allows him.” It gave a key to the question, since immigration rules are made, without need of statutory authority, under the prerogative power to control entry into the realm, a power which is itself part of the common law and subject to its constraints. It was so when Elizabeth I’s autocratic successor, James I and VI, wanted to rule by proclamation; it was so in 2010 when Theresa May wanted to use the royal prerogative to bypass Parliament; it was still so in 2017 when it was proposed that the UK leave the EU by ministerial fiat rather than parliamentary authority, and again in 2019 when Elizabeth II was required by Boris Johnson to prorogue Parliament for no recognised reason.’

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London Review of Books, 1st July 2021

Source: www.lrb.co.uk

Defining the Prerogative: The story of the Case of Proclamations – Falcon Chambers

Posted May 4th, 2020 in chambers articles, constitutional history, constitutional law, legal history, news, prerogative powers by sally

‘I am going to talk about some of the great politico-legal battles in the 17th Century which established the conceptual framework for what we call the Rule of Law. English constitutional history is no longer taught in our schools or as part of training for the Bar and so you may be unfamiliar with these three stories, all of which played a vital part in the development of our law and legal system.’

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Falcon Chambers, April 2020

Source: www.falcon-chambers.com

Graham Gee and Chris McCorkindale: The Political Constitution at 40 – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted June 4th, 2019 in constitutional history, constitutional law, news by sally

‘The constitution ‘is no more and no less than what happens’. So wrote Professor John Griffith in the 1978 Chorley Lecture, ‘The Political Constitution’, which was later republished in the Modern Law Review in 1979. It was not the first time that Griffith dangled this tantalizing aphorism before his readers, but it was this lecture that saw it melt into the vocabulary of public law. It might seem trite to spotlight this aphorism from what is a rich and intricate lecture full of important insights as well as memorable phrases. However, as we see it, constitutional practice over the last three years —or, for that matter, the last three months, the last three weeks, or even the last three days—underscores the continuing relevance of Griffith’s insights into the complex and contingent nature of the relationship between law, politics and the constitution.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 3rd June 2019

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Government needs to act on key Chilcot inquiry finding, committee warns – The Guardian

Posted May 30th, 2018 in constitutional history, inquiries, Iraq, news, reports, select committees by sally

‘MPs have called for tougher safeguards to be introduced to prevent a prime minister taking the country to war without adequate cabinet consultation.’

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The Guardian, 29th May 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Elizabeth Campion: The Constitutional “Ripple Effect” of the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Act 2017 – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted March 29th, 2017 in constitutional history, constitutional law, devolution, EC law, news, parliament, prerogative powers, referendums, treaties by sally

‘Miller and others v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union [2017] UKSC 5 was highly anticipated as perhaps the most signficant constitutional case of this generation, stirring up such strong reactions that the judges of the Divisional Court who initially decided in favour of Ms. Miller were dubbed “Enemies of the People”. Two months after a majority of an 11-member Supreme Court confirmed that prerogative powers could not be used to invoke Article 50, however, the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Act 2017 (hereafter referred to as the “Withdrawal Act”) received Royal Assent, conferring power on the Prime Minister to give the notification required to begin the process of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union. The passage of the Withdrawal Act fulfilled the constitutional requirements identified in Miller formally, within the purely political timetable set by the Prime Minister at the Conservative Party’s conference and without any additional legal requirements being imposed by way of amendment. This not only sets the stage but also prepares the way for a more permanent sidelining of Parliament as the supreme legislative body in the UK’s constitution as part of the process of leaving the European Union.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 27th March 2017

Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org

Short Cuts – Stephen Sedley – London Review of Books

Posted February 23rd, 2017 in constitutional history, EC law, news, parliament, royal prerogative, treaties by sally

‘When the government decided to appeal to the Supreme Court against the High Court’s ruling that ministers could not lawfully use the royal prerogative to leave the EU, many lawyers, myself included, thought it a hopeless enterprise. A court of three judges – the Chief Justice, the Master of the Rolls and Lord Justice Sales (who had been standing counsel to the government when at the bar) – had held on cogently reasoned grounds that the prior authority of an Act of Parliament was required. Nevertheless the Supreme Court sat in full, all 11 members, to hear what even the sober Constitution Unit was calling the case of the century. Well, the appeal failed, and by a decisive margin of eight votes to three. But the margin conceals what was jurisprudentially a closer-run thing than the numbers suggest.’

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London Review of Books, 2nd March 2017

Source: www.lrb.co.uk

Miller, BrEXIT and BreUK-up – Counsel

Posted February 21st, 2017 in brexit, constitutional history, constitutional law, constitutional reform, devolution, EC law, news, Scotland, treaties by sally

‘The Supreme Court’s treatment of the devolution issues in Miller is troubling, argues Aidan O’Neill QC, who examines the UK’s complex multi-national constitutional history and potential impact on the devolved political constitution.’

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Counsel, March 2017

Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk

Graham John Wheeler: Referendums That Time Forgot – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted February 17th, 2017 in bills, constitutional history, legal history, news, referendums by sally

‘It is well known that the first national referendum in the UK was the 1975 poll on EEC membership. It is also quite well known that A.V. Dicey called for the introduction of the referendum into British politics from the 1880s onwards as a means of defeating Irish home rule. This episode was the subject of an exchange between Dominic Chambers QC and Lord Sumption in the Article 50 case.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 17th February 2017

Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org

Thomas Poole: Losing our Religion? Public Law and Brexit – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted December 2nd, 2016 in constitutional history, constitutional law, news, parliament, prerogative powers, referendums, treaties by sally

‘Prerogative is the enemy of the people. This has been settled as matter of law for a very long time. The constitutional settlement of 1688 made a decision for responsible and representative government. We have had no constitutional moment of similar magnitude since. All constitutional changes – some very significant – have taken place within that foundational structure. The Bill of Rights treats prerogative as the antithesis of good government. Its primary target is a range of extra-legal powers hitherto asserted by the King, pride of place being given to the power to dispense with laws and the power to suspend Acts of Parliament.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 2nd December 2016

Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org

Speech by Lord Justice Gross: The Judicial Role Today – Courts and Tribunals Judiciary

Posted November 24th, 2016 in constitutional history, judges, judiciary, speeches by tracey

‘It is a great pleasure to have been invited to give this year’s Law and Society Lecture. Earlier this year, in another lecture, I addressed the topic of “Judicial Leadership”. My subject on this occasion is the judicial role today, exploring some of its boundaries’

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Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 24th November 2016

Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk

Maastricht 25 years on – What happened to the European dream? – The Independent

Posted November 1st, 2016 in constitutional history, EC law, news, treaties by sally

‘After years of austerity, the utopian vision of a united Europe appears to be in tatters. On the 25th anniversary of the Maastricht treaty, Youssef El-Gingihy delves into the impact of an agreement that designed the architecture of the EU.’

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The Independent, 1st November 2016

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Graham John Wheeler: When Should the Lords Reject Secondary Legislation? – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted December 7th, 2015 in constitutional history, constitutional law, legal history, legislation, news, parliament, privilege, veto by sally

‘On 26 October 2015, the House of Lords debated the Tax Credits (Income Thresholds and Determination of Rates) (Amendment) Regulations 2015. The Regulations were approved, but subject to two riders. Critics claimed that these riders constituted “fatal” amendments, and that they were therefore tantamount to a rejection of the legislation. It was argued that it is constitutionally improper for the House of Lords to reject financial legislation in this way.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 7th December 2015

Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org

Speech by President of the Queen’s Bench Division: Justice for the 21st Century – Courts and Tribunals Judiciary

Posted October 12th, 2015 in constitutional history, constitutional law, constitutional reform, courts, diversity, equality, internet, judges, judicial appointments commission, judiciary, legal history, news, parliament, statistics by tracey

‘Sir Brian Leveson, President of the Queen’s Bench Division gave the Caroline Weatherill Lecture “Justice for the 21st Century” in the Isle of Man on 9 October 2015.’

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Courts and Tribunals Judicairy, 12th October 2015

Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk

Magna Carta: explore the document in full – The Guardian

Posted June 16th, 2015 in constitutional history, documents, magna carta, news by sally

‘Find out for yourself what Magna Carta says by consulting the original document, with English translation, Latin transcription, and expert commentary from the AHRC’s Magna Carta Project.’

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The Guardian, 15th June 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Magna Carta: The troubled journey to an independent judiciary – The Independent

Posted June 8th, 2015 in constitutional history, judiciary, legal history, magna carta, news, rule of law by sally

‘In popular perception the Middle Ages was a time of lawlessness and cruelty. And to a degree, that characterisation holds true. Crusades abroad, ill-disciplined governance at home, England in the early thirteenth century was not exactly enlightened.’

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The Independent, 7th June 2015

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Human Rights through the ages: Magna Carta and 7 key moments since 1215 – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted April 22nd, 2015 in constitutional history, human rights, legal history, magna carta, news by sally

‘2015 is the 800th anniversary of English law’s most momentous landmark – the signing of Magna Carta. For the first time, the king’s absolute rule was limited and the first step taken towards civil liberties and individual rights for all.’

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 21st April 2015

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

“High-minded tosh” – the current brouhaha about the Magna Carta – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted March 17th, 2015 in constitutional history, legal history, magna carta, news, speeches by sally

‘Let’s apply some hard history to the 13th century charter governing the obligations flowing between King John and his barons, or at least read the thing. So says Lord Sumption in a fascinating address to Friends of the British Library on 9 March.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 16th March 2015

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com