‘The justice secretary, Chris Grayling, has suffered a defeat in a key House of Lords vote on his plans to curtail access to judicial review, which would have made it harder to challenge government decisions in court.’
The Guardian, 27th October 2014
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘From euthanasia to high-speed rail, the highest in the land has an almost limitless remit.’
The Independent, 12th October 2014
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said if the Tories won the election, a new Bill of Rights would give UK courts and Parliament the “final say”.’
BBC news, 3rd Ocotber 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘One of the Conservative MPs who was contacted by a Sunday Mirror reporter posing as a woman interested in sex is to write to the Metropolitan police over the tabloid sting. Mark Pritchard said he would contact Scotland Yard and make a formal complaint to the Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso) over accusations of entrapment.’
The Guardian, 29th September 2014
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘Q) What is the concept of English votes for English laws?
A) Basically it’s a smart way of politically packaging the conundrum known as the “West Lothian question” that has been ignored by politicians of all persuasions since it was first posed in the 1970s and Westminster began devolving powers to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. At its heart is this question: Why should Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish MPs be able to make laws that will not affect the people they represent. For example why should they decide how NHS money is spent when it won’t have any impact on their own constituents?’
The Independent, 22nd September 2014
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘After a very long — and at times electrifying — campaign, a modest but decisive majority of those who participated in the referendum on Scottish independence have voted “no”. In one sense, this is the end of the process — even if, bearing in mind the main UK parties’ still-to-be-fulfilled promises about further devolution, it is only the beginning of the end. In another sense, however, it might turn out to be only the end of the beginning.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 19th September 2014
Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org/blog
‘Ever wondered what the difference is between the human rights convention and the Human Rights Act? This may help.’
The Guardian, 1st September 2014
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘As part of its inquiry into the office of Lord Chancellor, the Constitution Committee asks whether “new” (i.e. post-2003) Lord Chancellors have actually defended judicial independence in line with their customary and now statutory duty to do so. I was asked for examples earlier this summer when appearing before the Committee (with Andrew Le Sueur and Patrick O’Brien). I tried to identify some, but rather garbled my answer. Earlier in the year I also sketched some thoughts about Lord Chancellors in Public Law, but struggled to find clear-cut examples. One reason is that collective cabinet responsibility and the confidentiality of exchanges between Lord Chancellors and judges mean that outsiders will seldom have a full picture of what has occurred behind closed doors. This is unfortunate since my impression is that many lawyers assume—mistakenly, I think—that new Lord Chancellors are neither willing nor able to defend judicial independence. This post is hopefully third time lucky in correcting this assumption. By drawing on press reports, public statements and interviews that Robert Hazell, Kate Malleson, Patrick O’Brien and I conducted between 2011-2013, I want to piece together evidence that suggests that new Lord Chancellors can and do defend judicial independence.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 18th August 2014
Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org/blog
‘As the House of Lords closes its gilded doors for the long recess, the Westminster village enters its equivalent of the school holidays. Yet, as Ministers pack their red boxes and MPs head diligently back to their constituency business, the House of Lords – debating the Committee Stage of controversial judicial review proposals in Part 4 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill – may have suggested that officials and Ministers yet have some homework to do.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 1st August 2014
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘The report is born out of a widely held belief that the law on policing what should be permitted on social media, and determining between the morally unacceptable and the criminal, is woefully inadequate in the current age
[Warning: contains strong language]
Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 29th July 2014
Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk
‘The proposed legislation seeks to ‘end the liability of lay rectors for the repair of chancels’ – in other words abolishing the demands for landowners to fund repairs to their parish church.’
Law Society’s Gazette, 17th July 2014
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘The government has come under fire in the Lords over emergency legislation giving the security services access to people’s phone and internet records.’
BBC News, 16th July 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Twenty-seven leading figures write to every peer urging them to back Lord Falconer’s private members bill on assisted dying.’
The Guardian, 15th July 2014
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘The unveiling last Thursday of a a draft bill on surveillance powers that is to be rushed through Parliament brought to mind the story of the Dutch boy who finds a hole in a dyke on his way to school and puts his finger in it to plug the leak until help arrives to shore it up. The legislation is said to be necessary to plug what the Government regards as holes in the regime of surveillance and investigatory powers pending a full review. The fact that the bill is titled the Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Bill – the “DRIP” bill – may mean I am not the first person to draw the analogy. But the analogy may not be entirely apt. An examination of the DRIP Bill reveals that it is not addressing little holes in the regime but in fact profoundly important and substantial issues.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 14th July 2014
Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org/blog
‘The House of Lords is to debate Lord Falconer’s bill aimed at clarifying the law on the right to end one’s life.’
The Guardian, 12th July 2014
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘David Cameron and his Liberal Democrat deputy, Nick Clegg, have unveiled emergency surveillance legislation that will shore up government powers to require phone and internet companies to retain and hand over data to the security services.
The Guardian, 10th July 2014
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘The 800th anniversary of Magna Carta next year is the right time for a fresh debate on the pros and cons of a written constitution, MPs have said.’
BBC News, 10th July 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Retired senior judge Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, 80, has been named as the chairman of a wide-ranging review into historical child sex abuse.’
BBC News, 8th July 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
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