Home Secretary oral statement on child abuse – Home Office
‘Theresa May oral statement to Parliament on child abuse investigations.’
Home Office, 7th July 2014
Source: www.gov.uk/home-office
Category: parliament
Female genital mutilation: Prosecute health professionals who fail to report signs of FGM, MPs say – The Independent
‘Doctors and nurses who fail to report that girls in their care have suffered female genital mutilation (FGM) should be prosecuted in an effort to tackle the scandal of “this horrific abuse”, MPs say in a report published today.’
Full story
The Independent, 3rd July 2014
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Launch formal investigation into the lost paedophile dossier, says former DPP – Daily Telegraph
‘Disappearance of 1980s papers handed to Leon Brittan naming senior politicians as part of Westminster child-abuse ring merits full investigation, says Lord Macdonald.’
Daily Telegraph, 2nd July 2014
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
You cannot be serious! Peers call ‘out’ on Government’s judicial review reforms – UK Human Rights Blog
‘Last night saw the House of Lords’ first reaction to the Government’s proposed changes to judicial review as the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill had its second reading. Already dissected at some length in this blog, the proposals have been roundly criticised by both the senior judiciary and the Joint Committee on Human Rights. Consultations responses, including from JUSTICE, expressed concern that the measures appear, by design or coincidence, to undermine the rule of law, inhibit transparency and shield the Government from judicial scrutiny. Two key concerns arise from the Government proposals: restricting access for individuals without substantial means and limiting the courts’ discretion to do justice in the public interest. Yesterday’s debate was robust and eloquent, with former Law Lords joined by bishops and backbenchers alike to condemn the new measures.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 1st July 2014
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
Graham Gee: The Lord Chief Justice and Section 5 of the Constitutional Reform Act – UK Constitutional Law Association
‘The Constitutional Reform Act redrew relationships between the senior judiciary and Parliament in a number of ways. Amongst the most significant was removing the right of the LCJ to speak in the Lords. Earlier this month, the new LCJ Lord Thomas repeated the lament of his immediate predecessors that it was a mistake to deprive the LCJ of the right to address Parliament on the floor of the House on important matters relating to the administration of justice. In this context, some have read the LCJ’s suggestion of a new approach to s5 of the CRA as significant. Drawing on interviews conducted between 2011-13 as part of an AHRC-funded project on The Politics of Judicial Independence, I want to shed some light on tensions that have arisen about the use of s5.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 14th April 2014
Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org
Maria Miller expenses report: minister must repay expenses and apologise – Daily Telegraph
‘Maria Miller must pay back £5,800 worth of expenses and apologise for her behaviour in a personal statement in the House of Commons, says report.’
Daily Telegraph, 3rd April 2014
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Alexander Horne: Is there a case for greater legislative involvement in the judicial appointments process? – UK Constitutional Law Association
‘The dramatic increase in public law and human rights cases coming before the UK Supreme Court (and the Appellate Committee before it) means that the UK’s top court is more frequently determining essentially socio-political questions. In addition, in recent years, the judiciary has pressed for a rather more expansive definition of judicial independence, with a greater emphasis on the institutional independence of the judiciary. This has tended to lead to more powerful leadership roles, for senior judges in particular.
UK Constitutional Law Association, 27th March 2014
Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org
MPs renew demand for Commons votes on use of war-making powers – BBC News
‘The government must enshrine in law its commitment to consult the House of Commons before using its war-making powers, MPs have reiterated.’
BBC News, 27th March 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Why unelected judges should get our vote: reflections on Lord Neuberger’s Law Lecture – Halsbury’s Law Exchange
‘In his Cambridge Freshfield Lecture, Lord Neuberger gave a number of reasons, historical, geographical and emotional, for the view expressed in the Daily Mail and other newspapers that, “it is unacceptable for unelected judges to impose a diktat on a democratically elected parliament”. He said that this was a “peculiarly British” view, aimed particularly at the rulings on EU law by judges in Luxembourg and on human rights by judges in Strasbourg. But I am not going to write about that. No, what troubles me about Lord Neuberger’s citation from the Daily Mail is the complaint about rulings (diktats) being made by “unelected judges”.’
Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 18th March 2014
Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk
Hitting the Balls out of Court: Are Judges Stepping Over the Line? – Speech by Lord Justice Moses
‘Hitting the Balls out of Court: Are Judges Stepping Over the Line?
Speech by Lord Justice Moses: Creaney Memorial Lecture 2014, 26/02/2014’
Judiciary Of England & Wales, 18th March 2014
Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk
Assisted suicide could be legalised as Government allows free vote – The Independent
‘MPs and peers will be given a free vote on whether to change the law on assisted suicide, the Government said on Sunday.’
The Independent, 10th March 2014
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Meg Russell: The Byles/Steel bill – unless amended – holds grave dangers for the Lords – UK Constitutional Law Association
‘On Friday 28 February Dan Byles’ Private Member’s Bill on Lords reform completed its Commons passage. It is now in the Lords, and will be sponsored by David Steel. The bill, which allows retirement from the Lords and expulsion of non-attendees and serious criminals, has been presented as a small, uncontroversial “housekeeping” measure. But as already argued in an earlier blog post, as currently drafted it would in fact introduce a very major change that would alter the Lords fundamentally, and in very undesirable ways.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 6th March 2014
Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org/blog
Thank the Lords! – Sovereign Chambers
‘If last Wednesday’s vote in the House of Lords was not a reminder as to why we need a second house to protect us then nothing will be. Many members of the public will not realise just how close this country came to fundamentally damaging the democratic society we live in and abandoning the principle of free speech, whilst simultaneously providing an unwieldy weapon against practically anybody for doing pretty much anything that another person does not like.’
Sovereign Chambers, 15th January 2014
Source: www.sovereignchambers.co.uk
Ministers defeated in Lords over licences for bankers – BBC News
‘The government has been defeated in the House of Lords over its plans for reforming the banking system. A Labour amendment to the Financial Services Bill, which would introduce a licensing system for senior bankers, was passed by five votes.’
BBC News, 26th November 2013
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Ministers’ plans will hand more power to Europe, says report – Daily Telegraph
“Europe’s power over British affairs could actually be increased by the Government’s decision to opt back in to a number of criminal justice measures, MPs have warned. The House of Commons’ all-party European Scrutiny committee warned the influence of Parliament and the British courts could suffer if ministers proceed with current plans.”
Daily Telegraph, 7th November 2013
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Supreme court to make final ruling on Poundland case – The Guardian
“The UK supreme court will hand down judgment on Wednesday morning in what is expected to be the final chapter in a long-running dispute between the Department of Work and Pensions and former jobseeker Cait Reilly over the legality of so-called workfare schemes.”
The Guardian, 30th October 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Press regulation: publishers seek judicial review of royal charter decision – The Guardian
“A group of national newspaper publishers have launched a legal challenge to the government’s plans for press regulation, claiming that ‘irrational’ ministers have failed to apply ‘rigorous standards of consultation’ over plans for a new watchdog.”
The Guardian, 24th October 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Code of practice call over government tsars – BBC News
“The process for appointing government ‘tsars’ and evaluating their work is inadequate, a new report has claimed.”
BBC News, 15th October 2013
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Press still plans self-regulation despite ministers’ rejection, says Times editor – The Guardian
“The editor of the Times yesterday gave the clearest indication yet that a group of the country’s bestselling titles will press ahead and set up their own regulator without seeking government approval, after ministers formally rejected a Fleet Street proposal for a new system of oversight.”
The Guardian, 9th October 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
House of Lords reform – time for evolution rather than revolution? – Halsbury’s Law Exchange
“When the House of Lords returns from recess in October, they will begin to welcome the 30 new peers announced at the beginning of August, including such diverse figures as paralympian Chris Holmes, racism campaigner Doreen Lawrence and Ministry of Sound co-founder James Palumbo. These 30 new peers (14 Conservative, ten Liberal Democrats, five Labour and one Green) will see the Conservatives again become the biggest bloc (with 222 peers, one ahead of Labour) and take the number of currently eligible sitting peers to 783. While such a size led to many comments about the ballooning size of the House (such as ‘New faces push the supersized House of Lords towards 1,000’ The Times August 2, 2013), this figure – which excludes those on leave of absence and those ineligible due to offices held – is actually lower than the figures as at March 2011 and March 2012. However, the annual reports of the House do show average attendance has increased by over a third in the last decade (from the mid-300s to the high 400s) and reflecting changing party balance in the House of Commons through creations is undoubtedly set to increase the size of the House of Lords (particularly if the parties fortunes ebb and flow; on this point see, eg, Michael White (Guardian, 17/5/2010) and the Electoral Reform Society 2013 report ‘The Super-Sized Second Chamber’). Thus among the Bills set to be scrutinised in the remainder of this session are no fewer than three House of Lords Reform Private Members’ Bills (PMBs) which seek to restrict the size of the House, Nick Clegg’s revolutionary – and much criticised – reform having been abandoned last year (at least until the next election).”
Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 8th October 2013
Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk
