Louis Karaolis - 11th November 2016
Stripped to its core, the Cyprus Problem pertains to the illegal invasion of the Republic of Cyprus by Turkish forces in 1974 and the displacement of 180,000 Greek Cypriots from their homes. The invasion was followed by the establishment of a Turkish-Pseudo State and the stationing of 43,000 Turkish troops. To this day, 37 per […]
Gehan Gunatilleke - 9th November 2016
A year ago, Sri Lanka promised the world that it would repeal its current Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). In a historic co-sponsored resolution, it assured the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) that it would replace the PTA with counterterrorism legislation that complies with international best practices. The current PTA is described as ‘draconian’, and […]
Sandra Fredman - 7th November 2016
One of the extraordinary outcomes of the Brexit referendum has been the insistence that the Government is entitled to exercise its powers in relation to the Brexit process without involving Parliament. In a constitution whose central principle is Parliamentary sovereignty, such claims must be viewed with deep suspicion. Human rights are already precarious if left […]
Paul Craig - 4th November 2016
The claimants in Miller won the first round of the legal battle, since the High Court concluded that Parliament’s approval had to be forthcoming before Article 50 could be triggered. The ruling will now be tested before the Supreme Court. I entirely endorse the idea that Parliament should have voice in this process, as I […]
Max Harris - 3rd November 2016
The High Court today handed down its decision in Miller v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union. As has now been widely reported, the High Court found that the Government could not use its prerogative powers to trigger a notification under Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty to withdraw from the European Union. […]
Paul Craig - 28th October 2016
This should be read with the previous posting. They are both designed to reveal underlying issues of constitutional and interpretive principle that pertain to Brexit. The previous post considered constitutional principles that pertain to Parliament’s voice in the Brexit negotiations. This post addresses foundational principles that affect the interpretation of Article 50 TEU, the key […]
Paul Craig - 27th October 2016
The post-referendum discourse has been marked by vibrant political and legal exchange in Parliament and the courts. This is not the place for detailed engagement with all such arguments, nor is it the intent of this contribution. To the contrary, it is to stand back from that discourse and highlight some important constitutional principles that […]
Alison Young - 11th October 2016
Alison Young continues her analysis of the Miller case before the High Court. The first part, concerning jurisdiction and the correct approach to public law litigation, can be found here. In this installment, the substance of the challenge is considered. The main argument as to the substance of the challenge concerns whether triggering Article 50 […]
Alison Young - 10th October 2016
The High Court in London is currently hearing a challenge to the position of the UK Government that it can trigger Article 50 of the Treaty on the European Union by prerogative, without the approval of Parliament. The skeleton argument of one of the intervenors in this case – ‘The People’s Challenge IPs’ – and […]
Ndjodi Ndeunyema - 4th October 2016
The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) tweeted that the swearing-in of newly ‘elected’ commissioners would take place on 4 October 2016. However, pertinent constitutionality questions around their appointment remain unsettled. Commissioners are amongst the most prominent custodians of voting rights, entrenched in Article 17 of Namibia’s Constitution. Voting rights contestations feature at the core of […]
Brian Christopher Jones - 26th September 2016
Perhaps it is time to begin looking for silver linings, as opposed to fantastic judicial interventions. On this blog in March I wrote that a remain vote in the referendum could spell doom for the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA), as a fractured post-referendum Conservative party may attempt to mend itself by scrapping the HRA […]
George G. Chen - 19th September 2016
The Chinese government claims to have made stunning progress in improving the human rights situation in the country through reforming its judicial system. But its new White Paper titled “New Progress in the Judicial Protection of Human Rights in China”, published on 12 September 2016, is a jumble of selective statistics and unsubstantiated claims. The […]