‘A Victory for Underpaid Workers’: Chief Constable of Northern Ireland v Agnew
The recent Agnew case deals with a technical but practically very important point: if a worker is underpaid by their employer when they take annual leave, how far back in...
Derechos Trans y el Parlamento Escocés: Poniendo a Prueba los Límites Constitucionales del Autogobierno de Escocia
El gobierno británico ha bloqueado la Ley de Reconocimiento de Género de Escocia, argumentando que afecta a materias reservadas al Parlamento británico, lo que ha desencadenado una gran controversia. El...
Trans Rights and the Scottish Parliament: Testing the Constitutional Limits of Scottish Self-government
The British government’s recent veto of the Scottish Gender Recognition Bill, alleging its impact on matters reserved for the UK Parliament, has caused significant controversy. The Bill, which was passed...
Figel’ v Slovakia: Potential landmark ECtHR decision on COVID-19 related restrictions to religious freedom
The COVID-19 pandemic introduced a period of unprecedented restrictions to fundamental rights, unthinkable no less than five years ago: freedom of movement, assembly, and expression, and the right to private...
The Scottish Independence Ruling: Here we go again!
Image description: a rally in support of Scottish independence. Implementation of the right of self-determination should be congruent with the free, collectively expressed will of all legally qualified peoples. Changing...
The Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill: Voluntary Euthanasia, Self-Administration and Disability Discrimination
Image description: Interior of Scottish Parliament debating chamber Scotland will become the first of the UK’s four nations to legalise assisted dying if the Scottish Parliament passes a Bill currently...
Constitutional Changes in Scotland – II: Incorporation of International Treaties, Devolution, and Effective Accountability
This blog is the second of a two-part series on Scotland’s incorporation journey. Part 1 sets out the devolved landscape and discusses incorporation of the UN Convention on the Rights...
Constitutional Changes in Scotland – I: Incorporation of International Treaties, Devolution and Effective Accountability
Scotland is on the precipice of significant subnational constitutional change through a programme of incorporation of international treaties. On 16 March 2021, the Scottish Parliament unanimously enacted the UNCRC (Incorporation)...
Scotland’s Answer to Modern-Day Slavery
A new standalone human trafficking bill for Scotland has been quietly gaining momentum in the corridors of Holyrood. On Monday it was announced that a formal proposal by Labour MP...
Where Have All The Expatriates Gone?
Participants in the 18 September 2014 Scottish independence referendum will be asked whether Scotland should become an independent country. The UK Chancellor of the Exchequer’s pronouncement that Scotland will not...
Scotland’s Gay Rights Journey
On 4 February 2014, MSPs passed the SNP government’s Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill into law, 105 votes to 18. Exemplifying the disunities of contemporary UK politics, the Scottish...
New Bill Shifts Focus to Survivors of Human Trafficking
Earlier this year, I interviewed a group of young Bangladeshi men who had been trafficked into Scotland to work in the hotel services industry. They had been deceived, abused, exploited...
