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)...
The Government’s Radical Theory of the Constitution
In its response to the Independent Review of Administrative Law, the Government has set out a theory of the constitution that animates its case for reform and informs its position...
The Independent Review of Administrative Law: The Government Response and Consultation Exercise
In two earlier blogs I considered the IRAL Panel’s Report and a central feature of the government response, which was premised on the assumption that courts were exceeding the bounds...
The Independent Review of Administrative Law-The Government Response
The government’s response to the Panel’s report was brief, Judicial Review: Proposals for Reform – Ministry of Justice – Citizen Space. It welcomed the Report, and made clear that it...
The Independent Review of Administrative Law-The Panel Report
The Report of the Independent Review of Administrative Law (IRAL) was made public on 16 March. It stretches to 195 pages in total, although one third of this comprises annexes...
Algorithms and Education: A New Frontier of Discrimination?
In this brief post, I want to demonstrate how ostensibly neutral and efficient algorithms can cause discrimination in education. Last year, the national advanced level qualifications (‘A-levels’) exams in the...
Why Dinah Rose QC Had an Obligation to Give up the Homophobic Cayman Islands Brief: A Response to Lord Hendy QC
Justice Edwin Cameron’s criticism of Dinah Rose QC for persisting in holding a brief in the Privy Council to defend the Cayman Government’s homophobic prohibition on same-sex marriage has little...
Shamima Begum and The Humpty Dumpty Supreme Court
On 26 February 2021, the Supreme Court refused permission for Shamima Begum to return to the UK. The Supreme Court judgment in the high-profile case of the British woman who...
The Cab Rank Rule
In his blog for the Human Rights Hub, Edwin Cameron criticised Ms Dinah Rose QC, the President of Magdalen, for accepting the brief, in the Privy Council, to defend the...
For Whom the Bell Tolls: “Contract” in the Gig Economy
Are Uber drivers ‘limb (b) workers’ and so entitled to fundamental statutory rights such as the minimum wage and working time protections? In a decision of fundamental significance, six Justices...
The Human Rights Act, 1998
A striking feature of the history of Europe since the ending of WW II has been the origin, development, application and enforcement of the international movement for the protection of...
Enhancing the UK Parliament’s Scrutiny of Human Rights: A Case for Improved Government Reporting
Parliaments are increasingly recognised as vital actors for ensuring governments’ implementation of both human rights judgments and recommendations made by United Nations’ (UN) Treaty Bodies and the Universal Periodic Review....