Will There be Any Women in Fifty Years Time, Lord Sumption?
In September of this year, Lord Sumption, a Justice of the United Kingdom Supreme Court caused consternation by issuing a dire warning that a rush to equality could have “appalling...
The Draft Investigatory Powers Bill: A (Somewhat) Different Balance Between Privacy and Security
Recently it seems as though you can hardly get away from government mass surveillance programs (no pun intended). They even make an appearance in the latest James Bond film (as...
Dominic Grieve on the Human Rights Act: St Hugh’s College, Oxford—13 November 2015
The Human Rights Act (HRA) is one of the most significant pieces of constitutional reform in Britain. Certain sections of the Conservative Party, though, enthusiastically encouraged by parts of the...
The Mau Mau Litigation – Justice at Last
It is rare for the British Government to apologise for state sponsored human rights abuses, particularly if they took place over 50 years ago. But in September 2015 the British...
UK and the Assisted Dying Bill: Autonomy in Death Continues to Wait Its Turn
Last week, the Assisted Dying (No.2) Bill (‘the Bill’) was rejected by 330 to 118 in a historic vote in the House of Commons. The Bill was the first ever...
UNISON v Lord Chancellor: The Statistics of Tribunal Fees in the Court of Appeal
As discussed previously on the Blog, fees in the employment tribunal were introduced across England, Wales and Scotland in July 2013, requiring a claimant to pay fees when presenting a...
In Memory of Bob Hepple
It is with a heavy heart that I write to say farewell to Bob Hepple, who died in the early hours of Friday 21st August. There will be time for...
Zero-Tolerance for Severe Forms of Labour Exploitation in the UK
In June 2015, the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) published the results of research conducted in 21 European Member States that considers the nature of, and responses to, severe...
Politics and Legality: The UK’s Trade Union Bill 2015
Despite having some of the most onerous legal restrictions on the right to strike in the industrialised West, Business Secretary Sajid Javid MP’s proposed Trade Union Bill seeks to place...
R (Davis): Rights in Communications Data and Constitutional Evolution
Much ink has been spilt of late over the mass surveillance programs run by western intelligence agencies. A separate, but related, matter of concern for privacy campaigners has been legislation...
Southall Black Sisters: Dissent to Speak Power to Truth, Hope to Counter Hate and Violence
Editor’s Note: Pragna Patel of UK women’s organisation Southall Black Sisters (SBS) and Mauro Cabral of Global Action for Trans Equality (GATE) were given the inaugural Bob Hepple Equality Award,...
Entering the No-Go Zone – Social Security and Discrimination in the UK Supreme Court
It is rare for a human rights challenge in the social security context to succeed in the English courts. In large part this is due to the respect (some might...