Not reaping the benefits: the United Kingdom’s continuing violation of Article 12§1 of the European Social Charter
On 29 January 2014, the European Committee of Social Rights found, yet again, that the United Kingdom is in violation of Article 12§1 of the European Social Charter (‘the Charter’)....
The New Barbarians: Bulgarians and Romanians at the Gate!
Joseph Goebbels, Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany, is reputed to have said: ‘If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to...
Prosecuting in the Public Interest: CPS Guidelines from Assisted Suicide to Social Media
Although the DPP’s consent is required before a prosecution for assisted suicide can be brought, the discretion whether to prosecute or not exists in all cases. In this post, drawn...
XYZ or HJ: How do EU and UK refugee law stack up on identity issues?
The purpose of refugee law is to give sanctuary to people fleeing persecution because of some aspect of their identity. But to what extent, if at all, should people be...
A Step Closer to Secret Justice?
The recent case of CF v Security Service provides an early indication of how the courts will treat the newly-implemented Justice and Security Act 2013. The claimants in this case...
For love and money? Unpaid Legal Internships in the Third-Sector
Recent litigation in the United States has successfully challenged the use of unpaid interns by large corporations. However, recent UK research indicates that ‘third-sector’ organisations – not-for-profits and charities –...
Ode v High Court of Ireland: the Right to Respect for Family Life is Alive and Kicking
There is a constant undercurrent of scepticism in the UK regarding the role of human rights in the legal system. Many see them as a tool to be exploited by...
If the Human Rights Act were repealed, could the common law fill the void?
It now looks pretty certain that, if Justice Secretary Chris Grayling has his way, the Conservative Party manifesto for the election in 2015 will promise to repeal the Human Rights...
Lessons from the South African Constitutional Court: a duty of care for police in England and Wales?
Last month at the inquest of Rachael Slack, a 38 year-old woman stabbed to death by her ex-partner, the jury ruled that police failures had contributed ‘more than minimally’ towards...
Men and gender based violence: part of the problem, but also the solution?
Universities may well create the future leaders of our governments, economies, and communities—they are places of intellectual thought and social development. But does that square with what we know about...
Disenfranchising the Disenfranchised? – Appeal Rights in the Immigration Bill 2013
The first immigration bill to be published in four years was introduced in the House of Commons on 10 October 2013. The long title – ‘… to limit … access...
Al-Jedda: Judicial Commitment to the Universal Application of the Right to a Nationality
The Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 provides that the Secretary of State may, as a general rule, deprive an individual of British citizenship where she is satisfied that this...
