UK Constitutional Law Association Blog
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The United Kingdom Constitutional Law Association (UKCLA) is the UK's national body of constitutional law scholars affiliated to the International Association of Constitutional Law. Its object is to 'encourage and promote the advancement of knowledge relating to United Kingdom constitutional law (broadly defined) and the study of constitutions generally'.
UK Constitutional Law Association
5y ago
This week’s event announcement is below.
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Call for Papers: The Fourth Biennial Public Law Conference
University of Ottawa Law School, Common Law Section, 17-19 June 2020
The Public Law Conference series is the pre-eminent regular forum for the discussion of public law matters in the common law world. The first three conferences in the Public Law series were held in Cambridge in 2014 and 2016, and Melbourne in 2018. From 17 to 19 June 2020, the University of Ottawa Law School will host the Fourth Biennial Public Law Conference, co-organised by the University of Ottawa, University of Melbou ..read more
UK Constitutional Law Association
5y ago
In a recent Times article, Lord Pannick QC – leading Counsel in the Miller litigation – argues that if a Prime Minister were to advise HMQ to prorogue parliament to avoid a No Deal exit, an application could be made to the courts to determine the lawfulness of such advice. Sir John Major said on the Today programme on 10 July that he would personally bring a judicial review of any decision by the Prime Minister to advise prorogation.
After briefly considering issues of timing and justiciability, Lord Pannick makes three main arguments as to why, in his view, advice to prorogue parliament to ac ..read more
UK Constitutional Law Association
5y ago
In the recent case of R (Campaign Against Arms Trade) v Secretary of State for International Trade [2019] (hereinafter CAAT), the Court of Appeal invalidated the UK government’s decision to grant licences for the sale of military equipment to Saudi Arabia for possible use in the conflict in Yemen. The court found that the government had violated Article 2.2 of the EU Common Council Position 2008/944/CGSP, as adopted in the Secretary of State’s 2014 Guidance. Article 2.2 compels Member States to deny a licence for the sale of military equipment to other states if there is a clear risk that this ..read more
UK Constitutional Law Association
5y ago
The case of R (Privacy International) v Investigatory Powers Tribunal is the latest in a series of high profile judicial engagements with the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty. The case concerned the legal status of s.68(7) of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, and in particular, whether this provision constituted a successful attempt to oust the jurisdiction of the High Court to hear challenges to the decisions of the Investigatory Powers Tribunal by judicial review.
The Supreme Court divided this question into two parts, and the constitutional doctrine of parliamentary so ..read more
UK Constitutional Law Association
5y ago
The recent massive street demonstrations against a proposal to enable extradition of some criminal suspects from Hong Kong to mainland China (as well as Taiwan and Macau) have focused global attention on the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC’s) criminal justice and judicial system, with protestors voicing their fears that any extradition arrangement would expose those removed under it to arbitrary detention, unfair trial and torture. The United Kingdom Government (softly) echoed this alarm when Theresa May told the Commons “it is vital that those extradition arrangements in Hong Kong are in li ..read more
UK Constitutional Law Association
5y ago
This is part of a series of posts in which Richard Ekins reflects upon Lord Sumption’s Reith Lectures. You can find the first posts here, here and here.
In his fifth and final Reith lecture, broadcast yesterday morning and entitled “Shifting the Foundations”, Jonathan Sumption brings to a conclusion his reflections on “the decline of politics and the rise of law to fill the void”. The lecture encourages us to resist calls for a written constitution, calls which, Sumption says, “mark the extreme point” of “our persistent habit of looking for legal solutions to what are really political problem ..read more
UK Constitutional Law Association
5y ago
This week’s event announcement is below.
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Constitutional Law Summer School
Belfast, Northern Ireland
7-9 August 2019
You are invited to join the Attorney General and expert speakers in exploring major constitutional law issues drawing on the particular perspective of Northern Ireland. This year we are particularly pleased to welcome Lord Lloyd-Jones JSC as our keynote speaker.
The cost to attendees is £200 for the full three day programme, or £40 per session. Tickets for the conference dinner are an additional £40.
Participation in the summer school attracts 15 hours CPD accreditation.
The ..read more
UK Constitutional Law Association
5y ago
This is part of a series of posts in which Richard Ekins reflects upon Lord Sumption’s Reith Lectures. You can find the first posts here and here.
In his fourth Reith lecture, broadcast yesterday morning and entitled “Rights and the Ideal Constitution”, Jonathan Sumption turns to the American experience of struggling to reconcile democracy with rights adjudication. It is a cautionary tale, illustrating some of the damaging political consequences of relying on courts in an attempt to ward off majoritarian tyranny.
The lecture opens by noting and quoting Alexis de Tocqueville’s observation, in ..read more
UK Constitutional Law Association
5y ago
In recent days certain government backbenchers have proposed a new avenue to deliver a “no deal” Brexit. As Sir Edward Leigh put it:
“There are only two choices given the EU won’t change the deal and there’s no chance of parliament passing it. One is cancel Brexit: an intolerable denial of democracy. The other is leave without a deal on WTO terms on 31 October. But MPs, assisted by the Speaker, will block this. Solution: End this failed session immediately within a few hours of a new government and prorogue Parliament. Leave the EU on 31 October…”
While several Conservative leadership candi ..read more
UK Constitutional Law Association
5y ago
This week’s event announcements include:
Constitution Committee seeks new legal adviser, deadline for applications: 2 July 2019
Event Series: Global Law@City 2019 Research Dialogue Series
Call for papers: ‘Constitutional interpretation in European populist regimes ‒ new methods or old tools for new purposes’, Budapest, 5-6 December 2019
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Constitution Committee seeks new legal adviser
The House of Lords Select Committee on the Constitution is inviting applications for the vacant post of one of its legal advisers.
The role is part-time, remunerated by daily fee. The successful candidate wil ..read more