On 1 May 2024, Part 3 of the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 is fully in force. Part 3 deals with Investigations, legal proceedings etc and release of prisoners. The Explanatory Notes explain the effect of the legislation.  Part 2 of the Act created an Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) and defined its role and powers. The effect of Part 3 is to bring into force a conditional immunity scheme, allowing those who cooperate with the ICRIR to receive immunity ..read more

Amnesty International, in its annual report for 2023-24, claims that the UK is weakening human rights protections both nationally and globally. Flagrant rule-breaking by governments and corporate actors (amnesty.org). The UK section of the report commences at page 390 and contains much that should be of considerable concern to anyone concerned with protection of human rights.  Will human rights in the UK continue to have the strong protection that currently exists? The UK is a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights and convention rights are woven into domestic law ..read more

'Every decision-maker must conclusively treat the Republic of Rwanda as a safe country.' So states section 2 of the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024 (legislation.gov.uk) which received Royal Assent on 25 April 2024. The passage of the Act was met with a brief statement from No 10 Downing Street - PM statement on Safety of Rwanda Bill: 23 April 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) As a Bill it received considerable criticism both within Parliament (especially the House of Lords) and from international bodies - e.g. UK: Rwanda Bill threatens to undermine independence o ..read more

Do jurors in criminal cases actually have a right to decide a case against the weight of the evidence or, as it is often phrased, "according to conscience"? Historically, Bushel's Case (1670) 124 ER 1006  has been thought to have decided that they may BUT Each juror either swears or affirms an oath to 'faithfully try the defendant and give a true verdict according to the evidence." Claiming to be protecting the public interest in the administration of justice, the Attorney-General is seeking to bring contempt of court proceedings against Trudi Warner because, outside a Crown Court ..read more

   Almost 12 years ago, this blog discussed the 'LIBOR banking' situation and noted that the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) was then close to bringing criminal charges. By way of a brief reminder, LIBOR was the abbreviation for the London Interbank Offered Rate. Money market traders found themselves able to earn money for their bank (and, through their personal pay structure, for themselves) by subtle manipulations of the rate.  Very small alterations in the rate equated to considerable sums of money.  The process was well described by Alex Bailin QC (now KC) in ..read more

The Criminal Damage Act 1971 was enacted to 'revise the law of England and Wales as to offences of damage to property ...'  First, a bit of history ... History: The Act was the product of the Law Commission's work (Report 29 published 23 July 1970) which, at the time, was part of a process of revising the criminal law with a view ultimately to codification. The latter has not been achieved. A link to the Commission's report is below. The House of Lords Second Reading on the Criminal Damage Bill is worth reading for the succinct speech of Lord Hailsham (then Lord Chancellor), setting ..read more

Today (13 March), the government introduced the Bill to - 'Provide for the quashing of convictions in England and Wales for certain offences alleged to have been committed while the Horizon system was in use by the Post Office; to make provision about the deletion of cautions given in England and Wales for such offences; and for connected purposes.' Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Bill - Parliamentary Bills - UK Parliament Previous post 23 February - Law and Lawyers: Post Office ~ Horizon ~ proposed legislation (obiterj.blogspot.com ..read more

Was the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) correct to conclude that the decision (of the Home Secretary) to deprive Shamima Begum of British citizenship was lawful. Yes said the Court of Appeal (Civil Division).  The judgment and a summary are available at - Shamima Begum -v- Secretary of State for the Home Department - Courts and Tribunals Judiciary.  The court's constitution was The Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales, Lord Justice Bean and Lady Justice Whipple. The decision was unanimous.  The court commented - "It could be argued that ..read more

A Bill will be introduced by the government to "make sure that those convicted as a result of the Horizon scandal, which began in the 1990s, are swiftly exonerated and compensated" - see the Written statement 22 February 2024 The government claims that the planned legislation "does not set a precedent for the future relationship between the executive, Parliament and the judiciary"  but "the scale and circumstances of this prosecutorial misconduct demands an exceptional response." It is obvious enough that the government has, in this election year, been spurred into action by ITV sc ..read more

Ireland has instituted an inter-State action against the United Kingdom - New inter-State application brought by Ireland against the United Kingdom - ECHR - ECHR / CEDH (coe.int) The application is a challenge to sections of the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023, which received Royal Assent on 18 September 2023. See also the Explanatory Notes issued by the UK government.  The European Convention on Human Rights enables Ireland to seek enforcement of human rights no matter who holds power at either Westminster or Be ..read more