Monthly Archives: February 2012
Paul Bernal: Between a European Rock and an American Hard Place?
Europe and the US have had very different approaches to privacy – and in particular data privacy – for a very long time. Data protection, the centrepiece of European data privacy law, is currently undergoing a reform – and that … Continue reading
Filed under Comparative law, Human rights
Patrick O’Brien: The European Fiscal Treaty: Constitutionalising ‘The Road to Serfdom’?
I start with a very old bad joke. A tourist is in Dublin, Ireland. In the midst of pondering the evident decline in the country’s fortunes (empty blocks of new apartments, growing anti-European sentiment, grizzled former bankers by the side … Continue reading
Filed under European Union
Jan Komarek: Playing With Matches: The Czech Constitutional Court’s Ultra Vires Revolution
When the Czech Constitutional Court (CCC) declared the CJEU’s judgment in C-399/09 Landtová “ultra vires”, one of my colleagues commented: “giving Solange into their hands was like to let children play with matches”. I am afraid it is the adequate … Continue reading
Filed under European Union
Kate Malleson: Taking the politics out of judicial appointments?
Seven years after the judicial appointments process was completely refashioned under the provisions of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (CRA), the system is being looked at again. In November, the Ministry of Justice issued a consultation paper on ‘Judicial Appointments … Continue reading
Filed under Constitutional reform, Judiciary
Stuart Lakin: What Role Should Judges Play in the Constitution Justice Sumption?
In his recent F.A. Mann lecture Jonathan Sumption Q.C., the newly appointed member of the Supreme Court, took up the question of the proper role of judges vis-a-vis the political branches of government in the UK. Tom Adams has already … Continue reading
Filed under Judicial review, Judiciary
Armin von Bogdandy, Matthias Kottmann, Carlino Antpöhler, Johanna Dickschen, Simon Hentrei and Maja Smrkolj: A Rescue Package for EU Fundamental Rights – Illustrated with Reference to the Example of Media Freedom
Fundamental rights protection, once a side show, has become important for the EU, as proved by the newfound treaty recognition of the EU fundamental rights charter (CFREU), and the upcoming accession to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). At … Continue reading
Filed under Comparative law, European Union, Human rights
House of Lords Select Committee on the Constitution Produces Report on Legality of Scottish Referendum.
The House of Lords Select Committee on the Constitution has published a report on the legal issues raised by the proposed referendum on Scottish Independence. One of the issues they discuss is the capacity of the Scottish Parliament to legislate … Continue reading
Filed under Scotland
Grégoire Webber: On Independence for Scotland: An Overview Of Canadian Experience
Canadian constitutional experience with federal-provincial relations and a bill of rights has provided a point of comparison for the United Kingdom’s devolution measures and Human Rights Act. Today, with the question of Scotland’s independence animating constitutional debates, Canadian constitutional experience … Continue reading
Filed under Scotland, Devolution, Comparative law
Alison L. Young: Whose Convention Rights are they anyway?
It is probably an under-statement to say that the Human Rights Act 1998 is not Teresa May’s favourite statute. The decision to grant bail to Abu Qatada, following on from the decision of the European Court of Human Rights that … Continue reading
Filed under Human rights, Judiciary
Nick Barber: The Sophick Constitution
With the United Kingdom facing severe financial hardship – and some European countries even facing bankruptcy – we should consider all potential solutions to our problems, however unorthodox. In The Sophick Constitution (1700) an anonymous pamphleteer advances a proposal that … Continue reading
Filed under Constitutional reform, UK government
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Constitutional Law Group
