Category: Constitutional change
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Gareth Evans: Debating Welsh Independence: The Political and Constitutional Pathways to a Referendum
On 15 July 2020, on the final day of sitting before summer recess, the Senedd considered a series of motions and amendments, in a debate on Wales’ constitutional future. The original motion in this debate, tabled by Plaid Cymru, focussed on Welsh independence, and called on the current Welsh Government to seek the authority from…
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Kate Ollerenshaw: Retained EU Case Law: A Fourth Option
The Ministry of Justice issued a consultation paper on Retained EU Case Law on 2 July 2020, seeking views on the exercise of the powers contained within Section 6(5A) of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (“the 2018 Act”) that were inserted by Section 26(1) of the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 (“the 2020…
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Yuan Yi Zhu: The Supreme Court: Options for Change
Since the Conservative government’s landslide victory in the 2019 general election, constitutional reform has been on top of its agenda. The most high-profile target of its attention has been the Supreme Court, whose performance came under sustained Conservative criticism during Brexit, most notably in Miller II/Cherry. Few details have so far been published about the…
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Benedict Douglas: Brexit as a Revolutionary Constitutional Moment
We can define our identity as individuals in three ways: through our choices, by the duties we owe, and by the community of which we are a member. Historically individuals have been implicitly defined within the British Constitution, law and society by their duties. Within the law are the legal duties of the private law…
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Leah Trueblood: More Good Days for Democracy: The Report of the Independent Commission on Referendums
At the beginning of Democracy in America, de Tocqueville writes that in studying democracy its “…Faults strike one at first approach, but its qualities are only discovered at length.” The report of the Constitution Unit’s Independent Commission on Referendums, published 11 July, demonstrates de Tocqueville’s point. The virtues of democracy are not always immediately clear,…
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Leah Trueblood: The Merits and Meaning of a ‘Second’ Referendum
Introduction: Multiple votes, one referendum Even before the vote on 23 June 2016, questions were raised about the possibility of a ‘second’ referendum. I place the term ‘second’ in inverted commas because the idea that another vote means another referendum reflects a misunderstanding both about (i) what a referendum is and (ii) the role of…
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Peter Oliver: Canada @ 150
Editors’ note: 2017 is a significant landmark in the constitutional history of Canada. It is 150 years since Canadian Confederation was brought about by the passage of the British North America Act 1867. To mark this anniversary the blog joins with the IACL blog in publishing a post by Professor Peter Oliver of Ottawa University in which…
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Jack Simson Caird: The European Union (Withdrawal) Bill: Constitutional Change and Legal Continuity
Cross-posted with the Constitution Unit blog. Nine months after Theresa May first announced that there would be a ‘Great Repeal Bill’, and three and a half months after triggering Article 50, the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill (EUW Bill) was published on 13 July 2017. The Bill is a complex mixture of constitutional change and legal…
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Mike Gordon and Adam Tucker: Twenty Years On: Assessing the State and Legacy of New Labour’s Constitution
In such frenzied constitutional times – with only a general election resulting in a hung Parliament and a minority government and the start of Brexit negotiations to have kept public law scholars occupied in recent weeks – it is perhaps unsurprising that a significant anniversary passed in May with little acclaim. It has now been…
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Pavlos Eleftheriadis: The Systematic Constitution
The Supreme Court judgment in Gina Miller is not merely an affirmation of what the High Court said. The eight member majority confirmed the earlier decision, but also took the opportunity to restate a fundamental principle, which had been left implicit by the court below. The High Court said that the substantive rights arising out…