The UKCLA Blog
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Kirsty Hughes: The Implications of the Court of Appeal’s Judgment on ‘Family Life’ for the Government’s Immigration Proposals
On 27 November 2025 the Court of Appeal handed down its judgment in IA v SHHD [2025] EWCA Civ 1516 clarifying the correct test to be used when determining whether there is ‘family life’ in immigration cases. The Court of Appeal followed the consistent line of case law from the European Court of Human Rights…
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Alexander Baxter: Common Law Post-ECHR: What Lord Briggs’ Anniversary Lecture Tells Us
Introduction At the 25th Anniversary Conference of the Human Rights Act, Lord Briggs of Westbourne delivered a lecture that quietly advanced a vision of what a post-HRA constitutional framework might look like. Delivered at a moment when political discussion of withdrawal from the European Convention on Human Rights has gained real momentum, the speech did…
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Veronika Fikfak: ECHR Reform: A Danger of Contagion in Relation to Article 3
On Wednesday 10 December, which is also Human Rights Day, Ministers of Justice of the Council of Europe will meet in Strasbourg to discuss how the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) should be reformed. A group of states will lead the drafting efforts, with a new interpretative declaration expected to be ready by May…
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Alex Schwartz: Recent Attempts to Curb Judicial Power in the United Kingdom
The era of Conservative Party government from 2015–2024 was one of great constitutional turmoil in the United Kingdom. In addition to (and partly because of) the controversies surrounding the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union, this was also a period of heightened debate about the role of the judiciary, fuelling an unprecedented movement within and…
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Eleni Frantziou and Anurag Deb: Direct Effect, Disapplication, and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights: Still Together in Northern Ireland after Dillon?
Between 14 and 16 October 2025, the UK Supreme Court heard the appeal of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (‘SOSNI’) against the Dillon decision of the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal (‘NICA’). The facts of the case have already been explained in an earlier post, so there is no need to rehearse them…
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Stewart Duncan: Reforming Holyrood’s Committees: A Constitutional Perspective
Committees, scrutiny and the distribution of power at Holyrood From when the Scottish Parliament was first established, much was asked of its committee system. In a unicameral legislature, without the revising chamber that tempers legislation at Westminster, committees were expected to be the ‘engine room’ of scrutiny and a partial substitute for a second chamber.…
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Kirsty Hughes: Immigration and proposals to amend Article 8 ECHR
Backlash against the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) is heavily driven by immigration and is often a direct reaction to it. This is not a new phenomenon, but the politics are escalating, both domestically and internationally. On the international plane nine states issued a joint letter earlier this year challenging the…
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Mark Bennett and Joe Tomlinson: Life Events and Administrative Justice
Administrative justice has traditionally been evaluated through the prism of categories constructed by the state, usually by reference to the functions it pursues—taxation, immigration, education, healthcare, and so on. Yet the way people experience these systems rarely fits neatly into such boxes. It is therefore important that we think about administrative justice—including such classic questions…
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Nathan Whetton: Legislating against concealing identity at protests
The Crime and Policing Bill was introduced to Parliament on 25 February 2025. The Bill builds on the Labour party manifesto commitment to “take back our streets”, and contains a wide-ranging scope of provisions aiming at tackling violence, antisocial behaviour and enhancing public confidence in the criminal justice system. Having passed through the Commons in June this…
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Call for papers: Economic Aspects of the Constitution
Proposals are sought for papers for a workshop on ‘Economic Aspects of the Constitution’. The workshop, which will take place on Thursday 16 and Friday 17 April 2026 at the University of Glasgow, is funded by the Society of Legal Scholars and the University of Glasgow School of Law. The workshop seeks to explore those…