Sam Fowles: Can the Prime Minister Prorogue Parliament to Deliver a No Deal Brexit?
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 … Continue reading
Richard Ekins: Representative Politics and the Limits of Law
This is the first of a series of posts in which Richard Ekins reflects upon Lord Sumption’s Reith Lectures. In his second Reith lecture, “In Praise of Politics”, broadcast on … Continue reading
Mark Elliott and Stephen Tierney: The House of Lords Constitution Committee Reports on Parliamentary Scrutiny of Treaties
The topic of parliamentary scrutiny of the making of treaties could hardly be more topical, given the role that Parliament is currently playing in relation to the Withdrawal Agreement that … Continue reading
Stephanie Reynolds: Brexit and the (Not Quite) Constitutionalised Status of EU Citizenship
Since its formal introduction in the Maastricht Treaty, EU citizenship has laid claim to a constitutional status. The Union Treaties – long described by the Court of Justice as the … Continue reading
Joseph Crampin: Precedent for Delaying Royal Assent: A Response to Professor Finnis
The ‘Cooper-Letwin Act’ (European Union Withdrawal (No 5) Act 2019) may yet come to be known as the constitutional crisis that wasn’t. But, the advocacy by some of the Government’s … Continue reading
Menelaos Markakis: A Trojan Horse in the EU? The Curious Case of the EU27+1
The EU27 have agreed to grant the extension requested by the Prime Minister, the terms of which need not be repeated here. Suffice it to say for present purposes that … Continue reading
David Howarth: Westminster versus Whitehall: Two Incompatible Views of the Constitution
Lawyers like to make as much sense as possible of the material in front of them, transforming it, if they can, from a jumble of decisions and remarks into a … Continue reading
David Vitale: Leaving the EU: A Matter of “Trust”?
Since the referendum in 2016, the Government has repeatedly justified its decisions on Brexit by invoking the concept of public trust. In December last year, the Prime Minister rejected the … Continue reading
John Finnis: Royal Assent – A Reply to Mark Elliott
I agree with Mark Elliott in finding my April 1 argument about prorogation and assent astonishing and monstrous, once the argument’s important premises have been omitted, as he has omitted … Continue reading
Jeff King: Can Royal Assent to a Bill Be Withheld If So Advised by Ministers?
An article in the Sunday Times by Professor Richard Ekins and Sir Stephen Laws QC advised that the Monarch could withhold Royal Assent to a bill passed if advised to … Continue reading
