Tag: parliamentary session
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Jeff King: The Prime Minister’s Constitutional Options after the Benn Act: Part I
This is the first of a two-part discussion of this theme. This first part addresses the obligations under the Benn Act and the legal response to attempts to frustrate it; the second part will address non-confidence motions, resignation and change of Government. There has been significant confusion about options open to Government and the opposition…
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Alexandra Sinclair and Joe Tomlinson: Making Parliamentary Accountability Effective: Prorogation, No Deal Brexit, and Statutory Instruments (Part 3)
Unless you have been living in a nuclear bunker, you will know that the UK Supreme Court held in R (on the Application of Miller) v The Prime Minister that the decision to prorogue Parliament was unlawful. This was because the prorogation had the effect of ‘preventing, without reasonable justification, the ability of Parliament to…
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Paul Craig: Prorogation: Constitutional Principle and Law, Fact and Causation
The Prime Minister’s recent announcement that Parliament would be prorogued, thereby severely curtailing the opportunity for parliamentary debate, raises important issues of constitutional principle and law, and also issues concerning fact and causation. They are examined in turn. Constitutional Principle and Law We begin with constitutional principle and law. We seek to decide whether the…
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Stefan Theil: Unconstitutional Prorogation
Parliament voted on the evening of 1 April in a series of indicative votes to determine what, if any, alternative plan for withdrawal from the European Union could command the support of the House of Commons: all plans put forward again failed to command a majority. In a recent intervention, John Finnis has suggested that…