The unconstitutionality of the Supreme Court’s prorogation judgment

The Supreme Court’s judgment in Miller/Cherry [2019] UKSC 41 holds that Parliamentary sovereignty needs to be judicially protected against the power of the Government to prorogue Parliament. This paper shows that the Judgment was wholly unjustified by law.  It wrongly transfers the conventions about prorogation into the domain of justiciable law.

Legislated Rights

Is democratic power increasingly supplanted by the courts? Our new series of international views looks at the question of whether elected parliaments are better placed than judges to guarantee rights.

Constitutional Rights and Constitutional Design

Paul Yowell’s new book, Constitutional Rights and Constitutional Design, argues that courts were not designed for the kind of moral and empirical reasoning they now routinely undertake. To consider these questions and respond to the argument of the book, Policy Exchange’s Judicial Power Project has solicited commentary from leading scholars and jurists.

Commentary on Sir Noel Malcolm’s “Human Rights and Political Wrongs”

In his recent study for Policy Exchange’s Judicial Power Project, Sir Noel Malcolm (All Souls College, Oxford) considers European Human Rights law and finds it wanting. In February 2018, Policy Exchange’s Judicial Power Project convened a panel discussion to address Sir Noel’s critique of European human rights law – and his robust conclusion that the UK ought to withdraw from the Convention. The panellists committed their further thoughts to writing in this commentary series.

Does Political Criticism Of Judges Damage Judicial Independence?

In this new paper the Honourable Dyson Heydon AC QC, former Justice of the High Court of Australia, asks Does Political Criticism of Judges Damage Judicial Independence?

Judicial Power and the Balance of Our Constitution

This collection reflects on the place of judicial power in the common law constitutional tradition. It is framed around two lectures by John Finnis.

Judicial Power and the Left: Notes on a Sceptical Tradition

In this collection of short essays, leading political and legal thinkers reflect on the left’s traditional scepticism towards expansive judicial power.

Rule 39 and the Rule of Law

Rule 39 and the Rule of Law

This report considers the legal status of “interim measures” that are indicated by (a single judge of) the European Court of Human Rights under Rule 39 of the Rules of Court.  Many lawyers and jurists argue that failure to comply with a Rule 39 measure would...

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Government by proclamation? A symposium

Government by proclamation? A symposium

The events of recent years have brought into sharp focus the relationship between government and Parliament, with many jurists lamenting the former’s dominance of the latter.  The balance of powers within the political constitution is a matter of the highest...

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Physician-Assisted Suicide

Physician-Assisted Suicide

A new report by Policy Exchange slams the ‘flawed’ Parliamentary debate on assisted dying and urges Parliament to show caution and restraint in this matter. Written by Professor John Keown, one of the world’s leading ethicists, the report warns that the law in Canada...

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How to legislate about small boats

How to legislate about small boats

New legislation is needed to give effect to a policy that persons who arrive (or attempt to arrive) in the UK unlawfully on a small boat will be removed from the UK and will never be allowed to settle here. There is a strong risk that legislation will be proposed...

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Government by proclamation? A symposium

Amending the Public Order Bill

The Public Order Bill is an important opportunity to reform the law relating to protest and thus to restore public order to our streets. The Bill as introduced created several new offences which were likely to prove unworkable because they had a “reasonable excuse”...

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Between Law and Politics

Between Law and Politics

This report considers the constitutional role of the Law Officers and defends the institutional status quo. The current configuration of the Attorney General (and Solicitor General), as a law officer with legal and political dimensions, works well. Moving to an...

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