21 Jun 2019 | Commentary on Lord Sumption's Reith Lectures
In his fifth and final Reith lecture, “Shifting the Foundations”, Jonathan Sumption brings to a conclusion his reflections on “the decline of politics and the rise of law to fill the void”. The lecture encourages us to resist calls for a written constitution, calls...
18 Jun 2019 | Commentary on Lord Sumption's Reith Lectures
In his fourth Reith lecture, entitled “Rights and the Ideal Constitution”, Jonathan Sumption turns to the American experience of struggling to reconcile democracy with rights adjudication. It is a cautionary tale, illustrating some of the damaging political...
7 Jun 2019 | Commentary on Lord Sumption's Reith Lectures
In his third Reith lecture, broadcast yesterday and entitled “Human Rights and Wrongs”, Jonathan Sumption examines international human rights law, “the main battleground between law and politics”. His strategy is to consider the nature of rights before explaining...
30 May 2019 | Commentary on Lord Sumption's Reith Lectures
In his second Reith lecture, “In Praise of Politics”, broadcast on Tuesday, Jonathan Sumption aims “to make the case for the political process, with all its imperfections.” He develops a forceful argument for the capacity of representative politics to secure...
22 May 2019 | Commentary on Lord Sumption's Reith Lectures
Judges are ever more significant in our public life. This was true before the Brexit process began and it will remain true even if the UK leaves the EU. Courts, domestic and European, have come to exercise ever more authority over an ever wider range of public...
