February 2011

Without Prejudice

February 25, 2011

In our first Without Prejudice podcast, Charon QC chaired as David Allen Green and I together with our guest Joanne Cash discuss the Julian Assange case, European Arrest Warrants and the Garry Mann case as well as the case against Europe and for a British Bill of Rights, the “oversupply” of new entrants to the [...]

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The Julian Assange ruling in full

February 24, 2011

Here it is. It provides a first opportunity for me to use Document Cloud: you should be able to see one or two of the comments I’ve added to the text, as you read District Judge Riddle’s findings and reasons in full screen or in the viewer below.

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Where does Julian Assange go from here?

February 24, 2011

District Judge Riddle has just ordered Julian Assange’s extradition to Sweden, according to reporters’ tweets from court, and Sky News. I’ve not yet had sight of the ruling itself yet of course. So where does he go from here? To be flippant, the practical answer is probably, back to Suffolk. The judge could remand him [...]

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Without Prejudice: look out for the new podcast!

February 21, 2011

I’m delighted (and excited) to be involved in a new fortnightly law podcast: Without Prejudice. Charon QC will chair (and occasionally no doubt referee) as David Allen Green of the New Statesman and Jack of Kent and I discuss legal issues of the day with a range of guests. Our first edition will be out [...]

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Have lawyers really “cleared” the government to defy Strasbourg over prisoners’ votes?

February 18, 2011

Today the Times is running a (£) story headlined: Cameron is cleared to defy Europe on human rights The story is based on an eight-page memo prepared for Nick Clegg that Sam Coates has published on Twitter: [blackbirdpie url="[blackbirdpie url="http://twitter.com/SamCoatesTimes/status/38568272400097280"] It’s not clear who the advice is from or to (although its file name beginning [...]

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Charon QC podcast: prisoners’ votes

February 11, 2011

Today I talked to Charon QC on the issue of prisoners’ votes, following MPs vote yesterday in favour of defying the European Court of Human Rights, and retaining the UK’s current “blanket ban”. We explain what the ECtHR is and its role as an international court, consider what if any difference MPs decision yesterday might [...]

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MPs vote on prisoners’ votes: how to square the circle

February 10, 2011

MPs in the Commons will today debate the motion put down by David Davis, Jack Straw and others (main business, over half way down the order paper), which is in these terms: That this House notes the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights in Hirst v the United Kingdom in which it held [...]

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Lord Phillips doubts his own independence

February 9, 2011

I never thought we needed a Supreme Court, myself. The Law Lords worked perfectly well as far as I was concerned. But we got one, the main justification for the increased expense being increased judicial independence. To me, this supposed gain was always a pure abstraction: no one really thought the Law Lords lacked independence [...]

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Julian Assange: updated defence arguments

February 7, 2011

Earlier I showed you the draft skeleton argument the defence had prepared in January in advance of the extradition hearing today. Now the defence has made available its final skeleton argument (thanks, BBC). Here it is: Assange Skeleton Argument

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Julian Assange’s extradition hearing

February 7, 2011

Julian Assange is in court again today – this time, at last, for the substantive hearing about his extradition. I wrote before Christmas about the Extradition Act 2003 and the issues the court will resolve: As for the full extradition hearing itself, all the district judge has to decide is whether the offence he’s wanted [...]

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