November 2011

Is the government really “on the brink” of success in Strasbourg?

November 29, 2011

So the Telegraph reported the week before last, based on an interview with Ken Clarke: the Justice Secretary reveals that Britain is poised strike a deal to overhaul the controversial human rights court to stop it being used by “every individual who has lost his own particular case”. Cabinet ministers were ordered earlier this week [...]

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Iran’s clear breach of international law

November 29, 2011

A crowd of Iranian “protesters” has stormed the British embassy in Tehran today, following the adoption of a new law requiring the expulsion of the British ambassador. Of course I’ve no proof that the “protests” are planned and directed by the Iranian government, but even to consider they might be spontaneous would I think break [...]

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Why would BNP activists be at a “freemen on the land” stunt?

November 22, 2011

I must stop writing about “freemen on the land” very soon. But Charon QC linked last week to a video showing some of their antics – and watching it prompted me to do a little more research. The video records events inside Birkenhead County Court in March this year, when a large number of “freemen [...]

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Without Prejudice

November 20, 2011

In another Without Prejudice special this week Charon QC talks to David Allen Green, author of the Jack of Kent blog, legal correspondent for The New Statesman and now media correspondent for The Lawyer about hackgate,  “cod” law and “freemen on the land”, the politicisation of judges, legal aid and privacy law. They talk for [...]

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Hilarious – but dangerous – cod legalism

November 16, 2011

I wrote in August about the ridiculous “freemen on the land”, and didn’t expect to return to the subject – but have written a piece for Comment is Free today in response to yesterday’s contribution from “commonly known as dom”. What he said was rightly criticised by both Legal Bizzle and Adam Wagner at the [...]

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David Allen Green at the privacy and injunctions committee

November 15, 2011

Yesterday the joint committee of the Lords and Commons on privacy and injunctions took evidence from bloggers including not only the notorious Guido Fawkes, but I’m pleased to say my old Without Prejudice colleague and leading law blogger David Allen Green, who of course was able to give evidence from the point of view not [...]

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A sensible approach to the scope of human rights

November 11, 2011

One of the things that sometimes concerns me is what in the past I’ve called “human rightsism“: the tendency to think all social problems should be cast and resolved in terms of human rights. It’s related I think to seeing human rights as applying to everything; and in practical legal terms, to seeing Convention rights [...]

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Law in Action

November 11, 2011

BBC Radio 4′s Law in Action this week discussed human rights law – the pluses and minuses of the Human Rights Act, what changes the Bill of Rights Commission might agree on, and what reforms to the European Court of Human Rights the government might want to achieve during its chairmanship of the Council of [...]

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Brodie Clark’s tribunal claim – and Parliamentary privilege

November 10, 2011

The Guardian is reporting today that Home Office legal advisers think Brodie Clark, the former senior civil servant at the Border and Immigration Agency, will win his employment tribunal claim against the Home Office. I find this slightly strange, for a couple of reasons. First, if “Home Office lawyers” really have given such advice, I [...]

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Anthony Inglese and the PAC

November 10, 2011

He was once (briefly) my boss, and he’s told me he reads this blog, so you won’t be surprised that I have some sympathy with Anthony Inglese, the Solicitor to H.M. Revenue & Customs, over his experience before the Public Accounts Committee on Monday. The committee was so dissatisfied with his approach to answering questions [...]

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