Human rights

Eddie Craven & Rowan Pennington-Benton examine the judicial pecking order

The Chilcot team has completed the first phase of its Inquiry. It has revealed few new facts, but has reminded us of those already known. They confirm what ought to be Chilcot’s blunt conclusion: our leaders took us into a war that was illegal, immoral, unnecessary, and hugely destructive.

The General Council of the Bar has publicised the possibility of litigation against the government and the Legal Services Commission.

Religious bodies need to temper emotion & abide by the general law, says Geoffrey Bindman

Since last April many hospitals and care homes have had the power to deprive people of their liberty.

The tragic case of Rom Houben, the 46-year-old Belgian man who was mistakenly and wrongly assumed to be in a persistent vegetative state (PVS) for 23 years, raises a number of profound legal medical and ethical issues, including the accuracy of diagnosing the condition, the desirability of keeping patients alive in this “twilight” existence, and the implications of continuing to treat such patients.

The measurement tail is now wagging the dog, say Keith Soothill & Brian Francis

The Supreme Court’s decision in R (on the application of E) v Governing Body of JFS [2009] UKSC 15, [2009] All ER (D) 163 (Dec) provides a fine example of the law of unintended consequences.

Professor Susan Nash provides an update on recent human rights cases

David Cameron made a fool of himself in his ill-fated attack on “elf and safety”. He got caught out citing as true a “myth” identified on the health and safety executive’s own website. Senior Tories are rallying to his aid to bolster his somewhat similar attack on the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA 1998).