header-logo header-logo

Democracy under threat?

18 November 2022 / Michael Zander KC
Issue: 8003 / Categories: Opinion , Constitutional law , Rule of law
printer mail-detail
100885
Michael Zander reports on a warning from Sir Jeffrey Jowell: fundamental safeguards are at stake

‘Our system of governance has been undergoing a rare stress test which has sorely tried its democratic underpinnings,’ Professor Sir Jeffrey Jowell KCMG, KC said in this year’s Rothschild Foster Human Rights Trust lecture on 2 November. He saw no prospect of agreement on a written constitution but proposed statutory reforms.

Democratic die-back

There were many concerning examples of what he called ‘constitutional slippage, of democratic die-back’:

  • The Ministerial Code had required that ministers comply with the law ‘including international law and treaty obligations’. In 2015, the reference to international law was excised—‘a telling signal, and consistent with recent actions by the government which reveal little regard for the rule of law in the international order’.
  • The Brexit treaty creating a customs border between the UK and Northern Ireland was a subject of bitter contention. When negotiations with the EU to relax the border control stalled, the government had introduced a Bill unilaterally to breach their
If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
The Court of Protection has ruled in Macpherson v Sunderland City Council that capacity must be presumed unless clearly rebutted. In this week's NLJ, Sam Karim KC and Sophie Hurst of Kings Chambers dissect the judgment and set out practical guidance for advisers faced with issues relating to retrospective capacity and/or assessments without an examination
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
back-to-top-scroll