Straws in the wind

Three stories at the cutting edge of legal developments this month: two about human rights, a subject likely to feature in the next election, and one illustrating new developments in a rapidly changing profession.

The President on the road & in the groove

Lord Neuberger clearly decided on a busman’s holiday. He gave seven speeches during August in Australia (four), New Zealand (two) and Hong Kong. Some of his subjects reflected his commercial background. Let us pass over “The remedial constructive trust—fact or fiction”. It is as erudite as you would expect but not for the general reader. The meat for us came in Victoria with a speech on “the role of the judiciary in human rights jurisprudence”.

Lord Neuberger makes a nice point on the hierarchy of power: “In a parliamentary democracy without a constitution…there is a pecking order. First, there is the legislature who can always overrule court decisions; second come the judiciary, who have to give effect to statutes and respect to parliament,