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23 January 2020 / Dr Michael Arnheim
Issue: 7871 / Categories: Features , Constitutional law
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Time to recognise the sovereignty of Parliament?

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Policy v principle: Dr Michael Arnheim puts the case for codification
  • Codification is not just parliamentary legislation but parliamentary legislation in a coherent, logical, predictable—and principled—framework.

The role of law in the UK—and with it the power of the judges—has grown hugely at the expense of government and politics over the past half century. As judges are unelected, virtually irremovable and accountable to nobody, this is a serious blow to democracy.

There is, according to Lord Sumption (a Justice of the UK Supreme Court (UKSC) from 2012 to 2018) a ‘persistent habit of looking for legal solutions to what are really political problems’, leading to greatly enhanced power in the hands of unelected, irremovable and unaccountable judges. This is contrary to parliamentary sovereignty and democracy alike. This situation is connected with the ‘disarray and a marked lack of reliable principle’ identified by Lord Neuberger in the field of tort, but which is actually to be found more generally in UK law.

Solution

Yet a solution lies

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Robert Tiffen joins Ellisons as Partner in growing Norwich office

NEWS
The Law Society RFC Festival of Sport returns next month, bringing together legal and financial services professionals for one of the sector’s largest annual sporting events
Legal aid deserts leave almost one in four without adequate access to justice
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has warned solicitors and law firms that using artificial intelligence does not alter their professional obligations, amid concerns over inaccurate legal material and client confidentiality
From forgotten interest claims to case-management appeals, a string of procedural developments offers useful—and occasionally cautionary—lessons for practitioners

Jonathan Fisher KC highlights that it now accounts for around 40% of criminal offences, with roughly 70% involving technology, and argues that the UK cannot simply prosecute its way out of the problem. Detection, investigation and prosecution all require improvement, while different fraud types demand tailored responses.

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