Prime Minister Boris Johnson delivers a speech in Exeter. Photo: Finnbarr Webster/PA Wire Ministers had clashed with the EU over the Internal Market Bill and even admitted it broke international law by overriding parts of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement. Despite warnings from every living prime minister and US presidential candidateRead More →
The EU is committed in the Withdrawal Agreement to reaching a deal with the UK that respects our sovereignty and unity. The EU is legally bound to negotiate in good faith. But the day after the referendum, then European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said: “It won’t be an amicable divorce.”Read More →
The promise (and premise) of international law is that of a world order based on principles, rationality and the peaceful settlement of disputes. International law insulates us from brute power, brute force and the crude but simple – and often compelling – conclusion that might makes right. In the absenceRead More →
People across the country continue to mourn the death of United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, with a particular focus on her groundbreaking work on gender equality. GBH News host Henry Santoro spoke with Daniel Medwed, a law professor at Northeastern University and GBH News legal analyst, aboutRead More →
Breaking international law: Amal Clooney steps down as UK special envoy for media freedom Saturday, September 19, 2020 – 08:00 UTC Full article In a letter to Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, Amal Clooney said she had no choice but to resign after making it clear the government would change itsRead More →
An Introduction to Constitutional Law: 100 Supreme Court Decisions Everyone Should Know came out a year ago. Randy and I threw the book at Georgetown University Law Center on Constitution Day, rightly so. We are proud to report that we have sold 16,779 paperback copies, including 10,431 on Amazon. WeRead More →
This is not the finest hour of the British government. His plan to introduce the Internal Market Bill arguably breaches international law and overrules, in certain given circumstances which have not yet materialized, parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol which has been agreed between the Kingdom UK and EU onlyRead More →
Earlier this week MPs voted on a controversial new government bill. The UK is currently in a transition period that keeps it tied to EU rules until December 31. The two sides are trying to negotiate a new trade deal that would take effect once that period ends, but theRead More →
On Wednesday evening, Britain’s prime minister struck a deal with potential rebels within his own Tory party, giving parliament a say in how post-Brexit powers could be used. Lawmakers who have expressed discomfort with possible breaches of international law have agreed to accept an amendment to the government’s controversial InternalRead More →
One of Boris Johnson’s most senior legal aides has resigned in protest at the government’s plans to break international law over Brexit. The dramatic decision by Lord Keen of Elie QC, Scotland’s Solicitor General and Minister of Justice, was finally upheld by No 10 Downing Street hours after he tenderedRead More →
A federal judge in the Western District of Pennsylvania ruled Monday that Governor Tom Wolf’s coronavirus-related shutdown orders and limits on public gatherings are unconstitutional. But some legal experts wonder what effect, if any, the decision will have in the ongoing fight between the Wolf administration and those who wantRead More →
September 15, 2020 | 10:34 am “They made so many exceptions that you have to wonder why it was even necessary.” Sam Dunklau Sam Dunklau is the Capitol Bureau Chief for WITF. He previously covered Illinois state government for NPR memberRead More →
September 14, 2020 by a guest contributor The Brexit Withdrawal Agreement was signed in January this year. Image: The Guardian The UK Internal Market Bill caused enormous controversy. Much has been written about the UK Government’s decision to propose this legislation which, as forwarded by the Secretary of State forRead More →
Boris Johnson’s proposal to break international law “in a specific and limited way” has sparked outcry. But do you remember when the UK broke the Geneva Convention? Oh. Well, we did. The Geneva Sea Convention, ratified by the government, entered into force in Great Britain on September 10, 1964. FromRead More →
When we send British Navy ships across the South China Sea to maintain freedom of navigation despite Chinese claims, we are affirming such a law. When RAF fighters see Russian planes intrude into our airspace, we hold it. When we designate parts of the South Atlantic and the Indian OceanRead More →
A The Home Secretary has admitted the government could be breaking international law by considering overriding the Brexit treaty. The Prime Minister is facing a revolt from Tory MPs over plans that would allow him to renege on parts of his Brexit deal, with his former attorney general Geoffrey CoxRead More →
A CONTROVERSIAL trade bill has been passed by MPs as it breaks international law. The UK Internal Market Bill was passed in the Commons this evening by 340 votes in favor and 263 against. Cartoon by Camley: The Commerce Bill clears the first hurdle The debate has been heated onRead More →
As the global pandemic has forced many experts to reconsider the effectiveness of national health programs, a Yale Law School panel pointed out on Wednesday that COVID-19 has also reshaped politics more broadly – of reproductive rights to armed violence. The conference was the latest installation in a series ofRead More →
If Boris Johnson’s government proceeds with its stated intention to change part of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement regarding arrangements in Northern Ireland, ministers will not only have to convince a hugely skeptical EU, but they will also have to push through a draft law by the House of Commons andRead More →
You are reading The Waugh Zone, our daily political briefing. Register now to receive it by email in the evening. Rebellious cry? Sir Robert James MacGillivray Neill is an unlikely assassin. The mild-mannered, soft-spoken Tory backbench MP is known for his kindness across the Commons. But when he stood upRead More →
A new law proposed by the UK government would directly breach the Brexit deal it signed with the European Union last year, legal experts have said. The bill gives ministers the power to ‘unenforce’ parts of the rules agreed in October 2019 for goods entering and leaving Northern Ireland. EuropeanRead More →
The UK Government’s top legal adviser has been accused of producing ‘utterly laughable’ ‘undergraduate and first-year undergraduate stuff’ in her attempts to defend Britain’s International Internal Market Bill Westminster breaking the law. In a statement this afternoon, Suella Braverman, the attorney general for England and Wales, said the bill wouldRead More →
There were eyebrows raised in the House of Commons yesterday as Chief Minister Brandon Lewis admitted that a new government bill published today “breaches international law in a very specific and limited way”. The head of the government’s legal department – Whitehall’s oldest non-political lawyer – resigned following the decisionwhichRead More →
An adviser to presidential candidate Joe Biden and senior Democrats warned on Tuesday night that Britain must uphold international law around the Northern Ireland border to protect the Good Friday Agreement. Their statements followed the UK’s announcement that it would break international law and change parts of its Withdrawal AgreementRead More →
Prime Minister Boris Johnson waves as he leaves 10 Downing Street in central London on September 9, 2020 to attend Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons. BEN STANSALL | AFP | Getty Images Britain plunged Brexit trade talks into crisis on Wednesday by publishing a bill explicitly acknowledgingRead More →
Advertising The recent implementation of the national security law in Hong Kong has led to unprecedented mass arrests and the exclusion of pro-democracy candidates from elections. Despite strong opposition from their mainland Chinese counterparts, many international politicians view the law as a serious violation of the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration,Read More →
The government has unveiled plans to give ministers sweeping powers to ‘unenforce’ part of the Brexit deal Boris Johnson signed in January, in a move that shocked Brussels, threatening to provoke a rebellion by Tory MPs and pushed Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, to warnRead More →
Matt Hancock said he was comfortable with a minister highlighting the UK’s willingness to break international law because of its intention to unilaterally crush part of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement. Speaking after Cabinet Secretary Brandon Lewis acknowledged the proposals unveiled this week were illegal in a ‘very specific and limitedRead More →
LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 9: Prime Minister Boris Johnson attends a virtual press conference at Downing Street on September 9, 2020 in London, England. From Monday September 14, people in England will only be allowed to socialize in groups of six people or less following the Prime Minister’s announcement. ThisRead More →
Boris Johnson found himself in a tough spot in the House of Commons today as he was forced to say everyone should obey the law – just a day after his own government admitted he would would violate. The Prime Minister has been asked to explain why he thinks it’sRead More →
The British government on Wednesday unveiled a Brexit bill to rewrite parts of its EU withdrawal agreement, prompting the EU to call for urgent talks. The EU has expressed concern that the proposed legislation could breach the binding divorce treaty, which British MPs approved by a majority of 358 votesRead More →
LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 01: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson leaves 10 Downing Street to attend the weekly Prime Ministers Questions on July 01, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images) Brandon Lewis, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, has admitted that the Government’s plans to undo theRead More →
The government has admitted that its plan to reinterpret the special Brexit provisions for Northern Ireland would breach international law. Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis stunned backbench MPs when he told the House of Commons: “Yes, this breaches international law in a very specific and limited way. We take theRead More →
LONDON — Britain’s government plans to renege on the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement will break international law, Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis told the House of Commons on Tuesday. The Financial Times reported Monday that sections of the Internal Market Bill, due to be published on Wednesday, will replace sections ofRead More →
FILE PHOTO: Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Brandon Lewis arrives for John Hume’s funeral at St Eugene’s Cathedral in Londonderry, Northern Ireland August 5, 2020. REUTERS/Lorraine O’Sullivan LONDON (Reuters) – Northern Ireland Minister Brandon Lewis said on Tuesday that Britain’s Internal Market Bill, which newspapers said would undermine theRead More →
Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, has warned Boris Johnson not to break international law as his Brexit negotiator said he would seek answers to claims that Downing Street was considering denying parts of the withdrawal agreement. “I trust the UK Government to implement the WithdrawalRead More →