May 2024 Update

 Dear Friends, 

International and national, but also sub-state, local and personal - the Rule of Law is a drama that plays out on many stages. The UK's legislation on asylum and migration illustrates this, as yesterday provisions of the Illegal Migration Act 2023 (which the Safety of Rwanda Act seeks to reinforce) were disapplied in Northern Ireland  by a decision of the High Court. The court in Belfast relied on the augmented protection for human rights contained in 2023's Windsor Framework, the UK-EU post-Brexit settlement for that jurisdiction. Meanwhile, at an individual level, the government has begun detaining people for deportation to Rwanda, prompting a wide range of local responses . Our previous Updates this year set out the Bingham Centre's analysis of the Rwanda scheme and its troubling implications from the international to the individual level.

Today, we bring you news of other Bingham Centre work with international, devolved, local and individual dimensions. The Covid-19 pandemic - when lockdowns and other responses sometimes differed between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland - forms the backdrop of the launch of the report of our Independent Commission on UK Public Health Emergencies Powers which takes place at the Institute for Government tomorrow. The report is the product of nearly a year and a half of evidence gathering and expert deliberation and benefited from comparative analysis of 10 jurisdictions. A few last-minute places are still available for booking.

We are pleased to share another publication on UK constitutional reform in the fields of devolution, local government and social rights, as we bring you the full report  of our one-day conference  which examined the findings and recommendations of the Brown Commission (a Commission established by the Labour Party and chaired by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown).

This Update also brings you news of our work on the analysis of legislation, and judicial reforms in a number of jurisdictions. We open with staff news - we are pleased to announce the appointment of a new Director, Dr Jan van Zyl Smit, who previously served in an acting capacity.

The full Update:

• Staff news: appointment of new Bingham Centre Director
• Places still available at Public Health Emergency Powers Report launch
• Constitutional Reform in the UK: our conference report
• The Litigation Funding Agreements (Enforceability) Bill
• Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence Legislation
• Poland: analysis of a Bill reforming the National Council of the Judiciary
• Nigeria: discussion of judicial appointments reform
• RevDem Book Review of Brexit, Union, and Disunion
• Judicial Independence in Mexico on the RevDem Podcast
• Upcoming BIICL training courses available for booking

You can read the whole update here .