Law In Focus Podcast

The government has recently announced that it intends to quash by legislation convictions of hundreds of subpostmasters who had been prosecuted by the Post Office for, variously, theft, fraud and false accounting. This follows a number of appeals which have already succeeded where it has been accepted that convictions that are based on generated by the Horizon software are necessarily unsafe. Usually, one would expect other subpost...

The Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill seeks to circumvent the UK Supreme Court's recent judgment holding the Government's Rwanda policy, concerning the removal of certain asylum-seekers, to Rwanda. The Bill contemplates placing the UK in breach of its international obligations, including under the European Convention on Human Rights and the Refugee Convention, while forming part of a policy that relies upon Rwanda's ad...

On the 15 November the UK Supreme Court decided that the United Kingdom's policy of sending asylum seekers to Rwanda was unlawful.

In this short video Dr Kirsty Hughes explains the Court's reasoning, and considers the Government's response and possible next steps.

Kirsty Hughes is an Associate Professor specialising in Human Rights Law. She is joint General Editor of the European Human Rights Law Review, Director of the Centre fo...

On the 23rd November the UK Supreme court decided that the Scottish Parliament did not have the power to enact legislation to hold a second independence referendum in Scotland.

In this short video Professor Alison Young explains the backdrop to the case, sets out how the Supreme court decided the case, and explores possible future paths to Scottish independence.

Alison Young is the Sir David Williams Professor of Public Law at t...

On Monday 13 June, the UK Government published the text of the proposed Northern Ireland Protocol Bill.

The Northern Ireland Protocol forms part of the Withdrawal Agreement between the United Kingdom and the European Union. The Protocol creates a special legal position for Northern Ireland in the light of its particular political circumstances, effectively enabling Northern Ireland to remain within the EU’s Single Market for goods. ...

On Thurday 17th March leading UK ferry operator P&O Ferries sacked 800 British crew across its entire fleet and stopped all sailings. The move sparked fury amongst employees and unions, and consternation in parliament. Many asked was the move - and the proposal to use cheap agency staff instead - legal, and also was it a result of Brexit?

In this recording, Professor Catherine Barnard considers the legal implications, and the Br...

There have been several recent egregious examples of private prosecutions, including the case of the Post Office prosecuting numerous Postmasters for losses caused by a faulty IT system. Professor John Spencer discusses these cases, the evolution of the system of private prosecutions, and the considerations involved in regulating such actions.

Professor Spencer is Professor Emeritus of Law and Honorary President of the European Crim...

In January 2018 it was reported that the Parole Board had approved the release of John Worboys, the so-called ‘Black Cab Rapist’. Worboys had been incarcerated since his conviction for a number of sexual offences in March 2009, and it was believed that he was responsible for many attacks over which he was not charged.

The announcement of the decision caused much public unrest, and led to scrutiny of the Parole Board’s decision and ...

In the first round of the French Presidential election, Centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron and far-right leader Marine Le Pen progressed to the runoff on 7 May, notwithstanding neither candidate having the backing of the traditionally powerful parliamentary parties.

Will the new French President be hamstrung in power if she or he does not obtain a majority in the parliamentary elections of June 2017? Does the French Constitution ena...

In Ilott v The Blue Cross [2017] UKSC 17 (http://ukscblog.com/new-judgment-ilott-v-the-blue-cross-ors-2017-uksc-17/) the Supreme Court considered the competing claims of the animal charities included in a woman's will and her estranged adult daughter, who was excluded from the will but living in necessitous circumstances.

In this video, Brian Sloan considers the outcome of the case, which raised fundamental principles of successio...

At the end of November 2016, the British Government published an open consultation green paper on corporate governance reform, seeking views on proposals relating to executive pay, employee and customer voice, and corporate governance in large private businesses. The consultation is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/corporate-governance-reform

In this latest edition of the Faculty's series of videos entitled...

In the early hours of 24 June 2016, the result of the UK referendum on EU membership was announced. By a narrow but clear majority the vote was to leave the European Union.

This result has begun a chain of seismic political consequences in the UK and the EU, and will have widespread implications for the law and constitution in the UK.

In this video, Mark Elliott assess the immediate impact of the result.

Professor Elliott ha...

After long negotiations, on 19 February Prime Minister David Cameron announced that the European Council had agreed a new settlement for the United Kingdom in the European Union.

In line with the Conservative Party manifesto, this agreement has triggered a referendum on whether Britain should remain in the European Union to be held on Thursday 23 June. In this next video in the Law in Focus series, Catherine Barnard examines the ef...

After long negotiations, on 19 February Prime Minister David Cameron announced that the European Council had agreed a new settlement for the United Kingdom in the European Union.

In line with the Conservative Party manifesto, this agreement has triggered a referendum on whether Britain should remain in the European Union to be held on Thursday 23 June. In this next video in the Law in Focus series, Catherine Barnard examines the ef...

The successful appeal in R v Jogee and Ruddock v The Queen before the a combined Supreme Court and Privy Council raises important issues in the criminal law of complicity (sometimes unhelpfully labelled 'joint enterprise').

In this video Dr Matthew Dyson, who advised the appellant's counsel in the case considers the law of complicity, what the case changed, and its implications.

Dr Matthew Dyson is Fellow in Law and Director of S...

The conviction of Oscar Pistorius for committing culpable homicide in relation to the shooting of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp made worldwide news.

In this video Professor Christopher Forsyth reflects on his previous comments about the original conviction, and describes how the Supreme Court of Appeal interpreted the South African law on intent to kill. Although the Court complimented Ms Justice Thokozile Masipa on her handling o...

This video discusses six issues arising out of the recent statement of Prime Minister David Cameron to the House of Commons entitled "Prime Minister’s Response to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee on the Extension of Offensive British Military Operations to Syria".

Dr Veronika Fikfak and Dr Hayley J Hooper discuss the questionable international legality of military action, the strategic use of parliament and its potential impact...

In his speech at Chatham House on 10 November 2015 (https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/prime-ministers-speech-on-europe), the Prime Minister David Cameron outlined those aspects of the EU he would like to see reformed prior to any referendum on the UK's continued membership of the EU. EU employment law - one of the most controversial areas of EU policy - was not expressly identified in his list. In this video, Catherine Barnard...

In an interview with the BBC yesterday (23 July 2015), US President Barack Obama argued that having "the United Kingdom in the European Union gives us much greater confidence about the strength of the transatlantic union and is part of the cornerstone of institutions built after World War II that has made the world safer and more prosperous." He continued: "And we want to make sure that United Kingdom continues to have that influen...