Law Articles
Human rights and the future of surveillance
I spoke on this subject to the Human Rights Law Association on 25 October, at a meeting held to consider the effect of the 13 September 2018 Big Brother Watch judgment of the first section of [...]
A Spanish Fisherman – in his own words
Generations of law students have grown up on Factortame - the Spanish Fishermen's case that for more than 25 years defined the UK's constitutional relationship with Europe. My own memoir of the case (in which I represented [...]
David Vaughan QC 1938-2018
The life of David Vaughan QC, a colleague in Chambers whom (though we were not related) I considered to be my father in the law, was celebrated yesterday evening at a Memorial Service in Temple [...]
Who Governs the Internet?
Counsel, the magazine of the Bar of England and Wales, has published my article on the subject of internet content regulation. When I submitted the original version, just before the Cambridge Analytica revelations in March, the [...]
Not for wimps: the pragmatic case for human rights
Internationally recognised human rights standards are an essential benchmark for anyone who seeks an informed view on the laws governing terrorism, surveillance and extremism. But contrary to the belief propagated by some, those standards do not amount to unrealistic aspirations, dreamed [...]
Purdah – Lifting the Veil
During this General Election campaign there have been several disputes over the application of pre-election purdah - ironically, a practice that was specifically designed to avoid imbroiling the Civil Service in controversy. My own last report as Independent Reviewer, on Deportation [...]