The Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law

Bingham Centre Senior Research Fellow Lucy Moxham reflects on Clauses 70 and 71 of the new Data (Use and Access) Bill, read her new comment piece here: https://lnkd.in/e4ejUb82

👉 Join us on Tuesday, 5th November 2024, 18:00-19:00 (GMT) to talk about 'The Social Contract between the State and the Citizen-Migrant: EU Free Movement under a Cosmopolitan Statist Lens' when Prof Francesca Strumia will present her latest article soon to be published with European Law Open Cambridge University Press & Assessment! 🙏 Our special guest Dr Oliver Garner (The Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law & ISEL external affiliate) will act as a discussant and Dr Adrienne Yong will chair the session! #eulaw #migration #eucitizenship #freemovement City, University of London The City Law School 🔗 https://lnkd.in/dzkyXZ_Q

⚖ Thank you to the Attorney General for commending Young Citizens in his speech on the rule of law earlier this week.   Speaking on “The Rule of Law in an Age of Populism”, Lord Hermer KC stressed the importance of the rule of law as a fundamental value for both citizens and governments.   🏛 He called on Parliament to prioritise “law not politics", and ultimately rebuild the UK’s international rule of law leadership.   “Education has a crucial role to play”, he said. “We must take these messages to our schools and wider communities. I commend the work of civil society groups and charities such as Young Citizens...and the The Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law, who work with schools to promote a better understanding of the law and its importance in society.   “I believe it is right to think about whether even more can be done to strengthen the role of citizenship education as a means of promoting a better understanding of our constitution and, particularly, the importance of the rule of law.”   ✨ We look forward to supporting both the Attorney General's Office (UK) and the Government in their work to uphold #HumanRights and the #RuleOfLaw through robust citizenship education in schools.     🤝 Thank you to our partners and volunteers - including The Law Society, HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS), The Bar Council of England and Wales, Judicial Office, the Inns of Court, the Circuits, the Magistracy and our brilliant corporate partners - for making this a reality. Gray's Inn | The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple | The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple | The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn | The Magistrates' Association | Northern Circuit | Midland Circuit | South Eastern Circuit | Wales and Chester Circuit | Western Circuit   #LegalEducation #LegalLiteracy #CitizenshipEducation Photo credit: Lauren Hurley / No 10 Downing Street

Thanks for joining us. We are delighted you enjoyed the speech.

The full text of The Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law Lecture 2024 was published yesterday. Delivered by the GOV.UK Attorney General's Office (UK) Attorney General the Rt Hon Lord Hermer KC. His 'watchwords' are #RuleofLaw Restoration and Resilience. These provide encouraging signs for promotion of constitutional values nationally and internationally. With an introduction from Baroness Helena Kennedy KC and closing remarks from Bingham Centre Director Dr Jan van Zyl Smit, Lord Hermer delivered his lecture in Gray's Hall, overlooked by a portrait of Tom Bingham. The former Law Lord's BIICL (British Institute of International and Comparative Law) Grotius Lecture on the importance of international Rule of Law delivered in 2008, and his book 'The Rule of Law' published in 2010, incubated the Centre that bears his name. The Attorney General calls for the UK to rebuild its reputation as a leader in international law. Clearly, and without question, he continues, the UK should honour its obligations under international law - including compliance with ECtHR interim measures. He calls for the country to proudly own the story of the European Convention on Human Rights. Threatening to walk away from the ECHR would be a total abdication of the UK's international law responsibilities, Hermer argues. At home, the AG claims that now is the time to reaffirm that the rule of law is the necessary precursor for democratic values, providing the foundations for political and economic flourishing. But, he adds, what good is the rule of law without democracy, which confers essential legitimacy on legal rules. He asserts, powerfully, that "When the Government invites Parliament to breach international law, or oust the jurisdiction of the courts, it not only undermines the rule of law, but also the mutual respect that historically has been one of the great strengths of our [the UK] constitution". He concludes with a rallying call to reinforce Rule of Law culture, so that it is safe for future generations, in order to continue the work of achieving the vision of The Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law: "a world in which every society is governed by the Rule of Law in the interests of good government, peace at home and in the world at large". https://lnkd.in/eypufD_E

We were delighted to host the Attorney General last night

We are delighted to welcome the Attorney General, the Rt. Hon Lord Hermer KC this evening for the 2024 Bingham Lecture.

It was announced yesterday that Murray Hunt is to leave the role of Director of the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law to join the University of Oxford. Murray has been Director of the Centre since 2017, leading the Centre through a highly successful and dynamic period since 2017. In his new role he will lead the second phase of the Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre (Modern Slavery PEC). This move is a continuation of one of Murray's outstanding achievements as Bingham Centre Director, as he secured a major investment from UK Research and Innovation to fund the first phase (2019-2024) of the Modern Slavery PEC. During this period, Murray led the PEC through its growth as an innovative consortium of research bodies and independent organisations led by the Bingham Centre. A full announcement of the Modern Slavery PEC's second phase transfer to Oxford is also published today. The Bingham Centre is named after Lord Bingham of Cornhill, the pre-eminent UK judge of his generation, and has been an integral part of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL) since it was founded in 2010. Murray has shown vision, diplomacy and courage in expanding the work of the Centre to advance the Rule of Law. Read the news item https://lnkd.in/eASPaCgT

The Rule of Law continues to be advanced in our schools! On Tuesday, we launched a series of weekly school workshops at Hungerford Primary School, part of the The Bridge Trust Academy. My colleague Rukevwe Otive-Igbuzor, Esq., BIICL (British Institute of International and Comparative Law) Ambassador and I had a fantastic time with the Year 6 students, focusing on 3 Rs - Rules, Rights and Responsibilities. The limelight of the sessions for me personally was watching the brilliant debates on what the age of criminality should be in the UK. It was a joy to watch some budding parliamentarians and human rights lawyers emerge right before our eyes 😊 The students were quite engaging and are already looking forward to our next session after the half term, when we will be hosting them at The Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law offices at Russell Square. Special thanks to Amy Reynolds, ESG Director at Higgins Partnerships for hosting us, Ruzi Bibi and Melissa Facey for organising and Richard Luiki-Mata and his fantastic team for the awesome work they do everyday supporting the students! Please get in touch if you would like to support/host our weekly school workshops. Together, we will make a greater impact.

New report from the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law: 'Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill: Proposed amendments for House of Lords Committee Stage'.   The Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill will begin Committee Stage in the House of Lords today, 12 February 2024.   As part of the Bingham Centre’s Rule of Law Monitoring of Legislation Project, we have published a new report that aims to assist and inform the House of Lords’ consideration of the Bill during its Committee stage.   While our view is that the Bill in its essence is a major infringement of the Rule of Law and the separation of powers, and should not be passed, we nevertheless accept that the House of Lords may wish to engage constructively with the Government’s aims. The proposed amendments create the possibility that the scheme in the Bill could be operated consistently with the UK’s international obligations and with much less offence to the constitutional principle of the Rule of Law.   The report is available here https://lnkd.in/eg4G_x-q