NEW What the Palestine Action appeal decision tells us about terrorism law An already broad law is now matched with broad ministerial powers The Weekly Constitutional at @prospectmagazine.co.uk www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th...

The EWCA's Ammori decision marks a dismal low in the courts' scrutiny of national security issues. In a new post on @verfassungsblog.de, @alangreene.bsky.social, @daniellalock.bsky.social and I examine the depressing tricks by which rights protections disappear: verfassungsblog.de/palestine-ac...

All eyes to the Court of Appeal in London at 11am for the hand down of a special five judge decision (in light of the importance of the issues at stake) on the lawfulness of the UK Govt's Palestine Action ban: www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...

🎉𝗝𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝘂𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲 𝗚𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗴𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗵𝗗 𝘃𝗶𝘃𝗮 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸! 🎉 Danielle’s thesis title was ‘𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲: 𝗔 𝗗𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗼-𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗼-𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗹 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀’.

The claimants in the private school fees VAT challenge have been granted permission to appeal to the Supreme Court. I think this is pretty surprising - the claim is substantively very weak, and it involves no novel legal points. www.supremecourt.uk/cases/uksc-2...

In this post I explain the Supreme Court's recent decision overturning Cheshire West, what this now means for understanding what a deprivation of liberty looks like, and offer some brief comments on the reasoning and implications of the judgment administrativecourtblog.wordpress.com/2026/06/04/w...

#BREAKING: Over public dissents from the three Democratic appointees, #SCOTUS grants stay of district court injunction in Alabama redistricting cases, clearing the way for Alabama to use its 2023 map.

Delighted to discover the Europe Explained podcast; latest episode has an Irish perspective on the ECHR, incl its role in the peace process and securing social change, with @niaolainf.bsky.social and Daniel Holder of @cajni.bsky.social among interviewees www.coe.int/en/web/porta...

With Friday strike, over 200 people killed by US military in alleged drug boat strikes. Overwhelming consensus of experts, myself included, assess these to be murder because no armed conflict (and war crime if it were armed conflict). 200 killed also raises serious question: crime against humanity

Significant development on $1.8 billion fund: Federal court responds favorably to motion by 35 former federal judges. Their motion asked court reopen the case to see whether a fraud was perpetrated on the court to effectuate the "settlement." Judge responds⤵️

This is a longer version of the piece I did for the Morrigan Blog on the Dillon Decision in the UK Supreme Court focusing on the continuities in the descriptions of the Irish as violent & producing silences amongsts those not identified as 'sectarian' criticallegalthinking.com/2026/05/27/w...

❗Leaving the ECHR would jeopardise the UK’s national security and hinder its efforts to tackle irregular migration, say a group of former justice secretaries and attorneys-general👇 🔗 www.ft.com/content/b3e4... via @financialtimes.com

It's me Vs Jim Allister this morning over the implications of Dillon for trans rights. There' s been a (wrong) narrowing of Art 2 by the UKSC, but on gender para 118 is key, the Annex 1 Directives should continue to have direct effect, so EU law claims remain arguable: share.google/tGsVRo0brH0Y...

My take on the UKSC's Dillon judgment - it is a combination of regressive and dubious reasoning. It radically reduces the range of cases in which Art 2 is applicable, in reasoning which flies in the face of the UK Government's promises over the provision: ukconstitutionallaw.org/2026/05/14/c...

British politics is resembling the rest of Europe: • Multi-party competition has replaced two-party dominance • Challengers are on the rise, esp. the populist right • Political realignment centres on identity politics (incl Brexit) But FPTP is poorly suited to this fragmentation

🚨Upcoming Event: “UK Supreme Court Dillon and Others judgment – analysis and what next?” June 3rd | 10am | Ulster University Belfast Room BC-00-307 From legacy issues to Article 2 of Windsor Framework/Protocol, this will be an important and timely event. RSVP via the link 🔗 👉 lnkd.in/eHGKwgsm

Out of roughly a million panels on the ICON Conference this year, I've put together the one panel that mentions Brexit in the title. You might think this means that the party has moved on. I'm here to tell you at length that the core-periphery relations now in play will continue to define Europe...

New blog from me and Marion Sandner for Strasbourg Observers on the recent ECtHR case of DA and RA v United Kingdom. One day I will publish something which doesn't feature a dig at the UKSC's decision in SC, but today is not that day... strasbourgobservers.com/2026/05/01/d...

Listen in:

The Court of Appeal hearing for Ammori’s case (Palestine Action proscription appeal), starting tomorrow, has been listed for 5 judges. This is very rare, especially in the Court of Appeal (Civil Division). The judges are: the LCJ, the MR, Edis LJ, Lewis LJ and Whipple LJ

The truth about Trump’s plan to bring back execution by firing squad www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Delighted that Steve could join to talk about the memos the NYT obtained - that show the behind-the-scenes goings on that went into SCOTUS staying the Clean Power Plan on the shadow docket 10 years ago. Tune in!!

This is an elegant, learned explanation of Just War Theory and the Iran war. An important corrective arising out of the Trump administration's responses to the Catholic Church. By the brilliant @mikeschmitt.bsky.social www.justsecurity.org/136692/just-...

Things I couldn't post while Bluesky was down: - Catherine Connolly is to convene the Council of State next Monday, for the first time since taking office, to consider the constitutionality of the International Protection Bill, which aims to largely give domestic effect to the EU Migration Pact

How did Magyar win? A long running grassroots campaign in rural and small town Hungary; a refusal to be distracted by government propaganda; a focus on economic issues and corruption; a central promise to bring back democracy and the rule of law

If any legal argument relies on how “eminent“, “distinguished“ or “prominent“ the authors are then it is likely to be a dud argument. For the great thing about legal reasoning is it does not depend on the qualities of the author. The reasoning is the thing. A cat can look at a king(‘s counsel).

When I started legal blogging I thought it would be a little bit of contract law or libel law, and the occasional judicial review with constitutional implications. Now: a constant stream of constitutional crises, fundamental human rights abuses, and war crimes and other crimes against humanity.

I told CNN: Trump's threats to civilian infrastructure are illegal Iran should keep civilians away from threatened sites All States must deny the U.S. use of their territory or airspace for illegal attacks, and demand an immediate end to this lawless war. video.snapstream.net/Play/1ocivPG...

Liberal Democrat MPs have written to Keir Starmer today calling on him to withdraw US access to UK air bases. Donald Trump's latest shocking threats against Iran would amount to war crimes. The UK cannot be complicit.

This is the ultimate test for a constitutional order. Either constitutional mechanisms are used to check and balance this, and remove him from office, or they are not. For there can be no greater test for any constitution.

& intent is usually so hard to prove in war crimes trials... seriously, this is horrendous. That this is said aloud & many will cheer is probably the lowest pt this century. ALL cooperation with US military must stop, or be implicated. He's said it out loud - he's about to commit a war crime.

The CJEU ruled that silencing the opposition radio station Klubrádió in Hungary was incompatible with media freedom and pluralism. MELINDA RUCZ shows why the ruling marks a subtle but important shift in the CJEU’s approach to media freedom. verfassungsblog.de/the-frequenc...

“Acts or threats of violence the primary purpose of which is to spread terror among the civilian population are prohibited.” Geneva Convention Additional Protocol I and Department of Defense Law of War Manual, § 5.2.2

Important analysis on U.S. slide to "total war" with Iran. Background: UN Commission on Inquiry: “Russian armed forces’ waves of attacks ... on Ukraine’s energy-related infrastructure ... may amount to crimes against humanity.” The authors are former military lawyers.

Deliberate threats, whether in rhetoric or in action, against essential civilian infrastructure and nuclear facilities must not become the norm in warfare. Parties must spare civilians and civilian objects in all military operations. It is their obligation under international humanitarian law.

“Military-aged male” is not a legal category. The categories are “civilian” & “combatant”. In case of doubt, a person is presumed civilian. Age & gender are not close to sufficient to dispel such doubt. Speculative beliefs about threats are also insufficient. 1/2

"Flatly illegal" Just Security co-editor-in-chief @tessbridgeman.bsky.social on CBS Sunday Morning - discussing President Trump's threat to attack all Iran's power plants. Notably followed here by Elliott Abrams on why it's simply counterproductive. @cbssundaymorning.bsky.social

“If these threatened attacks were to be carried out, they would constitute war crimes . . . Immiserating the civilian population for bargaining leverage is not lawful." Glad to talk to Saeed Shah for this story @theguardian.com: www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...

The world looks on and shrugs as over half a million people are expelled from their homes - again - in clear disregard and violation of every relevant norm. Larger in scale than what Russia did in Mariupol (which the whole Western world condemned).

NEW: Leading Israeli international law scholars' statement on how new Israeli death penalty law "violates basic rules of international law" www.justsecurity.org/135364/israe...

Catherine Connolly announces Councll of State nominees: Fionnuala Ní Aoláin (QUB lawyer) Linda Ervine (Unionist Gaeilge advocate) Colin Harvey (QUB human rights) Kathleen Lynch (UCD sociology) Donncha O’Connell (Uni Galway law) Conor O’Mahony (UCC law) Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh (former pres Uni Galway)

OSCOLA 5th edition is out www.law.ox.ac.uk/oscola Changes spotted so far include: Adding Medium before Neutral Citation Not putting JSC (or SCJ) after UKSC judge’s names (CJ, MR, V-C, LJ, J, & DJ remain; ICC also there but no EJ) The end of Ibid More on web sources - and how to cite Gen AI

Just a reminder that the Washington Treaty defines the geography of NATO’s mutual defense pledge — at U.S. insistence in 1949 — to prevent allies from committing us to their wars outside of Europe.

HYPOTHETICAL Legal Advice to SecDef Hegseth on “No Quarter” Statement (from General Counsel) By Daniel Maurer, retired Judge Advocate "... may be construed as ... a war crime. This may expose you to criminal liability under 18 U.S.C. 2441(c)(2) ... We recommend that you publicly retract."

New episode of #CalledToTheBar: what are UN Special Procedures, and who makes them work? @pagingdrpaige.bsky.social speaks with Ben Saul (UN Special Rapporteur on counter-terrorism & human rights) and Pichamon Yeophantong (UN Working Group on Business & Human Rights) soundcloud.com/calledtotheb...

The Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood sure has put on a show… But how much is really serious & how much is just a theatre of cruelty? Here’s the TRUTH about this week’s asylum changes youtu.be/w6Nr4ccjMlM?...

Top Experts’ Backgrounder: Military Action Against Iran and US Domestic Law www.justsecurity.org/64645/war-po...

We had a great day today at our Belfast campus applicant event, meeting lots of future legal professionals! Looking forward to seeing many applicants join us in lectures and seminars next academic year!

Scary

Akhil Amar on birthright citizenship: ”Unless and until our Constitution is amended, our government is simply not allowed to punish innocent babies guaranteed full and equal citizenship by the Constitution itself.” www.nytimes.com/2026/02/20/o...