Between the ongoing Brexit saga and the US Government shutdown, people could be forgiven from returning from the Christmas break and assuming that Ragnarok was upon us. Living in turbulent political times, as we do, and having our eyes and ears deluged with news...
Category: News
Brexit, Parliament and the Constitution: The Guardian Awakes
According to legend, King Arthur lies sleeping somewhere in the British Isles, and will awaken one day to save his people from impending doom. So far, the Brexit crisis does not appear to have brought him out of his slumbers, but the myth of a dormant guardian, who...
The Far Right and Human Rights: How should liberal states respond to political extremism?
How should liberal democracies deal with threats from the Far Right? Even allowing for the turbulent state of politics across contemporary Europe, this has been an alarming week. The dramatic gains made by the extremist Vox party in the Andalucian regional elections...
Marriage and Cohabitation-Does your religion effect your legal status?
Anybody who studies or practices law, especially Family Law, sooner or later has the uncomfortable experience being cornered by someone (friend, colleague, taxi-driver etc) and quizzed about a sad and messy break-up. Needless to say, giving off the cuff advice whilst...
Ashers Bakery, Gay Marriage and Religion: Why resolving conflicting rights isn’t a piece of cake
The British "gay cake case" has been every bit as controversial as Masterpiece Bakery, its transatlantic cousin. The Supreme Court recently reversed the decisions of both the first instance judge and the Court of Appeal, finding that Ashers Bakery had not unlawfully...
A rise in religious hate crime: what the law means for all of us.
It is most concerning that in National Hate Crime awareness week, we are faced with news that religious hate crime is dramatically rising according to police figures. Of course, as is always the case, the story behind the statistics may be more complicated. There...
Charles Aznavour: Art, Empathy and Rights for All Humanity
With the passing of Charles Aznavour, Europe has recently lost one of its cultural icons. President Macron paid tribute to the artistic legacy of the singer songwriter whilst remarking that “In France, poets never die.” It came as no surprise either to learn that...
Freemen on the Land-Freedom of Belief is NOT Freedom from Law
A few weeks ago, Surrey police were faced with the task of forcibly removing a man from his vehicle on the A3, when he resolutely refused to cooperate and locked himself inside. He had been pulled over because the car he was driving was uninsured, and he bitterly...
School rules or social engineering? Hairstyles, identity and discrimination.
This week a US school has hit the headlines for refusing to allow Faith Fennidy, a young black girl, to attend with her hair up in braids. Given that her chosen style was conventional, tidy and not posing any sort of safety risk in lessons, it is unsurprising that...
The Priest and the Big Bang
We felt that George Lemaître, who featured on the Google Doodle for his 124th birthday, really demanded our attention this week. Lemaître was a Roman Catholic priest, but also the scientist who came up with the Big Bang theory, and the idea that the universe is...
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