All in Rule of Law
According to The Times, ‘Downing Street is to begin a fresh war with judges over a plan to let ministers throw out any legal rulings they do not like’. The Bill has been termed the “Interpretation Bill” and would allow MPs to ‘strike out findings from judicial reviews with which the government does not agree’. Arguably, such a Bill would be a clear affront to fundamental constitutional principles governing the UK.
On the 7th of October 2021, the Polish Constitutional Tribunal declared that the Polish Constitution takes precedence over EU law. In response to a motion by the Prime Minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, the Court ruled that European regulations authorising national courts to bypass provisions of the constitution or adjudicate on the basis of annulled norms are inconsistent with the Polish Constitution. This article discusses the legal implications of this ruling for Poland and the supremacy of EU law.
Daniel Ellsberg, Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning: A string of America whistle-blowers, all exposing to light the top-secret, unconstitutional conduct of the American Government. To add to this list, is the more recent case of Julian Assange. Charged with criminal theft of Governmental secrets, his case exposes just how immune our courts are to the winds of political rhetoric.
Over the past week, hundreds of thousands of Poles have been marching all over the country and abroad in protest against the Constitutional Tribunal’s ruling which imposed a virtually complete ban on abortion. Demonstrators have disrupted the functioning of most major cities by blocking roads and bridges whilst vocalising a variety of anti-government slogans.
