Don't Confuse Them

I was horrified to read the following headline in last Tuesday's Guardian "Lap-dancing clubs may take cases to EU Court". My objection isn't to taking cases to court (although challenging an Act of Parliament - in this case the Policing and Crime Act 2010 - offends me as a constitutional lawyer - Parliament is sovereign in the UK - and I want decisions made by my elected representatives, rather than by unaccountable judges). The owners of lap-dancing clubs want to challenge the legislation, claiming that their rights under Article 1 of the first protocol of the European Convention on Human Rights to "the peaceful enjoyment of (their) possessions" are infringed by the requirement to apply for new licenses - and potential closure of their premises where they are located near churches or schools.

My horror arises from the fact the a paper I respect, The Guardian, has confused the European Court of Justice (EU Court) with the European Court of Human Rights. Law students who confuse the two tend to see their assignments or examination essays attracting a FAIL grade for such a fundamental error.

The European Court of Justice sits in Luxembourg. It is the Court for matters relating to the European Union - which has a membership of 27 countries. The EU website can be accessed here - and the ECJ website here. The EU began in 1951 with the Paris Treaty which Formed the European Coal and Steel Community. The additional communities of the European Economic Community and Euratom were formed in 1957 - and the three became known first as the European Communities; then the European Community - and now is known as the European Union.

The European Court of Human Rights sits in Strasbourg. It exists to give rulings on the European Convention on Human Rights. It was the product of the Council of Europe - a body now consisted of 47 members (so much larger than the 27 member EU). It includes the Russian Federation; Turkey, Switzerland, the Ukraine, other non-EU members and micro-states such as Andorra and Monaco. It was founded in 1949 - and the European Convention on Human Rights was drafted in 1950. Britain has been a member of the Council of Europe from the start and played a key role in drafting the Convention.

Sadly the British media often makes this basic error of confusing the two. But it is little wonder that euromyths gain such a hold in Britain - when even the serious press can't get their facts straight.

Martin Luther King

Washington DC is a city of monuments - to ordinary men and women who did extraordinary things - and to some of the giants of world history. It is hoped that a new memorial can be built to both honour, and educate new generations about, Dr Martin Luther King. The site would be on the National Mall, on the tidal basin across from the Jefferson Memorial - dedicated to the man who wrote the words of the Declaration of Independence "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Dr Martin Luther King worked to apply those words to all people.


I had the privilege during our holiday in Georgia to visit the Ebenezer Baptist Church and The King Center in Atlanta. Both the man, and the principles he stood for are inspiring. I hope the monument can be built in Washington. The trust which is seeking to raise the funds has prepared a video showing what it should look like.




President Obama has spoken about the role Dr King played -





Further details of the Memorial - and how you can help to achieve the dream of a permanent memorial on the Mall - can be found at http://mlkmemorialnews.org/



Further information on donating to this project is available here

Who can't vote?

The quick answer is "anyone not already on the electoral register". It is now too late to register to vote. There are also people who cannot vote in General Elections.

• members of the House of Lords (although they can vote at elections to local authorities, devolved legislatures and the European Parliament)


• EU citizens resident in the UK (although they can vote at elections to local authorities, devolved legislatures and the European Parliament)


• anyone other than British, Irish and qualifying Commonwealth citizens


• convicted persons detained in pursuance of their sentences (though remand prisoners, unconvicted prisoners and civil prisoners can vote if they are on the electoral register)


• anyone found guilty within the previous five years of corrupt or illegal practices in connection with an election

Who are you going to vote for?

Gordon Brown? David Cameron? Nick Clegg?

Only if you live in Kirkcaldy & Cowdenbeath in Fife, Scotland (where Gordon Brown is the Labour Candidate); Witney in Oxfordshire (Cameron, Conservative) or Sheffield Hallam (Clegg, Liberal Democrat)! In Britain we chose a national government by electing candidates in each of the 650 constituencies. The prime Minister is NOT directly elected, as the US President is.

Party identification remains much greater in the United Kingdom than in the United States. I would love to imagine that the 15,895 people who put a cross next to my name on their ballot papers in Blaby voted for me - but I know that most of them were voting Labour. They wanted Tony Blair to be the Prime Minister more than they wanted me as their MP!

The New British Constitution

As a Constitutional Law Lecturer, I have to explain to my students that while Britain doesn't have a single written document called "The Constitution" - it does have a 'constitution' in the sense that there are constitutional rules which govern the way Britain is ruled. These are found in Statutes; case law; conventions; internal rules governing the procedure and practice within Parliament; and in authoritative works, such as those by A V Dicey.

No one is in any doubt that recent years have seen major changes to that 'constitution'. The Human Rights Act alters fundamentally how rights are protected in the UK. Previously - everything was legal, except where it had been made illegal. Now rights, set out in the European Convention of Human Rights, are made part of English law - and are enforceable through the Courts. The House of Lords has been partially (but significantly) reformed; Devolution has given powers to Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and London. Referenda have become established and new voting systems are now in regular use.

Vernon Bogdanor describes and analyses these changes in his 2009 book "The New British Constitution". I have recently been re-reading this book. It is a useful tool both for students of British Constitutional Law - and for those seeking to improve the current political system. Details of the book are available here.