Legitimacy and independence of international tribunals:an analysis of the European Court of Human Rights

This paper explores the theoretical framework of judicial independence of international tribunals, with specific reference to the independence of the European Court of Human Rights. It then argues that independence is a key aspect of the legitimacy of an international tribunal and suggests that legal reforms designed to enhance the judicial independence of the European Court of Human Rights should focus on the two main structural parts of the Court, namely the judiciary and the Registry. This paper analyses a number of proposed reforms that can make the European Court of Human Rights more independent and credible. These insights are applicable to other international judicial fora

Commentary on North Western Health Board v HW and CW (the PKU case)

Should the state administer a medical screening test on a child against the wishes of the family? The parents in this case refused to allow a test which would have involved taking a pinprick of blood from the child in order to test for certain metabolic disorders – phenylketonuria, homocystinuria, and hypothyroidism. The parents objected on religious grounds, that ‘nobody is allowed to injure anyone else’. Based on this conviction, they objected to pricking the skin of their child. The Irish Supreme Court upheld the wishes of the family and refused to order the administration of the test. This feminist revisiting of the case argues that the Irish Supreme Court prioritised the paradigm marital family as a unit over the rights of individual children in setting the test for intervention into the family unit on behalf of the child

Miliband’s senate of the regions and a constitutional convention conundrum

A 1,400 word blog post on Ed Miliband's proposal to abolish the House of Lords and replace it with a Senate of the Regions. The piece considers the argument for regional representation and the curtailing of the previously proposed constitutional convention. Originally published on the U.K. Const. L. Blog (23rd November 2014) at https://ukconstitutionallaw.org/

The Influence of the Weimar Constitution on the Common Law World

It is commonly thought that the Weimar Constitution had little influence in the common law world. This article traces the translation of the Weimar Constitution in the Irish context, and demonstrates its importance in the drafting of the Irish Free State Constitution of 1922 and the Irish Constitution of 1937. It specifically looks at the way in which translation occurred in relation to the Directive Principles of Social Policy. The translation of the Irish Constitution into the South Asian context is analysed, with a particular focus on India

Constitutional law and empire in interwar Britain: universities, liberty, nationality and parliamentary supremacy

This article examines the influence of imperial law, law outside the UK but within the British Empire, on the development of British constitutional law in the interwar period. It first looks at public law within the universities. Four foundational textbooks in British public law are then analysed to assess the extent to which the academic exposition of constitutional law was influenced by imperial law. The influence of imperial law on the areas of liberty/habeas corpus and citizenship is then considered. The article concludes by re-examining the doctrine of parliamentary supremacy and argues that Dicey accepted a variant of the ‘manner and form’ objection in the final edition of his textbook completed before his death

Suspension and Expulsion of the Members of the Council of Europe: Difficult Decisions in Troubled Times

The effectiveness and legitimacy of the Council of Europe canbe undermined by the actions of Member States which fail to complywith their international law obligations of genuine cooperation withthe organization. This articlefirst briefly examines the practice ofinternational organizations in applying sanctions such as expulsion andsuspension to their members. It then explains why it is necessary todiscuss potential sanctions that the Council can apply in the context ofcurrent controversies involving the Council and Member States. It willbe argued that the scale and intensity of challenges distinguish thecurrent state of affairs from other‘problematic’periods in the Council’shistory. It proceeds to outline the considerations thatshould be takeninto account in deciding whether a Member State should be suspendedor expelled. These considerations include the implications of sanctionson the legitimacy of the Council of Europe, the level of human rightsprotection and thefinancial stability of the organization

Validation of HNO3, ClONO2, and N2O5 from the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment Fourier Transform Spectrometer (ACE-FTS)

The Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment (ACE) satellite was launched on 12 August 2003. Its two instruments measure vertical profiles of over 30 atmospheric trace gases by analyzing solar occultation spectra in the ultraviolet/visible and infrared wavelength regions. The reservoir gases HNO3, ClONO2, and N2O5 are three of the key species provided by the primary instrument, the ACE Fourier Transform Spectrometer (ACE-FTS). This paper describes the ACE-FTS version 2.2 data products, including the N2O5 update, for the three species and presents validation comparisons with available observations. We have compared volume mixing ratio (VMR) profiles of HNO3, ClONO2, and N2O5 with measurements by other satellite instruments (SMR, MLS, MIPAS), aircraft measurements (ASUR), and single balloon-flights (SPIRALE, FIRS-2). Partial columns of HNO3 and ClONO2 were also compared with measurements by ground-based Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrometers. Overall the quality of the ACE-FTS v2.2 HNO3 VMR profiles is good from 18 to 35 km. For the statistical satellite comparisons, the mean absolute differences are generally within ±1 ppbv ±20%) from 18 to 35 km. For MIPAS and MLS comparisons only, mean relative differences lie within±10% between 10 and 36 km. ACE-FTS HNO3 partial columns (~15–30 km) show a slight negative bias of −1.3% relative to the ground-based FTIRs at latitudes ranging from 77.8° S–76.5° N. Good agreement between ACE-FTS ClONO2 and MIPAS, using the Institut für Meteorologie und Klimaforschung and Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IMK-IAA) data processor is seen. Mean absolute differences are typically within ±0.01 ppbv between 16 and 27 km and less than +0.09 ppbv between 27 and 34 km. The ClONO2 partial column comparisons show varying degrees of agreement, depending on the location and the quality of the FTIR measurements. Good agreement was found for the comparisons with the midlatitude Jungfraujoch partial columns for which the mean relative difference is 4.7%. ACE-FTS N2O5 has a low bias relative to MIPAS IMK-IAA, reaching −0.25 ppbv at the altitude of the N2O5 maximum (around 30 km). Mean absolute differences at lower altitudes (16–27 km) are typically −0.05 ppbv for MIPAS nighttime and ±0.02 ppbv for MIPAS daytime measurements