The partisanship shown by many commentators on the Abu Qatada case does not do the advocacy of human rights any favours

The European Court of Human Rights ruled yesterday that Abu Qatada, allegedly very close to Osama Bin Laden for many years, will not be returned to Jordan to face further action against him by the authorities in that country The ruling has outraged a large portion of the public and, as Conor Gearty writes, has also divided human rights activists

Do as I say and not as I do: hypocrisy and human rights

Conor Gearty explores the hypocrisy that often surrounds human rights, with many states displaying inconsistencies between their actions and words

The Commission looking into the possibility of a British bill of rights is supposed to support diversity and inclusivity, but is fatally compromised by its narrow membership base

As debates on the role of the European Court of Human Rights in UK society continue, Nick Clegg and Ken Clarke have recently launched a Commission to look at the possibility for a UK Bill of Rights. Conor Gearty writes that despite its apparent ‘independence’, the Commission is weakened by its own obvious lack of diversity

‘Brexit’ and the MPA: reflections and opportunities

As you will already know, on Thursday 23 June, the UK voted in a referendum to leave the European Union. As an MPA offer holder, you may have questions and feel some uncertainty. As someone fascinated by the interaction of the law and policy-making, I was lucky enough to be able to follow Thursday night’s breaking news by the minute, since I was chairing the LSE Referendum Night debate. For five hours without a break, colleagues and outside experts looked beyond the headlines of the debate and analysed the results as they came in

The cuts to legal aid are obstructing the right to a fair trial and preventing the administration of justice

In an astounding blow to the government’s decision to drastically cut access to legally-aided counsel, a judge yesterday ordered a stay (rather than an adjournment) to a complex fraud case as the defendants could find no lawyers to take the case. This decision was rooted in the right to a fair trial and may have significant implications for future cases: we may see a succession of suspects walk free for want of adequate legal representation. Conor Gearty writes that the administration of justice is not something to do only when you feel like it and the coffers allow

The Human Rights Act should not be repealed

There is no reason to repeal the Human Rights Act and the government’s manifesto commitment to do so should be dropped. The objections to it are misconceived, the arguments against it being based either on inaccurate understandings of what it says or error-strewn assertions about the nature of its impact. The political motive for attacking the Act – to undermine the UK’s association with Europe – has been overtaken by the much greater European disengagement of BREXIT

Guerrilla lectures: innovative teaching at the LSE

Part of the remit of the Institute of Public Affairs has been to innovate in teaching at LSE. To this end the Institute has created the concept of a ‘guerrilla lecture’. These are essentially flash mob lectures on a topical theme, in a secret and unusual location, that give students something exciting and unique to take with them from their years at university. The first three lectures have been in the Westminster Cathedral crypt (on Hell!), Highgate cemetery (who was better Marx or Spencer – their graves are besides each other) and in the LSE’s Director apartment where we discussed the financing of higher education. If you are interested in more information on any of these, read this Times Higher article

Liberty and Security: we must recover the finest meanings of these terms

Conor Gearty will be delivering a public lecture at the LSE tomorrow to promote his new book; Liberty and Security. In this post he explores the main tenets of the book and argues that we should recover the universal dimensions of liberty and security, restoring the egalitarian thrust that drove the turn to democracy and was such an important feature of the evolution of universal freedom