Baze v Rees (Kentucky Department of Corrections)

January 8 2008

Yesterday the US Supreme Court heard argument in this case, in which it is argued that lethal injection using a combination of sodium thiopental, pancuronium bromide, and potassium chloride is “cruel and unusual punishment”, contrary to the 8th Amendment to the US Constitution: the argument is, firstly, that the relevant http://www.gooakley.com/ test is whether a punishment involves an unnecessary risk of suffering (the Kentucky Supreme Court had applied a “substantial risk” test); and secondly, the fact that an alternative combination of chemicals could be used which would involve a lower risk of pain means that the risks currently involved in lethal injections in Kentucky must be unnecessary.

The questions before the Court, written briefs submitted in the case, and a transcript of yesterday’s argument, are all available here.

It’s excellent that this material’s so accessible: I hope when we have our own supreme court this side of the water, its proceedings will be as open as this.

2017-03-20T08:32:45+00:00Tags: , |

Peter Hain: donorgate refuses to die!

January 8 2008

Iain Dale thinks Peter Hain’s in deep trouble, with the most recent revelations about donations to his deputy leadership campaign. Iain’s thinking primarily of political trouble of course, but he may also mean legal http://www.gooakley.com/ trouble: and I agree that must be a real possibility.

To remind you of what I’ve blogged before about PPERA 2000, Hain will have committed an offence under para. 12(2) of Schedule 7, unless he can show due diligence under para. 12(3). Potentially, he could receive a fine of an unlimited amount, if the case is thought serious enough for the Crown Court.

2017-03-20T08:32:48+00:00Tags: , |

Pakistan: the way forward

January 7 2008

I couldn’t agree more with this New York Times editorial piece – I’m glad the Times is arguing strongly for a democratic approach in Pakistan, rather than just Realpolitik; and that it’s calling for the release of lawyers and others still under arrest.

I hope it’s the view that finds favour in Washington – and I think it’d http://www.gooakley.com/ help enormously if a leading candidate were to make a public statement like this. Barack Obama, for instance, could I think gain foreign affairs cred and bolster his reputation for idealism at the same time. And influence foreign policy.

2017-03-20T08:32:53+00:00Tags: , |

Schengen: further border controls lifted

January 4 2008

Just before the Christmas blog-break, ECJ blog reported the extension on the “Schengen agreement” to cover 9 of the 2004 “Accession 10” member states – all except Cyprus, which hopes to join later.

Basically this means you can simply cross most borders in Europe without controls – something I found astonishing when I first experienced it in the 1990s, walking from Strasbourg to Kehl, the small town just over the bridge in Germany.

2008-01-04T17:56:00+00:00Tags: |

Pakistan now

January 3 2008

Well, since I last posted, Benazir Bhutto’s been assassinated; President Musharraf has asked for help from the British police; and elections have been postponed until February. What began in November as a constitutional law issue, which I posted on because of the suspension of the Supreme Court and the role of lawyers in the protests, has turned in to the number one international issue, with Pakistan perhaps the key http://www.gooakley.com/ country in global politics for the first part of 2008.

What can I say about Ms. Bhutto? Whatever her faults, this was a terrible loss, beyond a simply personal one. With her went the best chance Pakistan had of a sensible transition to an at least acceptable constitutional and political outcome. Her husband and son are poor replacements: the old one because of his record of corruption; the young one because he’s got more sensible things to be getting on with at Oxford.

The one good thing that’s happened is that I heard Nawaz Sharif in a speech the other talking clearly about a return to the position pre-November 3rd. I hope that remains his position.

2017-03-20T08:33:03+00:00Tags: , , |

Catholicism and the constitution

December 22 2007

Talking about Tony Blair’s conversion to Rome, I’ve just heard Alastair Campbell on BBC News 24 saying he didn’t know whether constitutionally a catholic could be Prime Minister, his tentative implication being that that might have been one reason why Blair didn’t http://www.gooakley.com/ convert while in office. Amazing. Are people as politically savvy as Campbell really that ignorant about the constitution?

A catholic can’t succeed to the throne, because of the Act of Settlement – an obviously anachronistic law that should be done away with. But Nick Clegg is safe: there’s freedom of religion for the PM.

2017-03-20T10:35:06+00:00Tags: , , |

BAe Systems judicial review: that Blair letter

December 22 2007

I was quite sniffy about the Campaign Against the Arms Trade’s judicial review challenge to the government’s decision to abandon its criminal investigation of BAe Systems and the Al Yamamah deal. Well, I’m not now saying I think the challenge will succeed, but the disclosure of a letter from Tony Blair to Lord Goldsmith apparently mentioning the risk to ongoing commercial negotiations is a breakthrough for the applicants, as if it does say what the reports suggest, it provides some material to support the claim that the government http://www.gooakley.com/ took into account matters it shouldn’t have under article 5 of the OECD anti-bribery convention, which says investigation and prosecution should not be influenced by considerations of national economic interest.

Disclosure has presumably been ordered as a result of the new, more flexible approach to disclosure in judicial review following this case. But what I don’t understand is how the media know about the letter, given that documents disclosed in proceedings can be used for no other purpose. Perhaps the letter has been read in court, or permission given, but that seems unlikely since the hearing of the claim isn’t till February. I can’t find anything today on the websites of CAAT, the other claimant, the Corner House, or of their solicitors, Leigh Day, claiming responsibility for the leak to the press. Is it contempt of court?

Even if it is, it’ll be politically impossible for the Attorney General to do anything about it.

2017-03-20T10:35:15+00:00Tags: , , , , , |

What’s Purnell been hanging about for?

December 21 2007

I’m glad James Purnell has announced he’ll act to reassure the Russian authorities who’ve threatened to cancel the planned loan of a number of works of art which its intended will be shown in the Royal Academy’s From Russia exhibition starting in a few weeks. It’s easy to think this little row is caused by the dispute about Andrei Lugovoi – and that does of course overshadow Anglo-Russian relations just now, which have broken out into a sort of Kulturkampf, with the proposed suspension of the British Council. But this specifically cultural row has a history of its own.

Since this happened in 2005 the Russians have worried that their cultural assets might be the target of civil enforcement proceedings in the west, and Britain, having no legislation guaranteeing immunity from seizure, was concerned about the possible refusal of foreign authorities to lend works to British galleries. That led to Part 6 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 which is intended to solve the problem, and which James Purnell will now commence. To be fair to the Russians, the FT story I linked to above indicates they will send the paintings as soon as that legislation is in.

But what I don’t understand is, why wasn’t the legislation commenced earlier? Admittedly regulations needed to be drafted, the consent of devolved administrations obtained, galleries geared up to follow guidelines and so on – but Royal http://www.gooakley.com/ assent was in July, and surely DCMS ministers knew this exhibition, including paintings from Russia which is especially sensitive, was due in January. I can’t understand what the delay’s been for – and perhaps neither could the Russians.

2017-03-20T10:35:23+00:00Tags: , |
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