08 October 2020
A former president of the Supreme Court has warned that certain provisions in the Internal Market Bill put the UK on a path towards "dictatorship", due to the explicit intention to breach international law and make it possible for the government to introduce regulations that are not subject to review by the courts.
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Brexit: Boris Johnson’s new laws put UK on ‘very slippery slope’ to dictatorship, warn ex-Supreme Court president (The Independent, link):
"The government's latest Brexit legislation puts Britain on a "very slippery slope" towards a dictatorship, the former president of the UK Supreme Court has warned.
In a major intervention Lord Neuberger, who presided over the country's highest court from 2012 to 2017, said the government's proposals sought to do away with "one of the most important aspects of any democratic society".
Speaking at a virtual meeting of eminent lawyers on Wednesday evening the judge told MPs and peers that the offending clauses of the bill "need to be defeated", preferably in parliament.
"It seems to me that this bill is quite extraordinary and is very worrying," he said. Clauses included in the Internal Market Bill allow the government to "freely breach its obligations under international treaties" and also "make regulations which it would appear the courts are not entitled to review", he said."
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