Law - new material (54)
01 September 2005
Legislation and the democratic deficit, Ed Cape. Legal Action August 2005, pp. 9-10. This article considers the implications of recent criminal justice legislation, such as the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 and the Criminal Justice Act 2003. Cape argues that Part 3 of SOCPA "contains, in just two sections, the most dramatic and constitutionally important overhaul of powers of arrest for more than 20 years." One leading commentator recently noted that the provisions give the police "virtually unlimited powers to arrest citizens without warrant on suspicion of trivial offences."
The Rules of Law, Louise Christian, Nony Ardill & Tom Wainwright. Red Pepper Issue 133 (September) 2005, pp. 26-30. This article examines how "Public access to justice is in crisis as legal aid budgets are squeezed and legal aid lawyers spend more time dealing with government bureaucracy than defending their clients."
Access to Information in Bulgaria 2004. Report. Access to Information Programme Foundation (AIP), 2005, Sofia, pp84. This annual report is based on monitoring Bulgaria's Access to Public Information Act and includes recommendations on legal developments in access to information and data protection, geared to decrease identified negative practices. AIP also provides legal assistance to specific cases of information refusal, detailed in this report. Monitoring is based on information from AIPs network of coordinators, cases referred to AIPs office for assistance and the problems AIP encounters when appealing information refusals in court. In addition, AIP has participated in a Global Freedom of Information Monitoring Survey which was carried out in 16 countries in 2004 and the results of which (on Bulgaria) are presented in the report. The Global Monitoring Pilot Survey started in 2003 and was held in five countries, based on a methodology developed by the Open Society Justice Initiative.
The UK's duty to "universal jurisdiction", Daniel Machover & Kate Maynard. The Times, 4/10/05. Article defending a recent decision, by a British court, to issue a warrant for the arrest of an Israeli General accused of war crimes in the Gaza Strip. It argues that because such violations are routinely ignored in Israel where the military often acts within a climate of impunity, and Israel has refused to sign up to the International Criminal Court, "Only the under-used principle of universal jurisdiction can deliver justice to such alleged victims and potentially save future victims." Therefore the UK must fulfil its obligation under Article 146 of the Fourth Geneva Convention to "seek out and prosecute" suspected war criminals.
Judges and terrorism after the 7/7 attacks, Eric Metcalfe. Legal Action September 2005, pp. 7-8. This piece calls on the judiciary to "uphold its constitutional responsibility to protect the UK's democratic values in the face of government's 'well-meaning but misguided' counter-terrorism measures."
Gypsy and traveller law update, Marc Willers & Chris Johnson. Legal Action September 2005, pp. 18-23. This update considers the Select Committee report on Gypsy and Travellers Sites (13th report of the session 2003-04, HC633-1) and the government's response to it. It notes the inflammatory campaigns against Gypsies and Travellers in the tabloid media and by the Conservative Party, before commending the work of the
Gypsy and Traveller Law Reform Coalition (GTLRC) who continue to campaign for the provision of more sites and against the discrimination that Gypsies and Travellers suffer. The GTLRC website: www.Travellerslaw.org.uk