Mark Elliott
Professor of Public Law, University of Cambridge. Fellow, St Catharine's College, Cambridge. Blog: www.publiclawforeveryone.com. Website: www.markelliott.org
- "In Defence of Classical Administrative Law", by @philipmurraylaw and me, has now been published in the Cambridge Law Journal on FirstView. It is available via the following link (open access): doi.org/10.1017/S000...
- A reminder, following the conviction of Jimmy Lai, that two senior British lawyers—a former Law Lord and a former Supreme Court President—continue to lend respectability to the Hong Kong legal system by sitting as non-permanent judges on its highest court. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
- New post: Correcting the record on the ‘primacy’ of the House of Commons publiclawforeveryone.com/2025/12/15/c...
- I'm grateful to the Sunday Times for publishing my letter on the constitutional role of the House of Lords, correcting the misleading impression created by an open letter signed by several former Cabinet Secretaries. www.thetimes.com/comment/lett...
- Reposted by Mark ElliottMy speech of today to NIHRC now published in full by Joshua Rozenberg: “The ECHR - the view from London and Strasbourg”
- Reposted by Mark ElliottThe dialogue between Mark Elliott and Lord Sales here is fascinating. Ironically enough, in my thesis I conclude that parliamentary intent - at least as judicially conceptualised - rarely if ever makes it into drafting considerations. A point which courts perhaps need to consider.
- Lord Sales devoted a recent lecture on the principle of legality to responding to my critique of one of his judgments. Here, I argue that our disagreement ultimately turns on sharply contrasting, and increasingly consequential, visions of the constitution publiclawforeveryone.com/2025/12/07/t...
- Lord Sales devoted a recent lecture on the principle of legality to responding to my critique of one of his judgments. Here, I argue that our disagreement ultimately turns on sharply contrasting, and increasingly consequential, visions of the constitution publiclawforeveryone.com/2025/12/07/t...
- This letter from former Cabinet Secretaries and others is straightforwardly wrong regarding the constitutional role of the House of Lords relative to the role of the Commons. /1
- The letter asserts that: 'Respect for the primacy of the Commons is not optional; it is the foundation of our parliamentary legitimacy.' However, this statement is so partial as to be misleading and incorrect. /2
- The primacy of the Commons is constitutionally acknowledged in certain limited ways, including via the Salisbury convention (Lords should not block manifesto bills) and law (Parliament Acts enable Commons to legislate unilaterally subject to Lords' one-year delaying power). /3
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View full thread* Post 4 should say the existence of those *limits* (on the Lords' powers) proves the incorrectness of the claim in the letter.
- Simon Jenkins claims in the Guardian that it would be a 'democratic outrage' if the House of Lords were to block the Terminally Ill Adults Bill: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre... That claim is constitutional nonsense, for the reasons I explain here: publiclawforeveryone.com/2025/06/20/w...
- New post: Tyranny, anarchy and the rule of law: Reflections on a major report by the Constitution Committee publiclawforeveryone.com/2025/11/20/t...
- Now published in the Cambridge Law Journal (open access): 'Administrative Law Doctrine and Constitutional Principle in the Supreme Court' My case note on the judgment in R (Spitalfields) v Tower Hamlets LBC [2025] UKSC 11 doi.org/10.1017/S000...
- Indeed. There are plenty of other questions, too, that are unanswered by a white paper that, given how long it has been in the making, is surprisingly light on detail. I flag some of the key legal and constitutional questions that need to be answered here: publiclawforeveryone.com/2025/11/17/t...
- Reposted by Mark ElliottVery good on the legal implications of today's proposals. There's still a lot of missing details.
- New post The legal and constitutional implications of the asylum white paper: Some initial thoughts publiclawforeveryone.com/2025/11/17/t...
- Reposted by Mark ElliottExcellent place to start on the legal and constitutional implications of the asylum white paper. And, as ever, Mark manages to pen these articulate thoughts so fast.
- New post The legal and constitutional implications of the asylum white paper: Some initial thoughts publiclawforeveryone.com/2025/11/17/t...
- New post The legal and constitutional implications of the asylum white paper: Some initial thoughts publiclawforeveryone.com/2025/11/17/t...
- New post In a recent lecture, Lord Briggs places renewed emphasis on the common law’s ability to protect human rights, and argues that we should not doubt its capaity to step in if the UK were to withdraw from the ECHR. Is such optimism well-founded? publiclawforeveryone.com/2025/11/14/m...
- Reposted by Mark ElliottThank you for contributing & for this excellent lens on the discussions. Externalising/othering constitutional (fundamental) rights takes the othering of the individuals they protect to an extreme. Migration debates are instrumentalised to justify a broader assault on human&constitutional rights.
- New post Prompted by an excellent conference at @biicl.bsky.social marking the ECHR's 75th anniversary, I reflect in this piece on key themes about the likely trajectory of the UK's human rights debate, given the current (and developing) political climate. publiclawforeveryone.com/2025/11/07/t...
- An interesting opportunity from the Constitution Society: 'The Constitution Society invites applications for a Research Fellowship dedicated to promoting the life and constitutional contributions of Richard Haldane (1856-1928).' consoc.org.uk/haldane-rese...
- New post Prompted by an excellent conference at @biicl.bsky.social marking the ECHR's 75th anniversary, I reflect in this piece on key themes about the likely trajectory of the UK's human rights debate, given the current (and developing) political climate. publiclawforeveryone.com/2025/11/07/t...
- Reposted by Mark ElliottTEXTILE SHAKESPEARE is official-publication-date-minus-2-weeks (11 November) which is a LOT👀 (I can't remember feeling this wound up about other books, I have the concentration of a gnat at the moment🙄) but seems to be live as an e-book already so, available to your Kindle right now, apparently...
- Reposted by Mark ElliottThis latest "barrister meets AI" disaster is something all stage 1 law students should read. It is vital about the key skill of case reading - you mustn't use AI to substitute for the skill of being able to find cases and find key content in cases: tribunalsdecisions.service.gov.uk/utiac/ui-202...
- Reposted by Mark ElliottNEW - UPDATE POST Did the CPS make a fundamental mistake with the charging decision in the Chinese spying case? How the CPS may have asked the wrong legal question and so made a wrong charging decision By me emptycity.substack.com/p/did-the-cp...
- Reposted by Mark ElliottTrying to make sense of the China spy case? Join @profmarkelliott.bsky.social, @ruthfox.bsky.social & @darcyxtip.bsky.social on our Parliament Matters podcast as they unpack the key issues and what they mean for Parliament. 🎧 New episode out tomorrow. Listen and subscribe here: pod.link/1714627828
- New post, following publication of the Deputy National Security Adviser's witness statements in the China case: No winners in the China espionage blame game: Six outstanding questions for prosecutors and ministers publiclawforeveryone.com/2025/10/16/n...
- New post, following publication of the Deputy National Security Adviser's witness statements in the China case: No winners in the China espionage blame game: Six outstanding questions for prosecutors and ministers publiclawforeveryone.com/2025/10/16/n...
- An extraordinary outburst—directed at a small hospice charity subject to devastating funding cuts—from the CEO of a major NHS trust. I doubt that Arthur Rank Hospices's patients and families share his assessment of the 'value' of the oustanding care provided. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
- A few preliminary thoughts on/questions prompted by the China espionage case witness statements, which have now been published. /1 www.gov.uk/government/p...
- In the third statement, issued under the current government, the Deputy NSA describes this government’s China policy (co-operate, compete, challenge). How does that relate to PM’s insistence that only the previous government’s policy is relevant? /2
- While the Deputy NSA does not in terms describe China as a threat to national security, the language is strong in places: harm to security of UK; threat to economy, resilience and democratic integrity of UK. Why did the CPS think this insufficient? /3
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View full threadUltimately, while the witness statements move things on to a degree, much remains unclear, with outstanding questions for both the CPS and the government. 6/6
- I was pleased to speak with Sarah Montague on BBC Radio 4's The World at One today about the latest developments concerning the collapse of the China espionage trial. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
- Excellent, forensic analysis of the many twists and turns (so far) of the China espionage case.
- NEW Trying to make sense of the nonsensical decision to drop the Chinese spying prosecutions How the positions of neither the CPS nor the government stand up to scrutiny By me emptycity.substack.com/p/trying-to-...
- Reposted by Mark ElliottNEW Trying to make sense of the nonsensical decision to drop the Chinese spying prosecutions How the positions of neither the CPS nor the government stand up to scrutiny By me emptycity.substack.com/p/trying-to-...
- I was pleased to hear my analysis of the China espionage case being relied on by the Leader of the Opposition in yesterday’s House of Commons debate. parliamentlive.tv/event/index/...
- New post, in which I argue the government's attempt to pin the blame for the collapse of the China spy trial on a single official will not wash constitutionally. Ministers must bear responsibility for an apparently deeply flawed decision-making process. publiclawforeveryone.com/2025/10/13/c...
