scholarly journals Changing the rules of the game: some necessary legal reforms to United Kingdom intelligence

2009 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 943-955 ◽  
Author(s):  
IAN LEIGH
Keyword(s):  
National Security ◽  
The Political ◽  
Legal Proceedings ◽  
Legal Reforms ◽  
Political Independence ◽  
The Us ◽  
Protection Of Human Rights ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Rules Of The Game

AbstractThis article argues that there is a need to modernise the law governing accountability of the UK security and intelligence agencies following changes in their work in the last decade. Since 9/11 the agencies have come increasingly into the spotlight, especially because of the adoption of controversial counter-terrorism policies by the government (in particular forms of executive detention) and by its international partners, notably the US. The article discusses the options for reform in three specific areas: the use in legal proceedings of evidence obtained by interception of communications; with regard to the increased importance and scle of collaboration with overseas agencies; and to safeguard the political independence of the agencies in the light of their substantially higher public profile. In each it is argued that protection of human rights and the need for public accountability requires a new balance to be struck with the imperatives of national security.

The UK Wimbledon Strategy

2021 ◽  
pp. 76-92
Author(s):  
Mark Thatcher ◽  
Tim Vlandas
Keyword(s):  
National Security ◽  
Market Economy ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
The Political ◽  
Economic Governance ◽  
Sovereign Wealth Funds ◽  
The Us ◽  
The World ◽  
State Capital ◽  
The Uk

Although also labelled a ‘liberal’ market economy, the UK has strongly pursued internationalized statism in stark contrast to the US. It has followed a ‘Wimbledon’ strategy of seeking to attract Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) from all over the world even if they take large stakes in prominent British firms. Both formal and informal instruments have been actively used to welcome SWFs, who have taken significant stakes in leading British firms in strategic sectors and bought nationally symbolic buildings and brands. The UK has followed strong internationalized statism thanks to the dominance of the political executive in policy making that has allowed it to frame SWF investments in terms of economic governance rather than national security and the weakness of the legislature in raising concerns. Despite domestic privatizations, it has welcomed overseas state capital that has reinforced existing strategies of aiding privileged sectors such as finance.

Presidential Statesmanship and the Constitution: The Limits of Presidential Studies

1982 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 266-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas S. Engeman
Keyword(s):  
Primary Task ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Independence ◽  
Sufficient Energy ◽  
Republican Government ◽  
The Government ◽  
Presidential Studies ◽  
Do So

According to Publius (the nom de plume of The Federalist's authors), a primary task of the Convention was to create an executive of sufficient energy and independence. As he says in Federalist, No. 70: “There is an idea, which is not without its advocates, that a vigorous executive is inconsistent with the genius of republican government. The enlightened well-wishers to this species of government must at least hope that the supposition is destitute of foundation.” The president must be able to administer the government and defend the nation but he must do so without destroying or being destroyed by constitutional limitations or the political independence of Congress.

Minimising medical litigation: a review of key tort and legal reforms

2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harold Tan
Keyword(s):  
Medical Malpractice ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Economic Sustainability ◽  
Legal Reforms ◽  
The Us ◽  
Tort System ◽  
Medical Litigation ◽  
Tort Reforms ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

The traditional tort system in medical malpractice is increasingly perceived as being incapable of addressing the mismatch between claims and negligent injuries. Tort reforms have been introduced in various developed countries in an attempt to bring about greater fairness and economic sustainability in the compensation of medical injuries and to reduce the overall rate of medical litigation. This paper reviews the key tort reforms that have been used in various countries, notably the US and the UK, and discusses the arguments that had been put forth by advocates and opponents of such reforms. The impact of these tort reforms, where studied and available, is also reviewed and discussed in the paper.

3.8 The standard layout of a treaty A treaty, like English legislation, has a standard format. At the beginning of the treaty is a preamble setting out the main goals of the treaty and the aspirations of the parties. It is divided into clusters of items dealing with similar matters. Each cluster is called a title (which roughly equates with the division of an English statute into parts). Titles contain numbered items called Articles, each one setting out a basic rule or principle. Articles can be divided into paragraphs and subparagraphs. The numbering system is Arabic and it not as dense and complex as that used by English statutes. Figure 5.3: standard layout of a treaty 5.3.9 How do obligations entered into through treaties become part of English law? If the UK government wishes all, or part of a treaty, to become part of English law it must specifically incorporate the treaty, or part of it, into the English legal system via legislation. This legislation goes through the same procedures as any other piece of legislation. If the government expects the treaty to give rise to a range of other measures over time it will usually place sections in this legislation delegating the authority to make later legal changes to others (such as the minister of appropriate government departments). This saves time as there is no need for the full legislative process in Parliament. Whilst it is still the subject of parliamentary debate, it does have a fast track procedure. In relation to treaties becoming part of English law in this way, there is always the possibility that Parliament may refuse to enact the legislation, which would leave the government in an extremely difficult situation. However, the UK Parliament is usually controlled by the political party forming the government and the government would not risk the embarrassment of failure but would guage its position in Parliament prior to signature of a relevant treaty.

2012 ◽  
pp. 132-133
Keyword(s):  
Basic Rule ◽  
The Political ◽  
Legislative Process ◽  
Difficult Situation ◽  
Standard Format ◽  
Parliamentary Debate ◽  
The Subject ◽  
English Law ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Uk

Sources of Increasing Inequality

2021 ◽  
pp. 172-190
Author(s):  
Francis Teal
Keyword(s):  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Labour Markets ◽  
Living Standards ◽  
The Political ◽  
Poor Countries ◽  
Unskilled Labour ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Rich Countries ◽  
The Impact

While all the evidence we have points to the rising living standards for most of the very poorest, the wages of unskilled labour in poor countries remain a fraction of those in rich countries. Those potential workers are seen as a threat to the living standards of the unskilled in rich countries and the political impetus to limit their access to those labour markets has been, and remains, one of the most potent issue in the politics of rich countries. This aversion to immigration as a threat to the wages of the unskilled often transmutes into a hostility to trade, as goods, which use a lot of unskilled labour, can be imported more cheaply. Both immigration and trade are seen as a threat to the unskilled. Two dimensions of this threat are examined in this chapter—the impact of Chinese exports on wages in the US and the impact of immigration on the UK economy.

Cold War diplomacy

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beverley Hooper
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
National Security ◽  
The United States ◽  
Arab Countries ◽  
The Us ◽  
The World ◽  
Communist China ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Foreign Ministries

From the early 1970s, the US-China relationship was central to diplomatic reporting, with National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger’s visit to Peking in October 1971, President Nixon’s historic visit in February 1972, and the establishment the following year of small liaison offices in Peking and Washington. Following each of Kissinger’s further visits in 1973 and 1974, senior diplomats virtually queued up at the liaison office to find out what progress, if any, had been made towards the normalization of US-China relations. Peking’s diplomats, like some of their colleagues elsewhere in the world, did not always see eye-to-eye with their foreign ministries. There was little chance of their becoming overly attached to Communist China, as the Japanologists and Arabists were sometimes accused of doing for Japan and Arab countries. At the same time, living and breathing the PRC led some diplomats to regard Chinese Communism as being rather more nuanced—and the government somewhat less belligerent—than the Cold War images portrayed in the West, particularly the United States.

24. The War in Iraq

2020 ◽  
pp. 587-611
Author(s):  
John W. Young ◽  
John Kent
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
National Security ◽  
Operation Iraqi Freedom ◽  
The United States ◽  
Weapons Of Mass Destruction ◽  
The Troubles ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Arab Spring ◽  
Iraqi Freedom

This chapter focuses on the Iraq war of 2003–11 and the troubles in the Middle East. George W. Bush’s advisers, led by Dick Cheney and Don Rumsfeld, had been considering an attack on Iraq well before 9/11. At the same time, many experts within the government pointed to the lack of any evidence for Iraqi-sponsored terrorism directed against the United States. The threats to US national security were outlined to Bush in a briefing just prior to his inauguration; these threats came primarily from al-Qaeda’s terrorism and the proliferation of nuclear arms and other weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). The chapter first considers the US decision to invade Iraq, before discussing the war, taking into account the US’s Operation Iraqi Freedom and the war’s costs to the US and to Iraq. It also examines the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and concludes with an assessment of the ‘Arab Spring’.

scholarly journals How to boost the Western response to Russian hostile influence operations

European View ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-188
Author(s):  
Jakub Janda
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Russian Federation ◽  
The Political ◽  
Southern Europe ◽  
The West ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
Points Of View ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
The Uk

The Russian Federation has become a rogue state in international relations, invading and occupying the territories of three European countries (Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine), waging war in the Ukrainian territory, producing massive disinformation campaigns against the West, threatening the Baltic republics, and interfering in various elections and referendums. Despite Russia’s aggressive behaviour, the West’s response to it has been significantly limited, particularly when it comes to non-military deterrence by Continental Europe. The US and the UK are leading the punishment of Russia’s aggression, while many countries, mainly in Western and Southern Europe, are hesitant to respond to this threat. This article makes recommendations as to what should be done in practical terms to boost the European portion of the Western response to Russian aggression from the political and policy points of view.

4. How the UK is organised

2021 ◽  
pp. 71-99
Author(s):  
Anne Dennett
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Northern Ireland ◽  
National Security ◽  
Central Government ◽  
State Legislature ◽  
Foreign Affairs ◽  
Government Agencies ◽  
Government Power ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Uk

This chapter details how power is allocated in the UK, and its organisation in terms of devolution and regional and local government. Power in the UK is divided into three branches or arms of state: legislature (law-makers), executive (government and administration), and judiciary (courts and judges). Before devolution, the government’s (executive’s) administrative power was centralised and it extended to the whole of the UK, but devolution has made significant changes to the constitution and has brought a substantial rebalancing of power in the government of the UK. Since devolution’s introduction, the power of central government no longer extends to the growing areas of domestic policy that have been devolved to Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The UK government’s remit therefore now covers England and the whole of the UK on non-devolved matters including the conduct of foreign affairs, defence, national security, and oversight of the Civil Service and government agencies.

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