The London ‘Insurrection’ of December 1792: Fact, Fiction, or Fantasy?

1978 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 66-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clive Emsley
Keyword(s):  
Saturday Morning ◽  
House Of Lords ◽  
The Commons ◽  
The Law ◽  
Law Courts ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Times ◽  
Made In

As the likelihood of war with revolutionary France grew at the end of 1792 and beginning of 1793, the pro-government press in England reported that a serious plan for an insurrection, scheduled for the first weekend in December 1792, had been nipped in the bud by the authorities. On December 3 The Times stated that, as it had not wished to create alarm, it had not previously mentioned the full facts of the seditious attempts being made in the country. These attempts, the newspaper maintained, had prompted almost daily meetings of the Cabinet climaxing in a meeting at Lord Grenville's house which had lasted until one a.m. on the preceding Saturday morning (December 1). It was from this meeting that the Cabinet had issued the royal proclamation which embodied part of the militia and which deplored the ineffectiveness of the May 1792 proclamation against seditious meetings and writings. Three weeks later, beneath the headline “Revolution Plans,” the World reported that two parties were involved in the projected insurrection: the “moderates” who sought first the destruction of the House of Lords, the Herald's Office, and the Horse Guards, and then the enlarging of the Commons; and those whose plans were “more extensive” and who would have gone on to destroy St. James's Palace, the Bank, the law courts, the prisons, the customs house, and excise office. A month later, under the headline “Project of an Insurrection,” the London Chronicle gave similar details of a plot “to overturn the government and the constitution of this country.”

Myths, Relationships and Coincidences: The New Problems of Sexual History

2003 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 75-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Redmayne
Keyword(s):  
Third Parties ◽  
Sexual History ◽  
Complex Issue ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Similar Fact ◽  
House Of Lords ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Rape Trials ◽  
The Law ◽  
Made In

This article reviews recent developments in the law governing the admissibility of sexual history evidence in England and Wales. After the decision of the House of Lords in R v A (No. 2), the law reflects a consensus that the complainant's sexual history with third parties is generally irrelevant to the issue of consent in rape trials. In the first part of this article, the justifications for this conclusion are questioned; it is suggested that the relevance of sexual history is a more complex issue than it is usually acknowledged to be. The second part of the article uses points made in the first to question the way in which concepts drawn from the law on similar fact evidence have been used as the admissibility framework for sexual history. Aspects of the decision in R v A are examined in detail.

The Role of Select Committees

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meg Russell ◽  
Daniel Gover
Keyword(s):  
Smoking Ban ◽  
Legislative Process ◽  
House Of Commons ◽  
Select Committee ◽  
House Of Lords ◽  
The Commons ◽  
The Government ◽  
Government Legislation

This chapter explores the various means by which specialist select committees in both the House of Commons and House of Lords interact with and influence government legislation. The development of select committees is widely seen as important at Westminster, having encouraged greater expertise and specialization among members, and cross-party work. Yet the select committees have only a limited formal role in the legislative process, because the ‘committee stage’ occurs elsewhere. Nonetheless, this chapter shows extensive select committee influence on the 12 case study bills. The committees can be important to setting the policy agenda, informing members, influencing debate, encouraging amendments, and—potentially—supporting the government. This particularly applies to the constitutional committees in the House of Lords, and select committees conducting pre-legislative scrutiny of draft bills. However, other committees can also be important, as demonstrated by the Commons Health Committee’s intervention over the smoking ban in the Health Bill (2005–06).

The Israel Ombudsman: An Appraisal

1975 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 293-323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Elman
Keyword(s):  
The State ◽  
The Other ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
Government Department ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Government ◽  
State Enterprises ◽  
Made In ◽  
A Share

Very soon after the establishment of the State (and as an important part of its constitutional structure) the office of State Comptroller, responsible to the Knesset alone and independent of the Government, was established under statute—the State Comptroller Law of 1949. After undergoing a number of amendments, the Law was eventually replaced in 1958 by a Consolidated Version but without any substantive change being made in the functions and powers of the Comptroller, a fact which goes far to demonstrate the proven worth of the office.Briefly, the functions of the Comptroller are to carry out “inspection of the finances and the management of the finances and the property and administration of the State and of the bodies subject to the inspection of the Comptroller, and to perform the other functions assigned to the Comptroller by this Law”.The bodies subject to inspection include, in addition to every government department, state enterprises and institutions and local authorities, persons or bodies holding, otherwise than under contract, or managing or controlling any state property or funds in the management of which the Government has a share or which are made subject to inspection by the Knesset or by agreement with the Government.

10. The House of Lords

2019 ◽  
pp. 207-228
Author(s):  
Anne Dennett
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Public Interest ◽  
Constitutional Change ◽  
House Of Commons ◽  
The Public ◽  
House Of Lords ◽  
The Commons ◽  
The Government

This chapter studies the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Lords largely relies on patronage. Members of the Lords come from a variety of backgrounds with wide-ranging expertise, and are appointed by the Queen on the Prime Minister's advice. They can be nominated by political parties, by the public, or by themselves. The House of Lords is an important revising and scrutinising chamber, but it is also subordinate to the democratically elected House of Commons. The Lords' main functions are scrutinising and challenging the government, investigating and debating issues of public interest, and scrutinising and revising legislation. While it respects the primacy of the Commons, the House of Lords is also a check on constitutional change by the Commons. The chapter then looks at the Parliament Act 1911, which established the Commons' primacy over the House of Lords.

Always the bridesmaid, never the bride?: Legislating in English and Welsh

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-105
Author(s):  
Richard M Crowe
Keyword(s):  
Legal Profession ◽  
National Assembly ◽  
The Public ◽  
Welsh Language ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Government ◽  
Official Status ◽  
Made In

Abstract Welsh has official status in Wales, where it is spoken by approximately 20 % of the population. All adult speakers of Welsh are also able to speak English. The National Assembly for Wales and the Welsh Ministers legislate in both Welsh and English. The Government of Wales Act 2006 provides that the English and Welsh texts of any Act of the Assembly or any subordinate legislation enacted or made in both English and Welsh are to be treated, for all purposes, as being of equal standing. This paper examines the role legislating bilingually plays in confirming the official status of the Welsh language; how the bilingual texts are produced by a process of collaborative translation within an administration where English is the dominant working language; how they are scrutinised by a legislature where legislators are free to use either or both languages, but where, in practice, English dominates; and how they are promulgated in both languages in the form in which they are enacted or made, but only routinely updated in English. It further considers what the principle of ‘equal standing’ may mean and how effect may be given to it; how these bilingual texts may be interpreted by the public and the legal profession, domains in which English dominates; and what implications the production, scrutiny, promulgation and interpretation of bilingual legislation have for the accessibility of the law in Wales.

scholarly journals Developing a capacity test for compulsion in mental health law

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (15) ◽  
pp. 72
Author(s):  
Chris Heginbotham ◽  
Mat Kinton
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Capacity ◽  
Health Law ◽  
Mental Health Law ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
House Of Lords ◽  
Mental Health Legislation ◽  
The Commons ◽  
The Government ◽  
Health Legislation

<p>Concepts of mental capacity are taking on an increased importance in the mental health law of the United Kingdom. For England and Wales, the proposal to introduce a threshold requirement of ‘impaired decision-making’ into the criteria for detention under sections 2 and 3 of the Mental Health Act 1983 was the first amendment to be voted upon in the House of Lords’ reading of the Mental Health Bill. Despite its emphatic (and whipped) resistance to this amendment, Government lost the vote by a wide margin, although it seems possible, at the time of writing, that the Government will seek to overturn their defeat in the Commons.</p><p>It is therefore timely to re-examine the role of such capacity tests in mental health legislation dealing with detention and treatment. This paper describes as yet unresolved definitional questions that must be encountered when concepts of mental capacity operate as a threshold for coercive psychiatric detention and/or treatment.</p>

10. The Legislature: membership, privileges, and standards

2021 ◽  
pp. 207-242
Author(s):  
Anne Dennett
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Law ◽  
Constitutional Change ◽  
House Of Commons ◽  
The Public ◽  
Core Business ◽  
Members Of Parliament ◽  
House Of Lords ◽  
The Commons ◽  
Standards Of Conduct ◽  
The Government

This chapter explores the role and membership of Parliament’s two chambers, the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the operation of parliamentary privilege; and accountability of members. The key functions of Parliament include controlling national expenditure and taxation; sustaining the government; legislating and scrutinising government actions. The House of Commons is the pre-eminent chamber and dominates Parliament. The Commons’ membership consists of Members of Parliament (MPs) who are democratically elected by the public to represent their interests in Parliament. The membership of the House of Lords largely relies on patronage. Members of the Lords are appointed by the Queen on the Prime Minister’s advice. The House of Lords is an important revising and scrutinising chamber, and while it is subordinate to the democratically elected House of Commons, it is also a check on constitutional change by the Commons. The Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 redefined the Lords’ legislative powers over public bills and established the Commons’ primacy. The chapter then considers the operation of parliamentary privilege. Parliament needs parliamentary privilege to conduct its core business effectively, independently, and without fear of outside interference, and to protect everything said or done in the transaction of parliamentary business. Indeed, Parliament is self-regulating and, as a sovereign body, operates outside the jurisdiction of the courts except for the criminal law. Each House has its own standards of conduct and disciplinary powers which ensure accountability.

created by the common law rule were addressed by Parliament in the Law Reform (Frustrated Contracts) Act 1943, considered below, but the unjust enrichment principle is also relevant in other respects in determining whether a particular event is capable of frustrating a contract. If the decision to treat a contract as frustrated might give one of the parties an undue advantage this may operate as a justification for refusing to treat the contract as frustrated. For example, in Tamplin SS Co v Anglo-Mexican Petroleum Products Co Ltd, an oil tanker was chartered for a period of five years, but was subject to government requisition when the charterparty still had nearly three years to run. In the circumstances, there was no prejudice to the charterers, since the government compensation payable to the charterers exceeded the agreed hire charges. However, the owners of the ship claimed that the contract was frustrated. The House of Lords held, by a narrow majority, that the contract was not frustrated. One explanation for the action of the owners is that they wanted to secure the increased benefit of the government compensation in replacement for the lower hire charges. In this case, it is readily understandable that the majority of the House of Lords preferred not to allow the owners to benefit in this way at the expense of the charterers. Remedies, unjust enrichment and frustration Money paid or payable before the date of frustration

1995 ◽  
pp. 382-382
Keyword(s):  
Common Law ◽  
Petroleum Products ◽  
Law Reform ◽  
Unjust Enrichment ◽  
House Of Lords ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Government ◽  
Undue Advantage ◽  
Oil Tanker

Masai and Kikuyu Responses to the Establishment of British Administration in the East Africa Protectorate

1970 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. H. Mungeam
Keyword(s):  
East Africa ◽  
Active Participation ◽  
Political Protest ◽  
Protest Movements ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Law ◽  
Law Courts ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Way

This paper attempts to study the contrasting responses of two Kenya tribes, the Masai and the Kikuyu, to the establishment of British administration. It suggests that neither reacted in the way expected of them by early British officials, who anticipated that the Masai would forcefully oppose the British entry, while little or no resistance was expected from the Kikuyu.Instead, the Masai actively co-operated with the British, through the support of a laibon, Lenana, and the provision of levies who accompanied British punitive expeditions. Although twice removed from their lands, the Masai still did not fight, but appealed to the law courts. When this failed, they showed little or no interest in further opposition. Although apparently having some cause to resent treatment received at the hands of the British, they showed virtually no interest in the protest movements of the twenties.By contrast the Kikuyu, far from standing aside as had been expected, opposed the British entry in a series of short engagements, in which they suffered considerable casualties. Soon, however, collaborators began to emerge and ‘chiefs’ such as Kinyanjui—created by the British and beholden to them–benefited considerably from the connexion. Despite this co-operation, the earlier resentments continued and were reinforced by losses of land to European settlers, and by the unsettling effects upon tribal life of the proximity of Nairobi and the teaching of the missions. When, after the acute sufferings of the war years, further demands were made by the government, the Kikuyu responded by active participation in organized political protest.Possible reasons are put forward for these contrasting responses, and the suggestion is made that differing attitudes to the protest movements of the twenties can be more fully appreciated when the history of these earlier years is taken into account.

Reducing the Role of Government -- The Chinese Experiment

2008 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 1-37
Author(s):  
Vivienne Bath
Keyword(s):  
Role Of Government ◽  
Substantial Progress ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Government ◽  
Administrative Licensing ◽  
Made In

AbstractChina has taken an original and adventurous approach to the issue of over-regulation through the promulgation of the Administrative Licensing Law, which attempts to limit the number and type of licences and approvals which citizens and enterprises are obliged to obtain from the government. The Administrative Licensing Law has now been in effect for 3 years, and it is therefore an appropriate time to look at licensing and approvals in China. The article focuses on issues relating to the establishment and reduction of licensing requirements, including the actions taken by government to reduce them, the existence of “non-administrative” licensing and approval requirements and issues relating to enforcement. It concludes that although substantial progress has been made, improvements could be made in terms of dealing with the complexity of the system and providing new avenues for enforcement, and that a long-term on-going effort will be required to implement the law fully.

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