Deprivation of Citizenship - Justice and Security Bill condemned again

In an exclusive story, The Independent (27th February) tells of individuals being stripped of British Citizenship and then being killed by drones -  Exclusive: Secret war on enemy within - British terror suspects quietly stripped of citizenship ... then killed by drones

According to the article - 'The Government has secretly ramped up a controversial programme that strips people of their British citizenship on national security grounds – with two of the men subsequently killed by American drone attacks.  An investigation by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism for The Independent has established that since 2010, the Home Secretary, Theresa May, has revoked the passports of 16 individuals, many of whom are alleged to have had links to militant or terrorist groups.  Critics of the programme warn that it allows ministers to “wash their hands” of British nationals suspected of terrorism who could be subject to torture and illegal detention abroad.  They add that it also allows those stripped of their citizenship to be killed or “rendered” without any onus on the British Government to intervene.'

It is also alleged

Lives of Great Men ~ Stéphane Hessel

The death of Stéphane Frédéric Hessel (1917-2013) has been announced. By any standards, Hessel lived a most remarkable life during which he was a diplomat, ambassador, writer, concentration camp survivor, former French Resistance fighter and BCRA agent.   Hessel was born in Berlin and, in 1924, emigrated to Paris with his parents.  In 1939 he became a naturalised French citizen and the following year joined General Charles de Gaulle's group of resistance fighters.  He returned to France and organised Resistance communication networks in advance of D-Day (1944).

He was captured by the Gestapo and sent to the Buchenwald and Dora concentration camps, where he was tortured by waterboarding.  He later escaped during a transfer to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, and went to Hannover, where he met the advancing troops of the United States Army.


He participated in the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948.

Appointments to the Supreme Court of the UK

Updated 27th February - link to other blogs and some of the 'tweets' on the appointments system

The appointments of three Justices of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom have been announced - Number 10 and see Lord Neuberger's (President of the Supreme Court) announcement.

"The Queen has been pleased to approve the appointment of The Right Honourable Lord Justice Toulson, The Right Honourable Lord Justice Hughes and Lord Hodge as Justices of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. This fills the three vacancies arising from Lord Dyson’s appointment as Master of the Rolls and the retirements of Lord Walker and Lord Hope."

Lord Walker retires in March and Lord Hope in June.

Once the changes have taken place, the make up of the Supreme Court will be: Lord Neuberger (President), Lady Hale, Lords Mance, Kerr, Clarke, Wilson, Sumption, Reed, Carnwath, Toulson, Hughes and Hodge.  Biographies of the Justices are available.

The appointments process

Advances in forensic science ~ Virtual autopsy

The Guardian 24th February published Virtual autopsy: does it spell the end of the scalpel?

Scientific advances have led experts to pioneer the 'virtopsy', a non-invasive imaging process which can reveal details conventional methods would have missed.  According to the article, CT and MRI imaging are now often deemed sufficient. In Manchester, coroners now routinely give families the option of an MRI scan to establish the cause of death and Guy Rutty, chief forensic pathologist to the East Midlands Forensic Pathology Unit  and a member of the Leicester team that exhumed Richard III, recently called for cross-sectional autopsy imaging to be made available on the NHS. "There are important religious, cultural and humanitarian benefits offered by non-invasive autopsies," he argues. "As people become more familiar with the technology, demand is expected to grow."

The question of Bail ~ Oscar Pistorius ~ Operation Weeting

Given the Oscar Pistorius case in South Africa and, in England, the on-going Operation Weeting, bail is well and truly in the news.

Oscar Pistorius:

The world famous paralympian Oscar Pistorius stands charged in South Africa with the murder (on 14th February) of his girl friend Reeva Steenkamp.  After a 4 day hearing, a Magistrate granted Pistorius bail on a number of conditions - see CNN News 22nd February 2013   At times, the bail hearing appeared to be almost like a mini-trial of the case itself.  It appears that the prosecution and defence agree that shots fired by Pistorius killed Miss Steenkamp but Pistorius says that he thought he was firing at an intruder.  For those interested in the South African judicial process, see World Criminal Justice Library Network.  An interesting article is The Independent 22nd February - The Pistorius case casts a lurid light on a corrupt and crime-ridden South Africa.

Operation Weeting ~ Phone hacking:

Operation Weeting is the investigation

The Jury

At Southwark Crown Court, the jury in the Vicky Pryce case was discharged since it was unable to reach a verdict despite the trial judge (Mr Justice Sweeney) being prepared to accept a majority verdict-  (The Guardian 20th February).  A retrial was ordered.  Ten questions sent by the jury to the judge have received huge publicity and some commentators have used these to attack the whole idea of trial by jury - e.g. Simon Jenkins The Guardian - Juries? It's time they went the way of the ducking stool.  Unfortunately, certain of the questions posed by this particular jury appear to show a distinct lack of understanding and, as Joshua Rozenberg points out (The Guardian 21st February), might have damaged confidence in the jury system.  A good antidote to such thoughts is to listen to John Cooper QC and Kirsty Brimelow QC discussing the jury - BBC 21st February 2013 - Lawyers debate whether trial by jury is the best option.

In serious cases, I have no doubt that the jury remains, in Lord Devlin's memorable phrase, the Lamp that shows that freedom lives.

Read Trial by Jury - Marcel Berlins The Guardian 24th May 2005; Explaining our Law and Legal System ... No. 4 ... Juries  ; 'The Little Parliament' (Sally Lloyd-Bostock and Cheryl Thomas) and How the Law Works - Chapter 8 - The Jury - Dr. Gary Slapper.

Further excellent articles are:  Felicity Gerrity - The Barrister - Jury Trial - Don't fix what isn't broken.; David Allen Green - New Statesman 21st February - What Pryce justice?  ; Pete Weatherby QC of Garden Court North Chambers - On Jury Trials. and John Cooper QC - Shadowofthenoose blog.

Theresa May to 'curb' judges on immigration ~ Some Observations

Immigration is of considerable concern both within the country and to government and it is obvious that population growth places additional pressures on infrastructure and resources.  The accession to the European Union of Romania and Bulgaria (from 1st January 2007)  has helped to fuel the concerns given the EU's rules relating to freedom of movement for workers.  Quotas applicable to those countries expire at the end of 2013 with fears of large numbers then arriving in the UK and, according to the German Association of Cities, importation of crime.  There is also considerable immigration from non-EU nations.  The government set a target of reducing annual net migration to below 100,000 by 2015.  It appears unlikely that this target will be achieved though figures show a reduction - The Guardian 29th November 2012  Much political capital therefore exists in this area and it is little wonder that politicians seek to generate headlines - as did Home Secretary Theresa May - Mail on Sunday 17th February - It's MY job to deport foreigners who commit serious crime

May's article in The Mail on Sunday:

May's article is