environment

UNDERMINING THE CONSTITUTION IS NO BUSINESS OF GOVERNMENT

UNDERMINING THE CONSTITUTION IS NO BUSINESS OF GOVERNMENT

It turns out that there are at least two ways in which you can subvert an unwritten constitution. The government of Boris Johnson has tried both of them. First, you can ignore unwritten rules, constitutional conventions and observance of the rule of law with an unrestrained contempt that sends the message that such rules are for the ‘little people’. Secondly, you can use a Parliamentary majority to bring in increasingly illiberal legislation that removes rights and undermines constitutional protections against unrestrained executive action.

A POINT IN TIME: DISCUSSING ENVIRONMENTAL LAW IN MARIUPOL, UKRAINE

A POINT IN TIME: DISCUSSING ENVIRONMENTAL LAW IN MARIUPOL, UKRAINE

In September 2006 I had the good fortune to be invited to speak at a conference in Mariupol, Ukraine, on the ‘Effective Implementation of Environmental Laws’. What is happening there now has reminded me of a visit to Ukraine at a point in time when it was still emerging from its Soviet past, and of earlier witnessing the Berlin Wall and life behind the Iron Curtain.

EU PROPOSAL FOR CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY DUE DILIGENCE DIRECTIVE

EU PROPOSAL FOR CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY DUE DILIGENCE DIRECTIVE

On 23rd February 2022, the European Commission published a legislative proposal for a new Directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence. Although the proposed Directive remains to be negotiated and will have a lead in period before implementation, it is likely to have an immediate impact in signalling the likely direction of travel for major companies in the EU and beyond.

WILDLIFE & COUNTRYSIDE LINK CONFERENCE 2, LONDON 6TH DECEMBER 2021

WILDLIFE & COUNTRYSIDE LINK CONFERENCE 2, LONDON 6TH DECEMBER 2021

In the second of our notes from the highly successful Wildlife & Countryside Link conference in London on 6th December 2021, we cover some of the remarks by George Eustice, Secretary of State for the Environment, Food & Rural Affairs on the Environment Act 2021, and discuss the potential significance of his remarks on environmental targets.