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果冻影院 academics regularly inform and advise policymakers on EU-related policy issues, including Brexit.
They give evidence to UK and European parliaments, engage with officials in central and local government, and contribute to key working groups and policy forums.
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Some notable, recent examples听include:
- Tom Hickman represented Gina Miller in the challenge to prorogation
4 September 2019
Tom Hickman QC听 and 听Reader at 果冻影院 Laws has represented campaigner Gina Miller in the challenge to prorogation in the Divisional Court.
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- Professor听Piet Eeckhout and the Wightman case on revoking Article 50
7 December 2018
Professor Piet Eeckhout, Dean of听果冻影院 Laws听and Academic Director of the听果冻影院 European Institute, has acted as academic consultant in听Wightman and Others v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, also known as the Wightman case.
Wightman case
The case will see the European Court of Justice (CJEU) decide whether a member state which has notified the EU of its intention to leave can unilaterally revoke that Article 50 notification. It will clarify the legal status surrounding how the UK can stop Brexit. If the CJEU decides that Article 50 can be unilaterally revoked, this will have significant political implications, and will be a boon to anti-Brexit campaigners and many MPs.听
The case was brought to the CJEU by Members of the Scottish Parliament and MPs. It was heard by the full court of European judges. On December 4, the advocate general, Campos S谩nchez-Bordona,听听to the court, arguing that Article 50 is unilaterally revocable. He argued,听inter alia,听that if the consent of the EU27 was required, this could lead to the departing state being forced to leave the EU against its will, which would be unacceptable. The CJEU will issue its final judgement on December 10, which is the day听before MPs vote on the Brexit deal.
Professor Piet Eeckhout's role
Professor Eeckhout was part of the Wightman legal team, having written about the subject of revocability in听听(with Dr Eleni Frantziou, Durham). The article began as a 果冻影院 European Institute Working Paper -听Brexit and Article 50 TEU: A Constitutionalist Reading听- which was published in January 2017.
The arguments put forward by Piet and Eleni, on the subject of the revocability of Article 50, bear close resemblance to the arguments put forward by听 advocate general Campos S谩nchez-Bordona, in his official opinion. In their article they argued that:听
"if a Member State could not withdraw its notification after changing its mind, that would amount to expulsion from the Union 鈥� a possibility that is considered and rejected in the travaux of the provision. It would also be contrary to the principles of good faith, loyal cooperation, and the Union鈥檚 commitment to respect the Member States鈥� constitutional identities 鈥� all of which are constitutional principles requiring respect by EU institutions."
This is similar to the argument put forward by the advocate general, which听demonstrates the influence which this seminal piece of work has had on these historic legal proceedings.听
Piet commented:
鈥淚t has been great to be involved in this fundamental constitutional case about the meaning of Article 50, and the right to withdrawal from the EU.听 The questions go to the heart of what the EU is about: its fundamental values such as democracy and the protection of rights, and the extent to which it respects constitutional democracy in the Member States.鈥�
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- 果冻影院 Laws academics praised for the argument that led Gina Miller to victory
2 February 2017
A blog co-written by Professor听Jeff King, Professor of Law and听Dr Tom Hickman, Reader in Public Law at 果冻影院 Faculty of Laws, is highlighted in a piece written for The Times by Lord David Pannick QC as providing the 鈥榦rigins of the litigation鈥� in the landmark Brexit ruling delivered on 24 January 2017.
Along with Nick Barber, Fellow at Trinity College Oxford, Professor King and Dr Hickman wrote听听published a few days after the referendum, which argued that it would be incompatible with the European Communities Act 1972 for the Prime Minister to trigger the Article 50 process without a further act of parliament.
The argument was endorsed by Lord Pannick in his regular column in The Times a few days later and both Lord Pannick and Tom Hickman were subsequently instructed by Mishcon de Reya to act for Gina Miller.
Upholding the argument of King, Hickman and Barber, the Supreme Court听
Writing for听听today, Lord Pannick gives an account of the case and states:
鈥楾he litigation had its origins in a blog by three distinguished constitutional lawyers: Nick Barber, of Trinity College, Oxford; Jeff King, of 果冻影院; and {Tom} Hickman. It was published on Monday, June 27 2016, a few days after the referendum. The core of their argument was upheld by the Supreme Court seven months later.鈥�
Lord Pannick also explained the importance of the case:
鈥楢 private citizen can and did sue the government and take it to the highest court of the land in relation to an issue of law of huge importance to the future of this country. The government was required to justify the legality of its conduct, in public. The decision was made by independent judges 鈥� all 11 members of the Supreme Court, sitting together in a case for the first time. Those judges gave fully reasoned judgments.鈥�
鈥楶rofessor Jeff King said: 鈥楤acked by Professor Dame听Hazel Genn, Dean of 果冻影院 Laws, 果冻影院 Laws more broadly played a significant role in the development of this historic case.听Prof Piet Eeckhout听asked the question that led to the blog post and guided us through EU law matters.听听Dr.听Silvia Suteu听managed a colossal amount of highly influential submissions for the UK Constitutional Law Blog, which was singled out for praise by the Supreme Court.听听And several colleagues gave written or oral evidence to Parliament.鈥�
Dr Tom Hickman said:
鈥業t is fantastic that 果冻影院 Laws had such a central role in the Miller case. Really important work is being done at 果冻影院 Laws on Brexit, including by my colleagues such as Piet Eeckhout,听Colm O鈥機inneide听and听Virginia Mantouvalou听who are producing required reading on legal issues surrounding Brexit.鈥�
Read the full article on The Times (拢): 鈥�
- 果冻影院 Constitution Unit on Brexit, citizens' assemblies and a new Conservative leader
Constitution Unit members have appeared frequently in the media in recent months to discuss the ongoing Brexit听process, citizens鈥� assemblies, and the election of a new Conservative leader.听
European Elections
Following the extension of Article 50, the UK held European elections on 23 May. Alan Renwick appeared on Sky News鈥檚听All Out Politics听on the day to discuss the voting system. The next day, Meg Russell appeared on the Austrian programme ZIB 1 (24 May) to discuss the results. Analysis from Alan Renwick鈥檚听听was cited in听听(31 May).
Tory leadership election
The Conservative Party leadership election has raised a number of important constitutional questions. Members of the Unit have commented on the implications of attempts to prevent a no-deal Brexit. Such as the likelihood of prorogation and the Queen鈥檚 role in British politics.
Meg Russell appeared on听听(18 June) to discuss amendments tabled by Dominic Grieve, Hilary Benn and David Anderson, aiming to block a new prime minister from proroguing parliament in order to force through a no-deal Brexit against the wishes of parliament. She appeared on BBC Radio 4鈥檚听PM听(11 June) to explain the use of opposition day motions to prevent no-deal. She discussed the process of appointing a new prime minister and possible votes of confidence on听The World Tonight听(24 June). Meg was also interviewed on Austrian television (7 June) on the subject of the leadership race.
Meg Russell and Robert Hazell co-wrote a听听addressing six key constitutional questions that were raised as the leadership race continued. Their analysis formed the basis of an听听(30 June) and was subsequently picked up by the听听the听,听, the听, and听听among others.听For a full list of mentions听below:
, The Observer听鈥� 30 June 听The Week听鈥� 30 June 听-听China Daily听鈥� 1 July 听The听Evening Standard听鈥� 1 July 听Slugger O鈥橳oole听鈥� 1 July 听New European听鈥� 1 July ,听Khmer Times听鈥� 2 July 听Financial Times听鈥� 2 July 听Prospect magazine听鈥� 3 July , The听Herald Scotland听鈥� 4 July 听The Spectator听鈥� 9 July 听INews听鈥� 10 July 听MSN听鈥� 11 July听
On 17 June, the Unit ran an听event听on the election of party leaders 鈥淲ho should pick party leaders: MPs, members or a wider public?鈥�.听 You can watch a video of the event听.听
Citizens鈥� Assemblies
We鈥檝e seen a huge increase in the discussion of citizens' assemblies in the last few months. Advocates argue that they could help politicians to make progress on issues currently facing deadlock in parliament, such as climate change and Brexit, as well as constitutional questions in Scotland and Wales. The Unit鈥檚 ongoing work on deliberative democratic processes and its past work on the听Citizens鈥� Assembly on Brexit听(CAB) has been regularly cited.
On climate change,听听highlighted the Unit's CAB and the 2015 Citizens鈥� Assembly on English Devolution as exemplars.
As part of his leadership bid Rory Stewart called for a parliament backed Citizens鈥� Assembly on Brexit and mentioned the Unit on听听(16 June).
In听听(28 April), Joanna Cherry MP explained why she had pushed for a Citizens鈥� Assembly in Scotland, citing the success of the Unit鈥檚 CAB. An op-ed in听听on lessons to be learned ahead of the Scottish Citizens鈥� Assembly and a听听into the use of digital tools in Citizens鈥� Assemblies both drew on the CAB experience. The CAB is also mentioned on the Scottish government鈥檚听
The Unit ran an听event听on citizen鈥檚 assemblies, 鈥淐itizens鈥� Assemblies: What are they good for?鈥�, on 1 July. Watch a video of the event听.
Democratic Innovation
The Unit鈥檚 research on the role deliberative processes in improving democratic discourse continues to attract interest. In an听听(19 May), Professor Graham Smith (University of Westminster) drew heavily his experience at the CAB, in explaining why citizens鈥� assemblies could help foster 鈥榗onsidered judgement鈥� in politics. Meanwhile, an听听(2 July) also drew on the CAB experience in suggesting that citizens鈥� assemblies could help deal with political polarisation.
Alan Renwick appeared on BBC Radio 4鈥檚听听on Deliberative Democracy (4th March) to discuss citizens鈥� assemblies. Meg Russell appeared on David Runciman鈥檚 three-part series on BBC Radio 4 entitled听(June). They discussed the impact of the Brexit crisis on democratic institutions, the declining trust in politics, and whether democratic innovation could provide solutions.
In recent months, the Scottish government has been particularly active in this area. Addressing this, Alan Renwick wrote a piece for听听(6 May) on the benefits of a multi-stage referendum process on Scottish independence. Drawing on Alan Renwick and Michela Palese鈥檚听Doing Democracy Better report, an听听(28 June), suggested that a Scottish Citizens鈥� Assembly might help compile and publicise information to inform voters before a second independence referendum.
Meanwhile, the recommendations of the听Independent Commission on Referendums听continue to have political impact. The report was mentioned in a听听on Referendums (13 June) as well as in the Scottish Government鈥檚听on the听.
- 听Bloomberg听鈥� 12 July
- 听Greenwich Time听鈥� 12 July
- Other examples
- Professor Eeckhout was a panel member on a discussion regarding the future of EU trade policy at an event held at the European Parliament in January 2020.
- Meg Russell and Alan Renwick, 果冻影院 Constitution Unit, in July 2018 to the PACAC (Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee) on the Independent Commission on Referendums established by the Constitution Unit to review the role of referendums in British democracy and consider how the rules and practice could be improved.
- Professor Maria Lee, 果冻影院 Laws, on environmental law and Brexit at the National Assembly for Wales in May 2018.
- Professor Piet Eeckhout, Dean of 果冻影院 Laws, has given evidence to several parliamentary select committees, most recently in May 2018听at the听INTA committee听(the Trade Committee of the European Union), at the European Parliament on his on听鈥楩uture trade relations between the EU and the UK鈥�. He also provided evidence on听听to the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee, and on the to the European Parliament鈥檚 Committee on Constitutional Affairs.
- IIPP Director Professor Mariana Mazzucato was appointed Special Advisor on Mission Driven Science and Innovation to EU Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, Carlos Moedas, starting January 2018.
- The Constitution Unit鈥檚 project was influential in shaping debates on Brexit and public opinion in Westminster, with various MPs referencing the project鈥檚 findings.
- A number of Chatham House rules roundtable series have been convened by the 听to allow policy-makers to engage with academic expertise on Brexit.
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