The European Court of Human Rights has described the UK's current blanket ban on prisoner voting as 'general, automatic and indiscriminate' and found it to be in breach of article 3 of protocol 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The ECHR requires the UK to bring forward legislative proposals to amend our current legislation to be compliant with the Convention. The Government is putting forward three options to a Committee of both Houses for full Parliamentary scrutiny. The three options are: a ban for prisoners sentenced to 4 years or more; a ban for prisoners sentenced to more than 6 months; a continued ban for all convicted prisoners. When the Joint Committee has finished its scrutiny the Government will reflect on its recommendations it will continue the legislative process by introducing a Bill.

The report Joint Committee On The Draft Voting Eligibility (Prisoners): Report (HL 103, HC 924) discuses the Government's Voting Eligibility (Prisoners): Draft Bill (see below) which was published as a result of a decision by the European Court of Human Rights, that the UK's complete prohibition on convicted prisoners voting was incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights. The Joint Committee on the Bill has reached the following conclusions on points of basic principle: in a democracy the vote is a right, not a privilege and should not be removed without good reason; the vote is a presumptive, not an absolute right; the vote is also a power; there is a legitimate expectation that those convicted of the most heinous crimes should be stripped of the power embodied in the right to vote; selecting the custody threshold as the unique indicator of the type of offence that is so serious as to just

The power of national and transnational constitutional courts to issue binding rulings in interpreting the constitution or an international treaty has been endlessly discussed. What does it mean for democratic governance that non-elected judges influence politics and policies? The authors of Judicial Power - legal scholars, political scientists, and judges - take a fresh look at this problem. To date, research has concentrated on the legitimacy, or the effectiveness, or specific decision-making methods of constitutional courts. By contrast, the authors here explore the relationship among these three factors. This book presents the hypothesis that judicial review allows for a method of reflecting on social integration that differs from political methods, and, precisely because of the difference between judicial and political decision-making, strengthens democratic governance. This hypothesis is tested in case studies on the role of constitutional courts in political transformations, on the methods of these courts, and on transnational judicial interactions.

Unlocking Constitutional and Administrative Law provides an indispensable foundation in this core law curriculum subject, ensuring that you grasp the main concepts with ease. Containing accessible explanations in clear and precise terms that are easy to understand, it provides an excellent foundation for learning and revising Constitutional and Administrative Law. The information is clearly presented in a logical structure and the following features support learning, helping you to advance with confidence: Clear aims and objectives at the beginning of each chapter set out the skills and knowledge you will need to get to grips with the subject Key Facts summaries throughout each chapter allow you to progressively build and consolidate your knowledge Diagrams to aid memory and understanding Cases and judgments are highlighted to help you find them and add them to your notes quickly End-of-chapter summaries provide a useful checklist for each topic Frequent activities and self-test questions are included so you can put your knowledge into practice Glossary of legal terminology clarifies important definitions. This edition has been fully updated to include discussion of recent changes, issues and developments since the last edition, including an expanded section on Brexit, proposed changes to Judicial review, developments in Wales, Ireland and Scotland, recent Bills raising issues concerning the rule of law, and a new chapter on the constitutional impact of COVID-19.