This serves as an important illustration of the danger of #FakeLaw, and how this government in particular is prepared to deploy it.
A brief [THREAD]
A brief [THREAD]
https://twitter.com/barristersecret/status/1304071480687419397
The Attorney General is a barrister, who, because of her political appointment, is allowed to put QC after her name.
This business with the Internal Market Bill and how it breaches international law is complex.
The public is entitled to trust what the AG says about the law.
This business with the Internal Market Bill and how it breaches international law is complex.
The public is entitled to trust what the AG says about the law.
But far from being honest, the AG has instead chosen to obfuscate and confuse, exploiting the public’s unfamiliarity with the law.
The statement strives to convey that the government is not doing anything wrong. It cites “Parliamentary sovereignty” and the Supreme Court.
But.
The statement strives to convey that the government is not doing anything wrong. It cites “Parliamentary sovereignty” and the Supreme Court.
But.
Legally, it’s nonsense. Parliament is indeed sovereign - as a matter of domestic (UK) law, it can legislate for whatever it likes - but that is not the issue here.
The issue is whether legislating in the way proposed would breach *international* law.
And we know it does.
The issue is whether legislating in the way proposed would breach *international* law.
And we know it does.
https://twitter.com/bbcpolitics/status/1303311625643008000
The AG’s statement is silent on this point. As it has to be, because there is no getting around it. This is a clear breach of international law. And in pursuing it, ministers are in breach of the Ministerial Code.
https://twitter.com/bricksilk/status/1303358429474496513
But by deploying inscrutable (and appallingly drafted) legalese and preying upon the public’s unfamiliarity with the law, @SuellaBraverman is trying to forge a veneer of legal respectability to mask her government’s plainly unlawful intentions.
The very definition of #FakeLaw.
The very definition of #FakeLaw.
Furthermore, what @SuellaBraverman *does* say about international law is demonstrably false.
She suggests that treaty obligations aren’t “binding” unless they are “enshrined” in domestic legislation. Not true. They are.
But if you’re not a lawyer, you may not know that.
She suggests that treaty obligations aren’t “binding” unless they are “enshrined” in domestic legislation. Not true. They are.
But if you’re not a lawyer, you may not know that.
https://twitter.com/raphael_hogarth/status/1304074113535954946
She conflates “binding” with “enforceable”. International law is not enforceable in domestic courts - ie you can’t make a claim in your local court for a breach of international law unless that law also appears in UK law.
But international law is absolutely binding on the govt.
But international law is absolutely binding on the govt.
Either the Attorney General doesn’t know this, in which case she’s too incompetent to be in a courtroom, let alone government.
Or she does, and she is lying to you.
#FakeLaw in service of her government’s unlawful agenda.
Or she does, and she is lying to you.
#FakeLaw in service of her government’s unlawful agenda.
Oh yeah. And the inevitable plug. Buy it, borrow it, lend it, force everyone you know to read it. It’s only because of our unfamiliarity with the legal system that the government and its cheerleaders can lie to us with impunity.
Don’t let them lie to you.
#FakeLaw
Don’t let them lie to you.
#FakeLaw
https://twitter.com/BarristerSecret/status/1301406866057113600
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