Articles for author: Holger P. Hestermeyer

The UK Parliament, the UK-Rwanda Agreement and the CPTPP

On April 1, 2024, the Ponsonby Rule, the constitutional convention that set the standard for Parliament’s role in how the UK makes treaties, turned 100. But the procedure for Parliament’s involvement in treaty-making is no longer fit for purpose. As the UK-Rwanda and CPTPPP Agreements show, the UK Parliament’s role in treaty-making must be reformed. In particular, the House of Commons must obtain the power to have a formal vote on international agreements before they can become binding on the UK.

Disastrous Stability: Brexit as a Constitutional Crisis

The reason Continental Europe so often misunderstands what is happening in the UK is that it views events there either as developments in an international negotiation or as a crisis of the Tory party. The reality is that we are witnessing a constitutional system in crisis. One of the oldest constitutional systems in the world is trying to digest three paradigm shifts – and it is trying to do so in one gulp.

Disastrous Stability: Brexit as a Constitutional Crisis

The reason Continental Europe so often misunderstands what is happening in the UK is that it views events there either as developments in an international negotiation or as a crisis of the Tory party. The reality is that we are witnessing a constitutional system in crisis. One of the oldest constitutional systems in the world is trying to digest three paradigm shifts – and it is trying to do so in one gulp.

Disastrous Stability: Brexit as a Constitutional Crisis

The reason Continental Europe so often misunderstands what is happening in the UK is that it views events there either as developments in an international negotiation or as a crisis of the Tory party. The reality is that we are witnessing a constitutional system in crisis. One of the oldest constitutional systems in the world is trying to digest three paradigm shifts – and it is trying to do so in one gulp.