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NLJ this week: Why the Rwanda Act will be Sunak’s strangest legacy

31 May 2024
Issue: 8073 / Categories: Legal News , Constitutional law , Public , Immigration & asylum , Human rights
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The Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024 is likely to be a major part of Rishi Sunak’s legacy as prime minister should he, as is widely predicted, lose the general election in July, Professor Graham Zellick KC writes in this week’s NLJ

The reason, Zellick says, is ‘because this Act is unique’.

Zellick, a Senior Master of the Bench, writes: ‘This short Act—just 11 sections—is in itself an essay in British constitutional law. Indeed, one could build an entire introductory public law course around it.’ While, ‘in every respect, the Act violates constitutional norms’, it is also likely to be repealed before the first flight has taken off.

In this fascinating article, Zellick discusses the many curious facets of this extraordinary Act.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Freeths—Ruth Clare

Freeths—Ruth Clare

National real estate team bolstered by partner hire in Manchester

Farrer & Co—Claire Gordon

Farrer & Co—Claire Gordon

Partner appointed head of family team

mfg Solicitors—Neil Harrison

mfg Solicitors—Neil Harrison

Firm strengthens agriculture and rural affairs team with partner return

NEWS
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The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has launched a recruitment drive for talented early career and more senior barristers and solicitors
Regulators differed in the clarity and consistency of their post-Mazur advice and guidance, according to an interim report by the Legal Services Board (LSB)
The dangers of uncritical artificial intelligence (AI) use in legal practice are no longer hypothetical. In this week's NLJ, Dr Charanjit Singh of Holborn Chambers examines cases where lawyers relied on ‘hallucinated’ citations — entirely fictitious authorities generated by AI tools
The Solicitors Act 1974 may still underpin legal regulation, but its age is increasingly showing. Writing in NLJ this week, Victoria Morrison-Hughes of the Association of Costs Lawyers argues that the Act is ‘out of step with modern consumer law’ and actively deters fairness
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