Updated lawmakers' guide now available

Law for Lawmakers provides up-to-date, easy-to-follow and highly relevant assistance to help MPs navigate lawmaking and protect the rule of law, following recent controversies such as the Rwanda policy and proroguing Parliament during the Brexit years.

It explains key legal and constitutional principles in a readable format, with an abundance of references to recent events. The guide covers UK primary and secondary legislation, the process for tabling amendments, the lawmaking journey, EU law, judicial review, international law, constitutional conventions and much more.

The guide was first published in 2015, and has been updated with the support of law firm A&O Shearman.

Andrew Denny, head of UK public law at A&O Shearman, said: ‘51% of MPs are sitting in Parliament for the first time so this guide couldn’t be more relevant.’

JUSTICE will offer training opportunities and clinics on the guide for MPs and their staff over the coming months.

Fiona Rutherford, chief executive of JUSTICE, said: ‘Where the rule of law is badly eroded, the results—rushed, poorly scrutinised new laws, and threats to judicial independence, for example—hurt us all.’

The guide has also been endorsed by the current attorney general, Lord Richard Hermer KC, and former Lord Chancellor Alex Chalk KC. 

Lord Richard said the guide ‘is an incredibly useful resource in introducing some of the key legal and constitutional principles which lawmakers will encounter’.

Alex Chalk said: ‘The rule of law isn’t an airy, quaint, historic notion—it’s the essential underpinning of a modern, safe, prosperous and fair society.

‘It’s what ensures the guilty are convicted and the innocent walk free. It’s what ensures injustices are put right even when the wrongdoer is powerful. And it’s what promotes Britain's international reputation and attracts investment.

‘But the world of the law, of bewigged judges and judicial review, can feel like a secret garden to MPs—to new ones in particular. This excellent guide gives them the key.’

Download the guide here.