What does today’s Britain stand for? Do illegal migrants deserve to be deported thousands of kilometres away to a country they have never been to? An eleventh-hour ruling from the European Court of Human Rights is for now halting the maiden flight in a scheme to send them to Rwanda. Despite outcry that extends all the way up to Prince Charles and the Archbishop of Canterbury, the government vows to fight it and is even making veiled hints at reviewing its relationship with the ECHR.
Is this the same Britain that prides itself as a birthplace of modern rule of law, as a bastion of liberal democracy and its values, which calls for Russia to be brought to international justice over its invasion and plunder of Ukraine? It begs the broader question, amid the backlash against globalisation: what is allowed in the name of sovereignty and national interest?
As the UK government tables a bill to override the same Northern Ireland Protocol it signed with Brussels as part of the post-Brexit trade deal, what is the future of international treaties? What is the future of international law?
- Laura CARTER, Lecturer in British History, Université Paris Cité
- Maximilian JARRETT, Editorial Consultant, Africa Confidential
- Connor TOMLINSON, Political commentator & Head of Research, British Conservation Alliance
- Holger HESTERMEYER, Professor of International and EU Law, King’s College London