Messy lawmaking: Covid-19 lockdowns, democracy and the law

Speaker: Adam Wagner
Barrister, Doughty St Chambers / Specialist Advisor Joint Committee on Human Rights

Adam Wagner, a barrister at Doughty Street Chambers, is Specialist Advisor to the Joint Committee on Human Rights’ inquiry into Covid-19 and has worked throughout the pandemic to decode the laws for the general public.

During the Covid-19 pandemic the UK government has introduced over 200 new laws using emergency powers with little or no scrutiny from Parliament. This includes over 60 criminal laws criminalising everyday social contact and gatherings, which a court of appeal judge has called "possibly the most restrictive regime on the public life of persons and businesses ever”. Criticisms have included that the laws have been anti-democratic, inconsistent with guidance and too complex for people to understand. But in the circumstances of a public health crisis could anything have been done differently.

Видео Messy lawmaking: Covid-19 lockdowns, democracy and the law канала JMA