Alison Harvey

V useful thread on Mahmood’s current changes to asylum support and refugee status (NB more to come, it seems)

Fascinating programme of Bach and Byrd by The Sixteen @wigmore-hall.org.uk An education.

Virtuoso performances @wigmore-hall.org.uk . Uplifting is indeed the word.

It was not clever of @gwr.com to delete all pre-existing bookings from the app when it upgraded its booking service this month, but hats on to staff on its helpline for their time and patience in retrieving bookings & reissuing tickets where I was unable to do so.

Thread on the amicus briefs focusing on #statelessness in the litigation before SCOTUS against the attack on birthright citizenship

Rachel Francis and Catherine Robinson’s practical guide on immigration law for family practitioners will be published in the February issue of Family Law.

Read the synopsis here: www.familylaw.co.uk/news_and_com...

A busy few days Unregistered psychologists; jury reforms; football bans; AI; and public office

Family judges should not normally grant permission for expert evidence to be given in children proceedings by an expert ‘psychologist’ who is neither registered not chartered, the president of the High Court family division ruled in a judgment on Friday.

rozenberg.substack.com/p/a-busy-few...

We are hiring - Communications Officer!

Use your communication experience to build the migration justice movement’s defiance and strength at a pivotal moment.

Visit our webpage for more information about the role. Applications deadline: Monday 23rd March.

righttoremain.org.uk/job-vacancy-...

Exciting concert @wigmore-hall.org.uk

Includes discussion of COL v The United Arab Emirates, in which the High Court awarded more than £145,000 to a domestic worker the Philippines in a London diplomatic household who was found to have been the victim of 'modern' slavery.

Africa’s bet on selling citizenship comes at a risky moment Citizenship by investment is fast becoming a way for governments to earn extra revenue when tourism inflows decline.

Round-up of #citizenshipbyinvestment in Africa (and globallay) @techcabal.bsky.social
techcabal.com/2026/02/14/m...

UK ban on Palestine Action ruled unlawful Ministers argued the direct action group engaged in a campaign of criminal damage and violence

UK ban on Palestine Action ruled unlawful ft.trib.al/TKbvf6A

Air Travel, Statelessness, and the Rights Claims of Ugandan Asians, c.1973* Abstract. In the aftermath of Idi Amin’s expulsion of Uganda’s South Asians in 1972, some of those made technically stateless arrived in India unsupported

On advance access: "Air Travel, Statelessness, and the Rights Claims of Ugandan Asians, c.1973"

by @riakapoor.bsky.social (@qmul.bsky.social)

#OpenAccess

doi.org/10.1093/past...

Fascinating trial of AI legal bots by seeing how they deal with a concrete scenario (four out of five got the wrong answer and the fifth subsequently got the wrong answer when one element of the question was varied). Knowing the answer was wrong depended on knowing the right answer.

39 Essex Chambers February 2026 Mental Capacity Reports

The February 2026 Mental Capacity Reports are now out. Highlights this month include: (1) In the Health, Welfare and Deprivation of Liberty Report: two tributes following recent deaths of MCA champions, and best interests in the balance; (2)…

Huge congratulations to @biicl.bsky.social and to Sonya Sceats, who has done a wonderful job @freedomfromtorture.bsky.social

Hungarian CSOs contribute to the European Commission’s 2026 Rule of Law Report - Hungarian Helsinki Committee For the seventh year in a row, the Hungarian Helsinki Committee is contributing to the European Commission’s annual Rule of Law Report in coordination with other Hungarian human rights and anti-corrup...

Overall, the developments in Hungary we document in our 2025 Rule of Law Report submission show a continued and serious disregard for EU values, EU law, and CJEU judgments. Read the full report: helsinki.hu/en/hungarian...

Advance decisions to refuse treatment – updated guidance note

I have updated my guidance note on advance decisions to refuse treatment under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 to take account of cases since 2020.  My shedinar on advance decision-making more broadly (and the related but entirely…

Well, some personal news

Congratulations! Great news.

New King’s Counsel and Honorary King’s Counsel welcomed by Lord Chancellor His Majesty The King has approved the appointment of 96 new King’s Counsel and the award of 8 new Honorary King’s Counsel.

Professor James Hathaway author of "The Rights of Refugees" and, with Michelle Foster, "The Law of Refugee Status" is made an honorary KC
www.gov.uk/government/n...

Hungary 12 April elections - @odihr.pl recommends an Election Observation Mission:
core team of analysts
+ request the secondment by OSCE States of 18 long-term observers
+ 200 short-term observers to follow
election day proceedings
+ media monitoring

odihr.osce.org/sites/defaul...

São Tomé Citizenship Program Garners 98 Applications in First 4.5 Months - IMI Daily São Tomé citizenship applicants span 27 countries from Russia to Venezuela. The program averaged 20 submissions monthly since launch.

São Tomé #citizenshipbyinvestment programme launched last year: Russians 1st with 22 applications; Chinese 2nd with 17, while Germans (?!) 3rd with 15
www.imidaily.com/intelligence...

Territorial integrity and sovereignty are fundamental principles of international law. They are essential for Europe and for the international community as a whole.

Sir James Munby Obituary Sir Nicholas Mostyn writes about the life of Sir James Munby, who died on 1 January 2026: "a great leader, a brilliant historian, a remarkable lawyer, and a superb writer".

Sir Nicholas Mostyn's obituary of Sir James Munby for the Financial Remedies Journal,

Sir James Munby Former senior family judge dies at 77

Sir James Munby, former president of the High Court family division, died on New Year’s Day. He was 77.

“That he chose to spend the greater part of his career in family law was of great and long-lasting benefit," his successor Sir Andrew McFarlane said.

rozenberg.substack.com/p/sir-james-...

"The emphasis must be on sensible risk appraisal, not striving to avoid all risk, whatever the price, [ ] – in particular to achieve the vital good of the elderly or vulnerable person's happiness. What good is it making someone safer if it merely makes them miserable" Vale Sir James Munby.

The US is pulling out of the International Law Commission, the single most important UN organ (after the International Court of Justice) dealing with, well, international law (by the way, an Austrian and my former boss August Reinisch is a member)

Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Te - Hansard - UK Parliament Hansard record of the item : 'Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill' on Monday 5 January 2026.

Four government defeats on the Chagos Bill in the Lords yesterday: hansard.parliament.uk/lords/2026-0...

Botswana has become the latest country to offer 'golden passports'. Around 1,000 people have registered their interest in paying $100,000 for citizenship to date, with applicants from the US, Zimbabwe and India in the top three ft.trib.al/ESNp4I1