Call for Evidence

Introduction

The House of Lords Constitution Committee, chaired by Lord Strathclyde, is conducting an inquiry into the rule of law.

The Committee invites interested organisations and individuals to submit written evidence to the inquiry. The deadline for written evidence submissions is 10am on 22 April 2025.

Background

The Constitution Committee, in its first report, published in 2001, produced a list of what it considered to be the five basic tenets of the constitution. The second tenet, following parliamentary sovereignty, was the rule of law. Its importance as a constitutional principle is underscored by the fact that the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 put into statute that the Lord Chancellor, a Cabinet position, has a responsibility to uphold the rule of law.

The current Government has identified upholding the rule of law as one of its key priorities. The Attorney General, Lord Hermer KC, in his swearing-in speech, said that “the rule of law will be the lodestar for this government”. He subsequently delivered the Bingham lecture in October 2024, with his lecture titled ‘The Rule of Law in an Age of Populism’. In this speech, he argued that the UK needs to rebuild its reputation as a leader in the field of international law and the international rules based order; strengthen Parliament’s role in upholding the rule of law; and promote a rule of law culture.

The House of Lords held a debate about the rule of law in November 2024. This debate showed that there continues to be disagreement about what the rule of law means and what it encompasses. In particular, it highlighted a division between advocates of the “thin” and “thick” conceptions of the rule of law.

The World Justice Project has argued that there is a “global rule of law recession”, due to the rule of law coming under threat in many countries with, for example, attacks on judges, threats to their independence and the increasingly political administration of justice. Some commentators have suggested that the rule of law has come under threat in the UK too. Indeed, this Committee, in its report on the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill, raised concerns about provisions in the Bill “jeopardising” the rule of law. We raised similar concerns in our reports on the UK Internal Market Bill, the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill and the Illegal Migration Bill.

This inquiry will seek to understand the rule of law as a constitutional principle and as a practical matter, and what the state of the rule of law is in the UK. It will consider the different understandings of the rule of law, both at home and internationally. It will explore how the rule of law as a principle is best put into operation in the different branches of government – Parliament, the judiciary and the executive. This inquiry will also consider the role of education, the media and civic society in creating and maintaining a culture that values the rule of law. Throughout, we hope to also be guided by international perspectives and experiences.

Questions

The Committee welcomes written submissions on any aspect of this topic, and particularly on the following questions. Witnesses are encouraged to include examples. It is not necessary to answer all the questions.

Defining the rule of law

1) What are the components of the rule of law?

i. Why is the rule of law an important tenet of the UK constitution?

ii. Which factors can be used to assess the health of the rule of law?

iii. Is useful assistance to be gained from definitions of the rule of law used by international or supranational organisations, or in the legal systems of other countries?

2) How well is the rule of law understood by politicians and the public?

i. Has the rule of law been confused with the rule of lawyers?

The operation of the rule of law

3) What threatens the effective operation of the rule of law in the UK?

4) What is Parliament’s role in upholding the rule of law? Is it performing this role well, and how could it be improved?

i. How can Parliament improve its legislating to better facilitate the rule of law?

5) What is the Government’s role in upholding the rule of law? Is it performing this role well, and how could it be improved?

6) What is the role of the judiciary in upholding the rule of law? Is it performing this role well, and how could it be improved?

7) Is there a role for the public in upholding the rule of law?

i. Is there a greater role for education, the media and civic society in promoting the rule of law?

8) How important is the rule of law for the UK’s economy and international influence?

9) What threatens the effective operation of the rule of law globally?

i. Which countries do you think are leaders in adherence to the rule of law, and why is this the case?

ii. How effective is the UK as an advocate for the rule of law on the international stage? How could this be improved?

ANNEX: GUIDANCE FOR SUBMISSIONS 

Written evidence must be submitted online via the committee’s inquiry page at https://committees.parliament.uk/work/8998/rule-of-law/. Please do not submit PDFs (if you do not have access to Microsoft Word you may submit in another editable electronic form). If you cannot submit evidence online, please contact the committee staff. 

The deadline for written evidence has been extended until 10am on 22 April. 

Concise submissions are preferred. A submission longer than six pages should include a one-page summary. Paragraphs should be numbered. Submissions should be dated, with a note of the author’s name, and of whether the author is making the submission on an individual or a corporate basis. All submissions submitted online will be acknowledged automatically. 

Submitters who use generative AI to produce their work should disclose this to us and accept that they have taken ownership and responsibility for the contents of their submission. 

Personal contact details supplied to the committee will be removed from submissions before publication but will be retained by the committee staff for specific purposes relating to the committee’s work, such as seeking additional information. 

Submissions become the property of the committee which will decide whether to accept them as evidence. Evidence may be published by the committee at any stage. It will appear on the committee’s website and be deposited in the Parliamentary Archives. Once you have received acknowledgement that your submission has been accepted as evidence you may publicise or publish it yourself, but in doing so you must indicate that it was prepared for the committee. If you publish your evidence separately you should be aware that you will be legally responsible for its content. 

You should not comment on individual cases currently before a court of law, or matters in respect of which court proceedings are imminent. If you anticipate such issues arising, you should discuss with the clerk of the committee how this might affect your submission. 

Certain individuals and organisations may be invited to appear in person before the committee to give oral evidence. Oral evidence is usually given in public at Westminster and broadcast in audio and online. Persons invited to give oral evidence will be notified separately of the procedure to be followed and the topics likely to be discussed. 

Substantive communications to the committee about the inquiry should be addressed through the clerk or the chairman of the committee, whether or not they are intended to constitute formal evidence to the committee. 

This is a public call for evidence. Please bring it to the attention of other groups and individuals who may not have received a copy directly. 

Diversity comes in many forms and hearing a range of different perspectives means that committees are better informed and can more effectively scrutinise public policy and legislation. Committees can undertake their role most effectively when they hear from a wide range of individuals, sectors or groups in society affected by a particular policy or piece of legislation. We encourage anyone with experience or expertise of an issue under investigation by a select committee to share their views with the committee, with the full knowledge that their views have value and are welcome. 

You may follow the progress of the inquiry at https://committees.parliament.uk/work/8998/rule-of-law/

To contact the staff of the committee, please email constitution@parliament.uk