Keeping Up With Law Current Affairs: The Big Legal Questions Raised by Covid-19
For students looking into law as a subject to study and as a profession, it is important to engage with legal issues and have an awareness of some current legal affairs, trends and developments. 2021 has been a year in which citizens across the globe have faced exceptional challenges. Amidst the pandemic, a whole host of issues including cyber attacks, breaches of international law, human rights abuses and continued intersectional discrimination, have raised questions over our legal systems, how they should evolve and reform. In this digest, we explore some of the biggest questions in law in 2021 kickstarted by the pandemic, with a range of thinking tasks and suggested resources to enhance your understanding of some of these arguments, and stimulate wider engagement with current legal issues.
To begin:
Key Question 1: How has COVID affected the court system? How will the legal system evolve after Covid-19?
The impact of Covid-19 on the law and the legal system is widespread. Covid-19 has raised constitutional questions over how governments exercise their power in times of crisis. It has accelerated many problems already facing the criminal legal profession such as cuts to legal aid, a huge backlog of cases has left victims of crimes waiting for trials, and remote hearings have been said to undermine cases. So, how has the court system been effected and how will the legal system evolve after Covid-19? Here are a few ways:
Embracing technological change:
The announcement of the UK national lockdown on 23 March 2020, spurred on rapid technological change - video hearings increased by 340% across courts and tribunals in England and Wales, and audio hearings increase by over 500% in just over a week (https://www.transparencyproject.org.uk/remote-hearings-in-the-family-of-courts-of-england-and-wales-what-the-research-shows/). The efficacy of remote hearings has been the subject of much debate:
Pros: As life came to a halt, so did trials, resulting in a huge backlog of cases. Victims of crime, for example, were left having to wait for their cause to come to court. Remote or hybrid hearings, therefore, helped prevent some of these delays
Cons: However, the effectiveness of remote hearings has been questioned - the Transparency Project (linked above), found a host of issues including problems caused due to lack of human connection (support, empathy), miscommunication, lack of communication between parties and their legal representatives, and impact to legal professionals’ wellbeing
Prior to Covid-19, digitalisation had already been a subject of much discussion in the legal world, with an influx of legal-tech companies, digitisation in legal research, automation of documents and use of Artificial Intelligence systems, beginning to disrupt the legal profession. It is clear that the legal system will have to evolve with the fast pace of technological advancement, and Covid-19, as in many areas, has accelerated this change
Debating the “Rule of Law” in times of crisis:
The pandemic has raised a number of constitutional law questions, and in particular how governments exercise their power in times of crisis. Assessing to what extent constitutional principles were complied with, whether states should be able to use emergency powers, and if so what the future limitations on these might be, will shine some light on how authorities should respond to emergency situations in the future.
Questions to ponder:
How has health law intersected with broader issues of the rule of law over the course of the pandemic?
In what ways has the pandemic highlighted the intersection between law and society?
To read: Tom Bingham, The Rule of Law - This book provides a great stimulus for an interrogation of what law actually is and how it interacts with everyday society. Bingham examines the historical origins of the phrase, 'The Rule of Law' and argues for the rule of law as the foundation of a fair and just society, ensuring responsible government, stimulating economic growth and securing peace and co-operation
Think about the ambiguity that abounds in the study of law and legal interpretation, spotlighted by emergency situations such as the pandemic. What is the ‘rule of law’? Is it a law which has been formally constitutionalised? What then of the Nazis’ Nuremberg laws or South Africa’s apartheid laws, both formally constitutionalised? How can the law keep up to date with constantly evolving scientific advancements as in the case of the pandemic? Will citizens still comply with a law that appears arbitrary or unfair?
To listen to: Talking Europe: The UCL European Institute podcast: “COVID-19: the Pandemic and Europe | Hungary's Coronavirus Protection Law” (Listen): It is undisputed that Covid-19 has presented governments worldwide with unprecedented challenges. This UCL podcast aims to shine a light on how governments with authoritarian leanings, such as Hungary, have used the Covid-19 crisis to erode democratic standards through seemingly legitimated use of unlimited emergency powers. Think about the future risks of setting such precedents
Equality and the Law
The Covid crisis has shone a stark light on existing inequalities in society. For example, the pandemic risks setting back gender equality as more women have suffered unemployment and taken on the lion share of unpaid domestic labour. The Institute for Fiscal Studies and the UCL Institute of Education’s findings show that:
“Mothers are more likely to have quit or lost their job, or to have been furloughed, since the start of the lockdown”: A McKinsey survey found that women’s jobs are 1.8 times more vulnerable to this crisis than men’s jobs: Women make up 39% of global employment but account for 54% of overall job losses as of May 2020
“Compared with fathers, mothers are spending less time on paid work but more time on household responsibilities. The time they spend on paid work is also more likely to be interrupted with household responsibilities” (over 50% more often)
How we currently define and value work – and the highly gendered disadvantage that this has, has been the subject of legal debate prior to the Covid crisis. The pandemic has spurred on a need to address these issues. Read Sylvie (Double First, Cambridge and current PhD Candidate)’s article for Minds Underground on the issue of feminised labour and the ‘double’ day, written before the pandemic, for an insight into the debate: https://www.mindsunderground.com/muarticles/law-journey .
Topical Discussion: Practising Advocacy
Choose whether you would like to argue for or against the proposition below. Spend 5 minutes preparing a 1-2 minute short speech arguing in your favour. Find some tips for preparing your argument below!
Researching
First things first: read the problem!! Read it again… then, maybe read it a third time.
Identify the key legal issues involved
What does the argument turn on?
What do I need to prove?
Tips for writing your argument
Include the key dates, facts etc.
Have a clear, logical structure (signpost, signpost, signpost!)
Try to preempt any arguments your “opponent” would bring up and counter them
Less is more – the less time it takes to illustrate your point fully, the simpler and clearer your argument will be
Key Question 2: Which area of law is most in need of reform and why?
Covid is more likely to lead to discussion about the legal system than the law itself. Another key question to think about therefore (or be prepared for if you are interviewing), is which areas need substantive reform and why. The current projects of the Law Commission are a good place to start with researching this (they are working on surrogacy in family law at the moment, but also have criminal and commercial projects which might be of interest).
Ideas for further research:
Law Commission Scarman Lectures: https://www.lawcom.gov.uk/lectures-and-talks/scarman-lectures/
Keep Calm Talk Law: “The Biggest Challenges Facing the Legal Profession in 2021”: http://www.keepcalmtalklaw.co.uk/the-biggest-challenges-facing-the-legal-profession-in-2021/
LSE: “Rule of law and COVID-19: the need for clarity, certainty, transparency and coordination”: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/rule-of-law-and-covid19/
The Covid crisis has accelerated a number of problems already facing the legal profession and the ramifications of the pandemic have likely not yet been fully felt by the sector. To stay on top of developments, aspiring law students and lawyers should aim to engage with current affairs and legal features of newspapers. Being politically aware also helps with appreciating the wider consequences of applied law. The Curious Minds legal digests aim to give you exposure to a wealth of online, specifically legal resources, to begin reading around the subject more broadly. Exploring law more specifically will help you find which areas of the law you might be particularly interested in, and help frame prospective applications.
Debate the Rule of Law in Times of Crisis as part of our Law Summer School
The Minds Underground Law Summer School: Three of MU’s Oxbridge-educated Law Mentors are hosting our 12-session Online Summer School for Year 11 and 12 students
Running weekly between late June - August, you will explore a range of current legal issues and debates such as “The Rule of Law in Times of Crisis: Fundamental or Forgettable?”, in Oxbridge tutorial/ seminar style interactive classes with like-minded students
We have 1-2 spots remaining, so book as soon as possible to secure a spot!
4 sessions on the Summer School agenda