16/10/2023
Rule of Law Pod Season 2 Episode 5: Israel Gaza: A basic guide to the Laws of War
How do we begin to understand the events in both Israel and Gaza from a legal perspective? In this short podcast Richard Hermer KC talks to Professor Andrew Clapham about the relevant international law framework.
03/07/2023
Rule of Law Pod Season 2 Episode 4: Existential Threats – AI, Law and Humanity
Richard Hermer KC, Zoe McCallum and Dr Tim Lillicrap (Research Director at Google DeepMind) discuss Artificial Intelligence and the future of law and humanity.
This episode examines fast-moving developments in Artificial Intelligence technology, “the existential threat” that AI is said to generate and its implications for the rule of law. The discussion focuses on two areas – the impact of AI on the justice system and the need to regulate AI on a domestic and international level.
16/05/2023
Rule of Law Pod Season 2 Episode 3: Protest: The Public Order Act 2023
Richard Hermer KC, Jessica Jones and Martha Spurrier (Director at Liberty) discuss the new Public Order Act 2023.
The episode analyses the legislation including its connection to the recent Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 and what the new Act means for trust in policing – seen within the context of the current problems faced by the Met Police.
13/04/2023
Rule of Law Pod Season 2 Episode 2: Protest, Democracy and the Rule of Law: What is going down in Israel?
Richard Hermer KC, Phillippa Kaufmann KC and Michael Sfard examine the events unfolding in Israel where thousands of citizens are protesting against legislation designed to increase governmental control over the appointment of judges and to limit the powers of the judiciary. Richard, Phillippa and Michael discuss why it has taken the proposed changes to the independence of the judiciary to get thousands onto the streets in protest and what the future will hold.
15/03/2023
Rule of Law Pod Season 2 Episode 1: An Unlawful Act: Braveman’s Illegal Migration Bill
Richard Hermer KC speaks with Raza Husain KC and Sile Reynolds (Freedom from Torture) about the pressing Migration Bill being pushed through UK Parliament.
The bill is designed to deter refugees arriving into the UK on small boats. Richard, Raza and Sile discuss the role of the courts and whether the bill can be overruled by the ECHR or the Refugee Convention.
18/10/2022
Rule of Law Pod Episode 4: Colonialism – Its Legacy and the Law
Richard Hermer KC, Helen Mountfield KC and Professor Caroline Elkins explore how the rule of law can be used as a weapon in the British colonial project and how it might be utilised to seek redress and accountability.
Caroline is a Professor of History and African and African American Studies at Harvard and recently published her new book Legacy of Violence’. The book widens the lens of the British Colonial experience whilst exposing the systemic use of repression and violence asking profound questions about the ongoing impact of the Imperial project and our own failures to acknowledge the debts we owe.
21/07/2022
Rule of Law Pod Episode 3: Boris Johnson and the Rule of Law
Richard Hermer QC, Helen Mountfield QC, Murray Hunt and Adam Wagner of Doughty Street Chambers dissect the last three years of rule under Boris Johnson. How has it fared, what have been the points of concern and what should the new leader do to restore any damage done?
Later this year, Adam’s will publish his latest book “Emergency State” which will examine the UK’s response to Covid from a rule of law perspective and why it is only by understanding these unprecedented events that we can learn lessons for the future.
01/06/2022
Rule of Law Pod Episode 2: Roe v Wade – Endgame?
In light of the imminent overturning of Roe v Wade by the Supreme Court, Richard Hermer QC and Helen Mountfield QC discuss abortion rights in the United States with Professor Melissa Murray.
Melissa Murray is a professor of constitutional law at NYU and is one of the United States leading academics on reproductive rights. In a mission to popularise law and broaden the appreciation of its impact on our lives she has co-hosted the podcast ‘Strict Scrutiny’ since 2019.
29/04/2022
Rule of Law Pod Episode 1: The Laws of War – A Guide
Richard Hermer QC, Helen Mountfield QC and Murray Hunt record the first podcast in collaboration with Prospect Magazine – The Rule of Law Pod. Richard, Helen and Murray reflect on the history of the Matrix Pod and look towards topics that will be explored in this new collaboration.
18/02/2022
The Matrix Law Pod Episode 29: Russia – Ukraine: What’s law got to do with it?
Richard Hermer QC and Professor Andrew Clapham discuss the current crisis occurring on the Russia Ukraine border including the international legal obligations to offer assistance should a threat be recognised.
02/02/2022
The Matrix Law Pod Episode 28: The Liquidation Of Memorial Putin’s War On Human Rights
Richard Hermer QC and Helen Mountfield QC talk to Tatiana Glushkova, member of the Council of Memorial Human Rights Centre, and Jess Gavron, the Legal Director at European Human Rights Advocacy Centre regarding the recent events in Russia and the wider context of the rule of law.
13/01/2020
Matrix Law Pod Episode 27: The Elections Bill: How worried should we be?
n the first Matrix Law Pod of 2022, Richard Hermer QC, Murray Hunt and Helen Mountfield QC, talk to Doctor Jess Garland of the Electoral Reform Society about electoral reform and the Elections Bill that is currently passing through Parliament…
08/12/2021
The Matrix Law Pod Episode 26: Lord Neuberger and the Rule of Law
This week, we speak to Lord David Neuberger about the rule of law and the role of courts and judges. Together with Helen Mountfield QC and Murray Hunt, Richard Hermer QC asks what are the essential ingredients that determine whether a judicial system is able, or willing, to protect the rule of law and fundamental rights?
10/11/2021
The Matrix Law Pod Episode 25: Ripping Up the Refugee Convention
Richard Hermer QC speaks to fellow Matrix barrister Raza Husain QC and Sile Reynolds the Lead Asylum Policy Advisor at Freedom from Torture about the Nationality and Borders Bill currently being steered through Parliament by the Home Secretary, Pritti Patel. The Bill, at least on its face, appears to be a radical…
04/10/2021
The Matrix Law Pod Episode 24: Afghanistan in crisis: what should the UK and international community be doing?
This week Samantha Knights QC talks to Rahela Sidiqi, Director of the Farkhunda Trust, and Michael Ryder CMG, CEO of the Royal Society of Asian Affairs, about the current situation in Afghanistan…
06/07/2021
The Matrix Law Pod Episode 23: Free speech, protest and politics in Russia
This week Samantha Knights QC is joined by Masha Karp and Owen Matthews to speak about curbs on free expression, protest, political opposition and together they look at what is happening right now in Russia.
27/05/2021
The Matrix Law Pod Episode 22: Violence Against Women in the US and UK: Looking at the Law
Karon Monaghan QC and Professor Carrie Bettinger-Lopez, University of Miami School of Law join Samantha Knights QC to talk about violence against women in both the US and UK. Together they explore what has happened over the past year during the pandemic, gaps in policy and practice, reform and the new domestic abuse act in the UK, and the scope of the duty on police to protect victims of domestic violence.
19/05/2021
The Matrix Law Pod Episode 21: Gaza – An International Law Perspective
This week’s episode focuses on Gaza and the current conflict in the region from an international law perspective. Richard Hermer QC speaks to Professor Andrew Clapham, to provide an overview of the legal framework that governs not only the current hostilities but the overall legal context of the conflict.
12/05/2021
The Matrix Law Pod Episode 20: India
This week the Matrix Law Pod returns to India to speak with Colin Gonsalves, a prominent human rights lawyer, focusing not only on the emergency on the ground but the impact on the rule of law. Together with Richard Hermer QC and Helen Mountfield QC, they explore what role the courts have had to play in ensuring that the state acts to protect the life and health of its population, the response of the Government in India and what it reveals about their agenda, and whether there are any discernable trends about how different countries have fared in the face of the virus…
28/04/2021
The Matrix Law Pod Episode 19: The Verdict – Chauvin, Race & Policing
Following the verdict in the George Floyd court case in the USA, Richard Hermer QC and Helen Mountfield QC speak with Prof. Craig Futterman, a Professor at the University of Chicago and the founder of the Civil Rights and Police Accountability Project of the Mandel Legal Aid Clinic, and Raju Bhatt, a leading civil rights lawyer in the UK and a founding member of the Police Action Lawyer Group. Listen as they draw parallels with the UK experience of race and policing and ask the question: is this a pivotal moment in policing in the USA and how the country deals with race?
23/02/2021
The Matrix Law Pod Episode 18: Hostile Environment
The Matrix Law Pod is back for a third season. This week Samantha Knights QC and Raza Husain QC are joined by Maya Goodfellow, author of ‘Hostile Environments: How Immigrants Became Scapegoats’. Together they cover the history and origins of Hostile Environment, the broad consensus between Conservative and Labour parties on being tough on immigration, the Windrush scandal and the limits of the Courts to temper the harsh effects of the laws and policy in this area…
03.12.202
The Matrix Law Pod Episode 17: Women, War and International Law
This week Samantha Knights QC is joined by Christina Lamb OBE (Chief Foreign Correspondent of Sunday Times) and Caroline Buisman (International Criminal Defence and Human Rights Lawyer at Stapert Advocaten) discussing how and why in modern warfare rape is used by combatants as a weapon of war, why this aspect of conflict has been largely untold, and how it has been treated by international law and tribunals…
18.11.2020
The Matrix Law Pod Episode 16: Law Makers, Law Breakers: the Covid-19 pandemic and the rule of law
This week’s podcast follows a panel discussion event organised by Hickman and Rose and Matrix Chambers. Listen to our panel of the UK’s leading legal and political minds as they discuss the true impact of the Government’s legal response to the pandemic…
10.11.20
The Matrix Law Pod Episode 15: Build Back Better – Lisa Nandy On The US Elections And Beyond
Lisa Nandy, Labour MP for Wigan discusses topics including the results of the US election, the UK’s international reputation and influence, when it is appropriate for the UK to intervene militarily overseas to prevent crimes against humanity and much more…
28.10.20
The Matrix Law Pod Episode 14: RBG To ACB with David Cole
The US presidential election is fast approaching and the result could have wide-reaching consequences, not only for the citizens of the US but for all of us. Topics relating to the future of climate change action, the international legal order, the promotion of international human rights, press freedom and indeed the future of truth and decency in public discourse are all on the table…
29.09.20
The Matrix Law Pod Episode 13: Groundhog Day- The Rule Of Law Under Attack- Matrix Pod Is Back
Join Richard Hermer QC, Helen Mountfield QC and Murray Hunt for the first episode of season two this week, in which they discuss the rising ‘R’ rate; rights restrictions imposed without Parliamentary oversight; the government seeking to pass legislation in violation of international law obligations; judicial review under review and the death of one of the great liberal jurists in America…
15.07.20
The Matrix Law Pod Episode 12: The Magnitsky Method – Hitting Human Rights Abusers Where it Hurts
This week we are joined by Bill Browder, the driving force behind the Magnitsky Act, the legislation being adopted in countries across the globe enforcing sanctions against foreign state officials involved in grave human rights abuses and systemic corruption…
06.07.20
The Matrix Law Pod Episode 11: Building Back Better – Do Covid, Brexit and Black Lives Matter present a moment of constitutional opportunity for the UK?
In this week’s podcast, Murray Hunt and Helen Mountfield QC are joined by Kate O’Regan, former Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa, and Alan Miller, Co-Chair of the Scottish National Taskforce on Human Rights Leadership, to discuss whether the concurrent crises of Covid, Brexit and Black Lives Matter provide an opportunity for the UK to “Build Back Better”, by reframing constitutional conversations which have been stuck in a rut for years
22.06.20
The Matrix Law Pod Episode 10: Past, Present, Future – Transitional Justice for Turbulent Times – a discussion with Paul Van Zyl
This week’s podcast explores some of the wider themes exemplified by the Black Lives Matter protest through the lens of transitional justice. Transitional justice is a phrase used to describe how societies once torn apart by conflicts of many sorts, can deal with past legacies and move forward…
12.06.20
The Matrix Law Pod Episode 9: Death, Protest, Change – A Discussion With David Lammy MP On The Response To The Killing Of George Floyd
The brutal killing of George Floyd has led to a chain reaction in many countries not simply of protest but an increasing acknowledgement of the need to address the persistent and pervasive impact of systemic racism. This week we speak to David Lammy MP…
01.06.20
The Matrix Law Pod Episode 8: Endgame In Hong Kong Plus More ‘Classic Dom’
This week we return to Hong Kong to examine the human rights implications as China moves to implement new national security law. We speak to Patricia Ho about the recent developments and ask, what does this mean for the rule of law in Hong Kong?
19.05.20
The Matrix Law Pod Episode 7: United or Divided? The virus and devolution
The importance of the powers of the devolved administrations of the United Kingdom became clearer following the Prime Minister’s announcement that we were to begin relaxing the lockdown restrictions and each of the administrations adopted a slightly different approach. This week we speak to Prof Aileen McHarg, Dr Evelyn Collins CBE and Prof Daniel Wincott about the differing responses to the virus across the UK and about the potential effects that these responses might have on a further devolution of power in the future.
12.05.20
The Matrix Law Pod Episode 6: The State of the Union – Trump, the virus and the American way
In this week’s podcast, we speak to Professor David Cole, Legal Director of the American Civil Liberties Union, about human rights and the rule of law in the USA. We examine the USA’s response to the Covid crisis and what it tells us, not simply about the strength of the rule of law there but what the consequences of the US experience might be for the rest of us and the international legal order.
04.05.20
The Matrix Law Pod Episode 5: Every breath you take – data tracking in the age of Covid-19
This week the Matrix Law Pod addresses the human rights implications of how Governments are increasingly turning to technology, not least data tracking, to help ease us out of lockdown. In this episode we explore not just the benefits that this tech might bring but what the dangers and downsides might be.
27.04.20
The Matrix Law Pod Episode 4: Unequal Impact: Race, Gender and Poverty in Times of Crisis
This week we speak to Afua Hirsch and Martha Spurrier about the impact on existing inequalities within our society, most particularly race, gender and poverty, in times of crisis. It is becomingly increasingly clear that whilst the coronavirus itself does not discriminate, its effect does and is cruelly amplifying existing inequalities.
17.04.20
The Matrix Law Pod Episode 3: The Sound of Silence: The Vacuum in International Leadership and its Impact on the World’s Poorest
This week we are continuing to look at the international response to the coronavirus crisis but turning from examining the impact on wealthy, albeit troubled nations, to those toward the bottom end of the economic scale or at least in which a significant proportion of populations live in extreme poverty.
10.04.20
The Matrix Law Pod Episode 2: Power Grabs – Covid Across the Globe
This week’s podcast focuses on how other countries are reacting to Covid-19 and in particular how regimes governed by populist governments are coping. Richard Hermer QC, Phillippa Kaufmann QC and Murray Hunt are joined by human rights activists Stefania Kapronczay, Michael Sfard and Patricia Ho to discuss the situation in Hungary, Israel and the OPT, […]
07.04.20
The Matrix Law Pod Episode 1: Public Emergencies and the Rule of Law
Introducing The Matrix Law Pod, a new weekly podcast addressing how law, courts and the rule of law are holding up in the Covid Crisis both in the UK and abroad. Launching this week with ‘Public Emergencies and the Rule of Law’, Phillippa Kaufmann QC, Murray Hunt and Richard Hermer QC discuss the UK’s approach […]