Pravar Petkar

Banner showing the cover image of 'The Language of Comparative Constitutional Law' as well as an invitation to look inside.

Read an extract from 'The Language of Comparative Constitutional Law' edited by Erika Arban, Maartje De Visser & Jeong-In Yun

Addresses the epistemological and conceptual implications of English as the lingua franca 👉 https://bit.ly/4acbglR

#ConstitutionalLaw #ComparativeLaw

Who runs Britain? The paradox of executive power

New post out:

"Who runs Britain?"

Politicians complain they are unable to do anything because of the machinery of state. Yet they have more power than ever.

What explains this "paradox of executive power" and how can it be fixed?

(£/free trial)

open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/w...

A lot of familiar tunes here for longtime followers/sufferers of Welsh #devolution.

Of course, as previous First Ministers have experienced, there remains the equally familiar challenge of persuading the UK Govt to even entertain such reforms...
#Senedd

All in all, a big step forward for the UK’s deliberative democratic practice. I’ll be talking more about this on 5 Feb 2026 in London - details below: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/participat... 7/7🧵 ends

Two, wider public engagement is going to be key. Whilst the assemblies will have representative legitimacy, our research has highlighted a role for mass or ‘direct’ engagement, through public consultations, media reporting or referendums (where appropriate). 6/7

But there are also challenges. One, for this to shape the government’s policy, we’re reliant in practice on the influence of the Home Affairs committee and the perceived public legitimacy of the assembly process 5/7

Third, this is exactly the sort of issue where citizen deliberation becomes valuable, especially if it can foster wider public engagement on the issue informed by lived experiences. 4/7

Second, the localised nature of these assemblies will help to build the evidence base for participatory and deliberative interventions. We’re a way off mainstreaming these nationally in the UK until there are more examples to more precisely guide design and use cases. 3/7

First, though 100 participants across 3 assemblies seems small, this is a big deal. It’s the first assembly process set up by a Select Committee in several years, and the engagement of a Select Committee indicates parliamentary buy-in that’s important to influence policy. 2/7

Home affairs select committee to hold “citizen-assembly style” events on immigration - Committees - UK Parliament Citizens with different views on immigration will be asked to come together to debate the trade-offs between legal migration and economic growth in a series of events being planned by the Home Affairs...

Big news in the citizen participation and deliberation space, with 3 committee-driven events on immigration coming up.

A couple of thoughts, based on some recent research. 🧵1/7

committees.parliament.uk/work/9550/yo...

Trial and error?: The impact of restricting jury trials on court demand | Institute for Government The government’s reforms will unlock only relatively modest reductions in demand.

NEW REPORT: the gov’s proposals for judge-only trials will deliver only marginal savings and distract from the real route out of this crisis: reversing recent falls in court productivity.

In sum, whether you’re for or against independence, there’s a conversation to be had about popular legitimacy and the territorial constitution, and the institutional mechanisms necessary for that - and one which ought to think about deeper participation and deliberation. 6/6 🧵ends

Given that, party fragmentation (with the rise of Reform) and the FPTP element of AMS, I’m not sure 65 MSPs (a Holyrood majority) should be seen as enough to start negotiations, and certainly not as a ‘de facto’ referendum (should that argument later arise, as it did 2-3 yrs ago). 5/6

If SA 1998, s63A means anything, it’s that a mass electoral exercise is needed to secure the required popular legitimacy. I might add - given Brexit - that some sort of deliberative aspect would also be desirable to ensure inclusive discussion. 4/6

Two questions then arise - both to do with the legitimacy question:
1. Is 65 MSPs indicative of sufficient popular legitimacy for secession to sway Westminster?
2. If not, are multiple referendums and/or a constitutional convention needed? 3/6

Secession would need an Act of Parliament (b/c Acts of Union), and likely a referendum to abolish the devolved institutions. Even if the Scottish Parliament and Government continue in the same form in an indep Scotland, they’re legally creatures of the SA 1998. 2/6

SNP seeks to exploit unionist rift with fresh independence pitch John Swinney to set out plans for second referendum at party conference as Reform splits Scottish pro-union vote

The latest episode of ‘what sort of a mandate is enough of a mandate for opening independence negotiations’. Some brief thoughts 🧵 1/6

www.ft.com/content/3136...

Hybrid | CLP - Bureaucracy and Distrust: The Civil Service in the Constitution This lecture will be delivered by Dr Ben Yong, as part of the Current Legal Problems Lecture Series 2025-26

I‘m giving a public talk at UCL on Thurs 16 Oct. The title is “Bureaucracy and distrust: the civil service in the constitution” looking at the civil service’s constitutional foundations, and how it might respond to a populist govt. @sirJJkc.bsky.social will chair!
www.ucl.ac.uk/laws/events/...

📢ICON GBIE, TRICON, QUB Webinar:

Familiarity, Culture & Expertise: The Future of Referendums in Ireland & the UK

Oct 17th 10:00-13:00 Online

To register follow the link below:
events.teams.microsoft.com/event/0d55a0...

1/3 👇

The news of Conor Gearty's death has just been announced and I'm not coping. He was a mentor and the pole star in my constitutional thinking. He was also a great friend and fantastic fun to be around. I'm heartbroken for Aoife and the children.

Very sad to hear this terrible news - Conor was not just an inspirational teacher whilst I was at the LSE and an exceptional scholar, but so warm and generous as LLM Director, remembering us years later. Thoughts go out to all his family.

Also critical background when looking at electoral reform for the UK Parliament, and where voters may deploy preferences in a PR-STV, AV or SV system. 2/2 🧵ends

Really interesting data on support for the major parties from last year to this year - and provides some colour to the 2025 local election results in England. 1/2 🧵

Very interesting perspective on some of the ongoing grievances. Open question how England can better be represented politically, but it seems there’s a wider problem of identity to tackle irrespective of tinkering with devolution.

Considered and informative the thread on the history of parliamentary sovereignty, from Professor @robertsaunders.bsky.social

Some thoughts on the UK Govt’s recent ‘Votes at 16’ announcement - in short, we need much better citizenship education for voters (or all ages) that is practical as well as theoretical for this to be a success.

icfs.org.uk/votes-at-16-...

One does not simply... rewrite the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement.

😅😅😅😅😅...😭

Have chatbots killed the student essay? This year’s marking season has confirmed for many academics that, less than three years since the launch of ChatGPT, AI use by students has become so rife that their submitted writing is no longer a r...

I have a piece in the Times Higher Education today on the problems AI is causing for university assessments.
www.timeshighereducation.com/depth/have-c...