Law in a Time of Crisis

An essential examination of the hinterland between the law and politics, judges and politicians.

Brexit, the independence referendum, the pandemic: the UK is a country in crisis. And, in crises, we turn to the law to set the boundaries of what the government can and should do.

However, in a country with no written constitution, what sounds like a simple proposition is in fact anything but. Based on his 2019 Reith lectures, former Supreme Court Judge Jonathan Sumption asks: what are the limits of law in politics? Is not having a constitution a hindrance or help in times of crisis? From referenda to the rise of nationalisms, Law in a Time of Crisis exposes the uses and abuses of legal intervention in British crises - past, present, and potential.

Time spent on 'Law in a Time of Crisis' is time spent in the company of a brilliant mind considering interesting things... any person of broadly liberal instinct will find much in this enjoyable book to agree with and much that can improve one's way of thinking and of making an argument. - Daniel Finkelstein, The Times

Sumption has always been more than just a lawyer. For many years he was the brilliant QC and then Supreme Court justice who somehow found time on the side to write a definitive, multivolume history of the Hundred Years War: a true Renaissance man. - David Runciman, The Guardian

Thoughtful, stimulating and even entertaining... Lord Sumption's opinion is always worth listening to, even - or especially - if one disagrees with it. - Robert Tombs, Daily Telegraph