Distortions Of Language

  What tangled web we weave when our intention is to deceive? Sir Walter Scott The distortion of language lies at the heart of the greatest of threats to human civilisation. It now effects all aspects of the public and civic sphere, from court rooms to journalism to the expression of corporate-political elites. It is … Read more

A Visit to the Hague

Late last year HHJ Gumpert KC – one of the judges in the formidable fortress that is Woolwich Crown Court the flagship anti-terrorism court in the U.K. – kindly secured for me a visit to the ICC out of court time. The tour was given by a former member of the team he led in … Read more

The Austrian Mind

There still exists – even today – a yearning, a nostalgia for European solidarity, a solidarity of European culture. Regrettably, solidarity itself no longer exists, except in hearts, in consciences, in the minds of a few great men at the heart of each nation. European consciousness – or what one might call a ‘cultural European … Read more

Regulating Online Safety: Ireland v. U.K.

U.K. lawmakers, unlike their Irish counterparts, are currently agonising over the Online Safety Bill 2023. It is far less draconian than the recent Irish Bill, which I recently assessed.  This is currently being reviewed in the House or Lords – a body not to be automatically dismissed. This archaic assembly is still capable of acting … Read more