Legal Studies Research Paper Series Vol. 17, No. 2
📣We have issued a new @ssrn.bsky.social Legal Studies RPS (v16 #2) including articles by Timo Minssen, Mateo Aboy & Effy Vayena, Ira Chadha-Sridhar, @daviderdos.bsky.social and @mwgehring.bsky.social, Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger & Matheus Garcia:
🔗https://bit.ly/4tNFSm1
#LegalScholarship
The Commonwealth's emerging self-idenity as a Global Bridge could have synergised well with Ireland's own self-identity as a Global Citizen. However, its adoption of a narrowly self-interested approach rendered this otiose and ensured the end of its informal external association.
Ireland’s Commonwealth disassociation primarily traces to the demise of a tangible Commonwealth citizenship and economic framework. At the same time, the Commonwealth experienced a substantial expansion in development cooperation & emerged as a significant North/South forum.
Although Ireland's Sterling break highlights that Europeanisation could be disruptive even here, new arrangements had generally been established with the UK, highlighting that the "ends" of Commonwealth association were always primarily focused on this special relationship.
New Article! In 1960 #Ireland enjoyed a strong, even if informal, external association with the Commonwealth in 1960 but by 1979 all significant #citizenship, #tariff, #monetary & #diplomatic arrangements were at an end: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... (also www.slideshare.net/slideshow/ir...)
We must all start calling out the absurd breaches of international law by the current US Government- this one clearly breaches UN obligations but few seem to call it out: Judge never reconsidered working at ICC despite sanctions www.rte.ie/news/2026/03...
In 5yrs since it left EU #dataprotection framework & then enacted Data (Use & Access) Act (DUAA), the UK has shifted to a more business friendly approach. But largely through solidifing a limited enforcement stance as substantive #GDPR change is rather limited papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
On back of MPs letter about #TattleLife the UK ICO said it was investigating. But how can it regulate #onlineabuse when it failed to update its policy guidance for #GDPR despite saying it would do so for +5 yrs, then deleted this & now says it holds no info? More at inforrm.org/2026/03/31/e...
It's striking that, despite generally avoiding formal action to counter core violations of #dataprotection, this fine pivots around an alleged failure of #agegating since this matter is generally seen as under @ofcom.bsky.social's
#OnlineSafetyAct's child protection jurisdiction 2/2
Although currently misfiled in the Information Commissioner's Office database as an enforcement notice, the ICO's £14.5M UK #GDPR fine against Reddit regarding an alleged failure of #agegating is now out: ico.org.uk/action-weve-... 1/2
Despite applying for membership in 1997, #Palestine is sadly absent from today's #Commonwealth Day. Not least given the British mandate origins of today’s tragedy, the C/w has a special responsibility which from 1967 to 1997 it did recognise. More at www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
On #Commonwealth Day I'm pleased to reshare my new article on the history & current reality of C/w citizenship including how it might promote #business mobility, which is key to "unlocking prosperity together", this year's C/w theme: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... #multilateralism
“Regulating #AI in a Changing World: #Oversight & #Enforcement”: Great to see video of Info Law & Policy Centre 2025 Conference keynote panel online. My talk focused on UK #dataprotection situation compared to #EU #GDPR experiences in #Italy & #Germany: lnkd.in/eNEeUEyW Summary notes below.
With over 40K #dataprotection complaints but just 2 fines totalling only £3.8m and no UK #GDPR enforcement notices in 2024/25, where has scrutiny and oversight of the ICO been? Pleased to post new working paper on this, also exploring avenues for positive intervention papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
For more ideas on how deficiencies in monitoring and enforcing #UKGDPR might be tackled see my new working paper at papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.... 3/3
The ICO's discretion was limited to the "manner" in which a lawfulness assesment was carried out, not whether to do one:
decisions.ombudsman.org.uk/decision?id=... Individuals with significant concerns which are only logged should therefore considering lodging a complaint with the Ombudsman. 2/3
The ICO's new policy to just "record" many UK #GDPR complaints is at serious odds with a @phsombudsman.bsky.social ruling from 11/2025 which held complainants had a right to "an assessment under section 165 of the DPA as to whether it is likely or unlikely that the processing" was lawful. 1/3
Here's my new open-access article providing first comprehensive #law & #policy analysis of #Commonwealth #citizenship from end of WW2 to the present, also looking at its proposed future as a mechanism to faciliate short-term esp. #business mobility: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
In the wake of the egregious #Afghan UK #GDPR #databreach and many others, Government Ministers are finally grilled before the Commons' Science, Innovation and Technology Committee today committees.parliament.uk/event/26457/... following on from ICO's appearance last October #DataProtection
And further that “the processing of personal data by the controller in compliance with that regulation" must be "ensured” & that “such non-exercise on the part of the supervisory authority" must not be "liable to undermine the requirement of strong enforcement of the rules”
ICO approach bears no resemblance to persuasive holding in Land Hessen (2024) that a #GDPR authority could only “exceptionally” refrain from “exercise of a corrective power” & even then only “provided that the situation in which the GDPR was infringed has already been made good”
This is despite obvious correlation between rising complaints & recent degrading of enforcement & also clear fact that if ICO refuses even to investigate then enforcement is categorically being refused without any controller undertaking whatsoever being received.
Despite widespread concern in the consultation responses and such specific points being made, none of this is recognised in the ICO’s response. ICO also refuse to recognise the link between serious defects in relation to complaints handlings and failings vis-à-vis #enforcement.
The ICO additionally maintains that cost considerations (significantly the result of its own decision to channel resources away from its core investigatory tasks) can justify a lack of prompt handling even of “high-harm cases”, despite this being explicitly rejected in Delo.
In EW (2021) the Upper Tribunal even specifically ordered the ICO to take the concrete investigate steps necessary to achieve this (overruling its categorical refusal to do previously).
Case law has been clear that “appropriate” investigation ordinarily means that the ICO must investigate to the extent necessary to “reach and express a view about the likelihood” of compliance (Delo (EWCA) at [80])
Lamentable that Information Commissioner will now refuse to investigate as opposed to "log" many (perhaps most) UK #GDPR complaints despite law stating that they must “investigate, to the extent, appropriate” & inform on “the outcome of the investigation” (art. 51(1)(f)). ico.org.uk/make-a-compl...
Lovely to see hard copy of new book on the #dataprotection & #humanitarian action & proud to have contributed chapter exploring role of the #unitednations guidelines from 1990 in shaping regulation here. It's all open access so please do check it out! www.taylorfrancis.com/books/oa-edi...
The Administrative Review Tribunal affirmed the Privacy Commissioner’s finding that Bunnings contravened Australian Privacy Principles (APP) 1 and 5 (notification of the collection of personal information) when rolling out FRT in its stores. See lnkd.in/etqgmguY.
Please join me at CIPIL's first seminar of 2026 this Thursday
at 5.30pm with Tim Pitt-Payne KC talking at Cambridge Law Faculty on future of UK #GDPR automated individual decision-making rights under the Data (Use & Access) Act. More including Zoom link at www.cipil.law.cam.ac.uk/press/events...