Archive - The Empty City - a law and polity blog

Law is not magic, and prohibitions are not spells

Again, politicians think that "banning" something is an end to a problem.

Jun 9

The Rwanda relocation scheme ends in a mess

A lucky arbitration win for the UK brings the programme to its conclusion

Jun 8

The Trump slush fund appears to have been aborted - but the real problem about the 'settlement' remains

The root cause of this outrage is not addressed by this pruning

Jun 3

How a new court Order means Trump's slush fund is now in peril

The judge has re-opened the supposed 'settled' case

Jun 2

Marilyn Monroe, the Hollywood studio system, and the law of contract

The autonomy and agency of an actor taking on a major media company and winning

Jun 1

May 2026

The two interesting legal challenges to the Trump legal "settlement" slush fund

How two cases show how a problem can be attacked in two different ways

May 28

The odd setting up of what appears to be a corrupt slush fund for the allies of President Trump

In which a settlement agreement is pushed far beyond any proper legal limits

May 22

Must Prime Ministers fail?

A constitutionalist perspective

May 16

Changing Prime Ministers mid-term and the constitution

How gaining or losing a Prime Minister between general elections in the norm and not the exception

May 12

The Chagos Islands are an index of British international weakness

In decision after decision, the United Kingdom simply has to accept the changing will of the United States

May 6

The purpose of processes and policies and law in government is not to make things better, but to stop things being even worse

The real reason why we need rules and procedures in public administration

May 5

Trump is suing his own government for $10 billion

And he wants to negotiate with his own government for a settlement sum

May 1