Partner Ernest Aduwa comments on the ECHR and parliamentary privilege in City AM

Partner Ernest Aduwa comments in City AM on the news that the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has rejected retail tycoon Philip Green’s legal challenge over parliamentary privilege.

Ernest’s comments were published in City AM, 10 April 2025.

“The Strasbourg court’s unequivocal endorsement of the sanctity of parliamentary privilege reaffirms a foundational tenet of our constitutional framework, namely, the autonomy and inviolability of legislative discourse. In rejecting Sir Philip Green’s attempt to invoke Article 8 protections to constrain speech within Parliament, the court has astutely recognised the essential democratic function of uninhibited parliamentary debate, even where it intersects with competing privacy rights.

“This judgment deftly avoids the spectre of judicial encroachment upon the prerogatives of a sovereign parliament, and in doing so, fortifies the doctrine of separation of powers. While the decision may disconcert those seeking to shield reputational interests through legal artifice, it underscores the enduring principle that public accountability cannot be subjugated to private confidentiality, however well-financed or meticulously litigated.”