23 June 2026
Our 2026 Lent Reader, Dame Eleanor Sharpston, DCMG, KC, used May’s Reader’s Feast to talk about the rule of law in a fluid, dangerous world.
Master Sharpston, the first woman nominated by the UK as Advocate General at the European Court of Justice, said the rule of law must be non-negotiable.
Civilised life as we know it would be unattainable without respect for and willingness to abide by a rules-based order, Master Sharpston said. But respect for such values and fundamental rights is under threat from populism, she said.
The threat, Master Sharpston said, applies to domestic and international rules of law. She ended her talk with a warning to her audience: