Book Review: Counter-Terrorism, Constitutionalism and Miscarriages of Justice: A Festschrift for Professor Clive Walker
| Published date | 01 June 2020 |
| Author | Gavin Robinson |
| Date | 01 June 2020 |
| DOI | 10.1177/2032284420914415 |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
Book Review
Counter-Terrorism, Constitutionalism and Miscarriages of Justice: A Festschrift for Professor Clive Walker,
Genevieve Lennon, Colin King and Carole McCartney (eds.) (Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2019),
ISBN 9781509915729, 360 pp., £80
Reviewed by: Gavin Robinson, University of Lux embourg, Luxembo urg
DOI: 10.1177/2032284420914415
This thoroughly rewarding Festschrift for Clive Walker (Professor Emeritus of Criminal Justice
Studies at the University of Leeds) begins with a glowing foreword and an introduction by the
editors, Genevieve Lennon, Colin King and Carole McCartney, in which the latter begin to present
Walker’s immense influence on his chosen fields of analysis. Two such fields anchor the volume’s
core sections on Counter-Terrorism (part I) and Miscarriages of Justice (part II), before A Retro-
spective (part III) sees the honouree himself prov ide a full-spectrum survey and appr aisal of
executive, legislative and judicial performance in the United Kingdom in the field of counter-
terrorism laws, ‘in terms of ideals or delinquencies’ vis-`a-vis the guiding philosophy of constitu-
tionalism, since early 2001.
The range and dexterity of Walker’s closing tour de force speak to his experience and expertise
stretching back over four decades, taking in the seminal works The Prevention of Terrorism in
British Law (Manchester University Press, 1986), Justice in Error (1993) and Miscarriages of
Justice: A Review of Justice in Error (1999) (both co-authored with Keir Starmer, both Blackstone
Press). Those tomes, followed more recently by several leading sources on terrorism and the law in
the United Kingdom, sit on a prolific overall publication record whose breadth significantly
exceeds the two main themes tackled in this volume – notably showing a focus in recent years
on the financing of terrorism. Mention can also be made of the long list of achievements of the
Centre for Criminal Justice Studies at the University of Leeds, forged by Walker’s directorship
(1987–2000), in addition to his service since 2011 as Special Adviser (now Senior Special Adviser)
to successive UK Independent Reviewers of Terrorism Legislation.
Fittingly, then, a range of backgrounds are represented in the Festschrift’s line-up. While the
majority are primarily scholars (eminent, established and emerging) largely drawn from UK and
Commonwealth jurisdictions, we also find strong chapters by a former Independent Reviewer of
Terrorism Legislation (David Anderson QC), the current UN Special Rapporteur on the promo-
tion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism
(Fionnuala N´ıAol´ain) and a leading civil liberties barrister (Simon McKay). The book’s three
editors, all former PhD students of Walker’s, inform us in their introduction that all of the
contributors have worked with Walker in one role or another: PhD supervisor or examiner,
co-author, editor, adviser.
New Journal of European Criminal Law
2020, Vol. 11(2) 258–261
ªThe Author(s) 2020
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