Migrants and Maritime Law

Available for over a year

Joshua Rozenberg returns with a new series of BBC Radio 4's legal magazine programme. What does the law say about commercial ship captains' duty to help those they find in distress at sea? Captain Andy Lewington explains how he, and his 18 man crew, took aboad more than 400 migrants in the seas north of Tripoli earlier this year. And Stephen Fietta a lawyer at Volterra Fietta, explains the legal position. How easy is it to get rid of your MP? A petition has been filed which seeks to overturn the election of Alistair Carmichael MP. Professor Bob Watt explains what the petitioners would have to prove in order to succeed. As Michael Gove, the new justice secretary, begins work on the new British Bill of Rights that the Conservatives promised in their election manifesto, we have a guide to this fiendishly complex area of law which even a seven-year-old could understand. And government lawyers will soon be in Strasbourg to defend the United Kingdom against a claim that it failed to respect the most fundamental right of all - the right to life. The claim has been brought on behalf of Jean Charles de Menezes, who was shot dead by police officers at a London Underground station almost 10 years ago. Solicitor Harriet Wistrich, representing the Menezes family, explains their case. Producer: Hannah Barnes Editor: Richard Knight.