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Mark Elliott

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Mark C. Elliott is the Mark Schwartz Professor of Chinese and Inner Asian History at Harvard University, where he is… more

H-index: 20
Political science 51%
Law 27%
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by Mark Elliott

profmarkelliott.bsky.social
New post | On China, the Official Secrets Act and 'enemies': Is the Prime Minister wrong?
publiclawforeveryone.com/2025/10/08/o...
On China, the Official Secrets Act and ‘enemies’: Is the Prime Minister wrong?
The Prime Minister has claimed that his government’s hands are tied in relation to whether China constituted an ‘enemy’ for the purpose of a now-dropped criminal prosecution under…
publiclawforeveryone.com
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by Mark Elliott

profmarkelliott.bsky.social
I agree, David.
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by Mark Elliott — Reposted by: Glen O’Hara

profmarkelliott.bsky.social
Excellent (but depressing) analysis by @gsoh31.bsky.social on the fragile state of higher education in the UK. This passage particularly struck me. politicalquarterly.org.uk/blog/where-n...
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by Mark Elliott — Reposted by: Mark Elliott

profmarkelliott.bsky.social
A report on tonight’s Channel 4 News about the devastating funding cuts at Arthur Rank Hospice in Cambridge. It is unconscionable to reduce access to palliative care while simultaneously contemplating the legalisation of medically assisted suicide. www.channel4.com/news/budget-...
Budget cuts forcing hospitals to pull hospice contracts
The UK government wants patients' care to be moved from hospitals into the community.
www.channel4.com
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by Mark Elliott

profmarkelliott.bsky.social
Just as the state contemplates the possibility of a fully-funded assisted dying service, public funding for the award-winning Arthur Rank House Hospice in Cambridge is being cut by almost £1 million pa, risking the closure of nearly half of its in-patient unit. www.arhc.org.uk/protectourca...
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by Mark Elliott

profmarkelliott.bsky.social
It was a great pleasure to speak at today's annual training day for the Administrative Court (at the Oval cricket ground: hence the photo!), looking at how recent case law intersects with key academic debates about substantive judicial review.
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by Mark Elliott

profmarkelliott.bsky.social
... or jettison the classical account and accept the authoritarian implication that administrative acts, however unlawful they might actually be, are valid until set aside.
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by Mark Elliott

profmarkelliott.bsky.social
Yes, as I say, I think ultimately the choice is about how we manage the various dangers/difficulties that are sometimes in play — and whether we take as our default that unlawful acts are void (recognising that the harshness of that position will sometimes need to be ameliorated) ...
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by Mark Elliott

profmarkelliott.bsky.social
As to the presume validity of administrative acts, I see no tension between that presumption and the underlying nullity of unlawful administrative acts. If an act is presumed to be valid but later turns out to be (and always to have been) void, the presumption was simply wrong. /3
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by Mark Elliott

profmarkelliott.bsky.social
Affording individuals the possibility of running that risk does not seem inherently problematic to me, and the alternative seems unattractively authoritarian, in that it compels adherence to administrative acts, including delegated legislation, even if they are unlawful. /2
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by Mark Elliott

profmarkelliott.bsky.social
Thanks for reading. I fully take your point. As I see it, however, someone who chooses to ignore the SI they think is UV must do so recognising that they run the risk of being wrong, in which case they may later have to suffer the consequences of breaching what turns out to be a valid SI. /1
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by Mark Elliott

profmarkelliott.bsky.social
The broader point, I think, it that it is always possible to envisage circumstances in which the apparent rigidity of the classical view produces inconvenient (or worse) results. Ultimately, however, I think the dangers of abandoning the classical view justify continued adherence to it. 3/3
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by Mark Elliott

profmarkelliott.bsky.social
But of course the right of collateral challenge, although tied to the underlying voidness of the impugned administrative act, is not itself unlimited, as the Lords' decision in R v Wicks illustrated and as its judgment in Boddington affirmed. /2
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by Mark Elliott

profmarkelliott.bsky.social
Thanks, Jonathan. That's an important point, and a difficult one — because the rule of law pulls in opposing directions: legal certainty/planning favours the interests of the party who has relied on the SI, while legality favours treating the unlawful SI for what it has always been. /1
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by Mark Elliott — Reposted by: Diane Coyle, Elliot Gold

profmarkelliott.bsky.social
A new paper from Philip Murray and me: 'In Defence of Classical Administrative Law'. We argue that the voidness of unlawful administrative acts is central to the rule of law and that recent challenges to that view can and should be resisted.

publiclawforeveryone.com/2025/09/16/i...
In Defence of Classical Administrative Law
In a recently completed paper, Philip Murray and I develop a defence of what we term the classical account of administrative law. The question with which we are centrally concerned is whether (as t…
publiclawforeveryone.com
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by Mark Elliott

profmarkelliott.bsky.social
Lucky you! If there's one thing that is more fun than aiming for a vaguely defined set of targets, it's aiming for targets that keep moving...
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by Mark Elliott

profmarkelliott.bsky.social
(Perhaps I have just been around this block too many times, but each time RAE/REF comes round, it seems more burdensome and more pointless. An incredibly bad use of everyone's time.)
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by Mark Elliott

profmarkelliott.bsky.social
A REF spokesperson has explained that they will 'work closely with universities to finalise preparations for the REF, carefully balancing proportionate burden with evolving the approach to ensure it sets up the sector for continued success'. Surely that reassures you?!
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by Mark Elliott

profmarkelliott.bsky.social
I tend to find that if an initiative or proposal contains either the words 'agile', 'reimagining' or 'reshaping', it is likely — to the extent that it means anything at all — to be a disaster dreamed up by external consultants with little to no understanding of HE.
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by Mark Elliott

profmarkelliott.bsky.social
Thanks, Stefan. I find their use of 'margin of appreciation' bizarre. The Supreme Court ought to know better!
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Reposted by: Mark Elliott, Lilian Edwards

ekd.bsky.social
There is a risk that this will get missed over the summer, so just to flag up this important call for evidence on human rights and the regulation of AI from the Joint Committee on Human Rights (and deadline for response is 5 September) - committees.parliament.uk/work/9220/hu...
New inquiry: Human Rights and the Regulation of Artificial Intelligence - Committees - UK Parliament
The Joint Committee on Human Rights has launched a new inquiry to examine how human rights can be protected in the age of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
committees.parliament.uk
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Reposted by: Mark Elliott, Rory O’Connell

georgeperetzkc.bsky.social
In which I am not impressed by Suella Braverman’s plans for leaving the ECHR. open.substack.com/pub/georgepe...
The first time as tragedy, the second as farce
Suella Braverman's plans for leaving the ECHR display the same arrogant and reckless disregard for the consequences - particularly in Ireland - as did the plans of Brexiters for leaving the EU.
open.substack.com
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by Mark Elliott

profmarkelliott.bsky.social
Lovely. That’s the view I grew up with.
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Reposted by: Mark Elliott

philipmurray.bsky.social
Good stuff from @profmarkelliott.bsky.social. Mark's right, I think, that the Supreme Court's recent practice of issuing bland, single judgments "has arguably had the effect of oversimplifying, or at least obscuring important and contentious issues". publiclawforeveryone.com/2025/07/29/t...
The Supreme Court’s judgment in Shvidler: Lord Leggatt’s Liversidge v Anderson moment
Today’s Supreme Court’s judgment in Shvidler v Foreign Secretary addresses key issues about the role of courts generally and appellate courts in particular when it comes to applying the propo…
publiclawforeveryone.com
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by Mark Elliott

profmarkelliott.bsky.social
New blogpost

The Supreme Court’s judgment in Shvidler v Foreign Secretary: Lord Leggatt’s Liversidge v Anderson moment

publiclawforeveryone.com/2025/07/29/t...
The Supreme Court’s judgment in Shvidler: Lord Leggatt’s Liversidge v Anderson moment
Today’s Supreme Court’s judgment in Shvidler v Foreign Secretary addresses key issues about the role of courts generally and appellate courts in particular when it comes to applying the propo…
publiclawforeveryone.com
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by Mark Elliott

profmarkelliott.bsky.social
That's interesting, Stefan. As we both know, it's relativeley rare in our discipline for papers to have more than one author, and even then, it's not normally more than two. I've co-authored a reasonable amount within law, but that has invariably been on a 50:50 basis.
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by Mark Elliott

profmarkelliott.bsky.social
What a fastincating study. I found it close to impossible to undertake research during my five years as head of department. I was struck, when talking to counterparts in science departments, by how different their experience was — precisely because of the lab/team-based nature of their research.
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by Mark Elliott

profmarkelliott.bsky.social
Exactly.

by Mark Elliott

profmarkelliott.bsky.social
The Warwick 'rebrand' crystallises much of what is wrong with UK higher education today: namely (with honourable exceptions, of course) a fundamental disconnect between senior leaders and the reality of running academic departments and delivering teaching and research 'on the ground'.
timeshighered.bsky.social
Times Higher Education (THE) @timeshighered.bsky.social · Jul 24
A Warwick spokesperson comments on the Beyond rebrand: “We have leveraged our academic expertise as part of the Vogue media partnership as well as our professional services marketing and communications work”
#AcademicSky #Beyond #branding
www.timeshighereducation.com/news/warwick...
Warwick mocked for ‘tone-deaf’ Vogue spread and ‘Beyond’ rebrand
Glossy magazine advertorial featuring university’s marketing chief draws ridicule from academics amid sector funding crisis
www.timeshighereducation.com
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Reposted by: Mark Elliott

timeshighered.bsky.social
A Warwick spokesperson comments on the Beyond rebrand: “We have leveraged our academic expertise as part of the Vogue media partnership as well as our professional services marketing and communications work”
#AcademicSky #Beyond #branding
www.timeshighereducation.com/news/warwick...
Warwick mocked for ‘tone-deaf’ Vogue spread and ‘Beyond’ rebrand
Glossy magazine advertorial featuring university’s marketing chief draws ridicule from academics amid sector funding crisis
www.timeshighereducation.com
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