Yuan Yi Zhu
Senior Fellow, Policy Exchange
Yuan Yi Zhu is a Senior Fellow at Policy Exchange and an Assistant Professor of International Relations and International Law at Leiden University.
Related Publications
Parliament’s role in ratifying the UK-Mauritius Agreement concerning the Chagos Islands
Download Publication Online Reader This research note considers the role of Parliament in relation to the cession of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. A treaty ceding sovereign British territory to a foreign power cannot be ratified unless Parliament enacts legislation enabling ratification. In considering whether to enact such legislation, Parliament will have an opportunity to reject ratification of the Treaty – or to impose conditions on ratification. In deliberating about […]
Revisiting the British Origins of the European Convention on Human Rights
Download Publication Online Reader This new paper from Policy Exchange challenges the view that the European Convention on Human Rights is a “British legacy” – and that to leave the Convention would be to a “betrayal” of Sir Winston Churchill. Through an exhaustive examination of the historical record, the report – written by legal academics Dr Conor Casey and Dr Yuan Yi Zhu – refutes that claim and demonstrates that […]
The Chagos Debacle
Download Publication Online Reader A new paper from Policy Exchange strongly challenges the Government’s claim that a deal must be signed with Mauritius to protect the joint UK-US exclusive access to the electromagnetic spectrum on Diego Garcia, one of the Chagos islands. This vital intervention is backed by Rt Hon Tom Tugendhat MP – Former Minister of State for Security and former Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee. He […]
Averting a Strategic Misstep
Download Publication Online Reader This report urges the UK Government to withdraw from the arrangement to cede sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius – arguing that consequential developments since the proposed deal’s announcement provide an opportunity to withdraw with honour. Backed by former First Sea Lord and former Labour Security Minister, Rt. Hon Admiral Lord West of Spithead GCB DSC PC, the report argues that the deal […]
From the Rule of Law to the Rule of Lawyers?
Download Publication Online Reader A new report published by Policy Exchange today, ‘From the Rule of Law to the Rule of Lawyers? The Problem with the Attorney General’s New Legal Risk Guidelines’ critiques the new guidance to Government lawyers recently published by the Attorney General. The report argues the guidelines will likely give government lawyers, and especially the Attorney General himself, more power and influence over policymaking, at the […]
Intimidation as Foreign Policy
Download Publication Online Reader In 2021, Mauritius enacted a law which criminalises “misrepresenting the sovereignty of Mauritius over any part of its territory”, part of its long-running campaign against Britain’s sovereignty over the strategically crucial Chagos Islands. Anyone, anywhere in the world who breaks the Mauritian law can be prosecuted and imprisoned for up to 10 years. In other words, it is now a crime under Mauritian law […]
Upholding Standards; Unsettling Conventions
Download Publication Online Reader Upholding Standards; Unsettling Conventions argues that proposals for a statutory role for the Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests and putting the Ministerial Code on a legal footing would give rise to serious constitutional questions and carry substantial risks of undermining effective political accountability. The report argues that while maintaining standards is critical, this is best done through democratic means, rather than empowering unelected regulators. There are […]
Sovereignty and Security in the Indian Ocean
Download Publication Online Reader This paper makes the urgent case for the Government not to cede control of the Chagos Islands. In November 2022, the Foreign Secretary announced that the UK was entering into negotiations with Mauritius about the exercise of sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), one of the United Kingdom’s fourteen overseas territories. The BIOT is situated in the middle of the Indian Ocean and is […]
Putting Royal Assent in Doubt?
The parliamentary authorities have taken the view that because the Supreme Court has quashed the prorogation of Parliament, everything else done by the Royal Commission in the morning of 10 September has been quashed as well. Accordingly, both the Speaker of the House of Commons and the Lord Speaker have indicated that Royal Assent for the Restoration and Renewal Bill would need to be signified again. This paper argues that the Speakers have wrongly understood the Supreme Court’s judgment in this respect.Related Blogs
The Queen’s Speech and Judicial Power: Could the British Bill of Rights make things worse?
While economic issues were very much at the forefront of this year’s Queen’s Speech, the government has also laid out a substantial constitutional and legal agenda as part of its legislative programme. The headline measure is the proposed British Bill of Rights, which would supersede the Human Rights Act. A perennial proposal most recently floated under David Cameron, the Bill’s stated aim is to restore “the balance of power between […]Related Events
