Why is cannabis illegal in the UK? This is a vexed question that dates back to colonial times but continues to be a hot button issue in the present day. Indeed, Charlie Falconer recently chaired a report for the London Drugs Commission on this very topic, recommending that cannabis possession be decriminalised but dealing remain outlawed. Is this an elegant solution or a mealy-mouthed fudge? To debate the issue, Charlie is joined by his regular companions – Nicholas Mostyn and Helena Kennedy – as well as Professor Mike Barnes, a renowned neurologist with a particular interest in medical cannabis, and Peter Reynolds, president of the cannabis campaign group CLEAR UK.

If you have questions, criticisms, praise or other feedback, please do send your thoughts to us via lawanddisorderfeedback@gmail.com!

Law and Disorder is a Podot podcast.

Hosted by: Charlie Falconer, Helena Kennedy, Nicholas Mostyn.

Executive Producer and Editor: Nick Hilton.

Associate Producer: Ewan Cameron.

Music by Richard Strauss, arranged and performed by Anthony Willis & Brett Bailey.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is sports a law unto itself? That's the question posed this week, as the Law & Disorder crew are joined by Nick De Marco KC, perhaps the UK's top sports lawyer. Nick has worked on cases ranging from corrupt cricketers to fiscally feckless football clubs, and offers here a tour d'horizon of the landscape in sports and the law. Should betting companies offer markets on yellow cards? Did Jannick Sinner get off lightly with his doping ban? Will a judgment ever be delivered on Manchester City's PSR violations? Nick, along with Nicholas Mostyn, Helena Kennedy and Charlie Falconer, knock all these issues for six on an end-to-end episode of Law & Disorder.

If you have questions, criticisms, praise or other feedback, please do send your thoughts to us via lawanddisorderfeedback@gmail.com!

Law and Disorder is a Podot podcast.

Hosted by: Charlie Falconer, Helena Kennedy, Nicholas Mostyn.

Executive Producer and Editor: Nick Hilton.

Associate Producer: Ewan Cameron.

Music by Richard Strauss, arranged and performed by Anthony Willis & Brett Bailey.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Media freedom around the world has never been more embattled. A rise in violence perpetrated against journalists and media proprietors has been accompanied by a significant surge in the use of 'lawfare', frivolous but destructive lawsuits designed to silence and intimidate. To discuss this crisis, the Law & Disorder team are joined by Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, a leading lawyer representing accused or imprisoned journalists or bereaved families, and Sebastien Lai, the son of Jimmy Lai, a Hong Kong businessman and media entrepreneur who has been imprisoned by authorities. Caoifhionn and Sebastien discuss their own struggle to free Jimmy Lai from where he is being held in solitary confinement, a case which illuminates the current assault on the rights and safety of those who hold the powerful to account.

If you have questions, criticisms, praise or other feedback, please do send your thoughts to us via lawanddisorderfeedback@gmail.com!

Law and Disorder is a Podot podcast.

Hosted by: Charlie Falconer, Helena Kennedy, Nicholas Mostyn.

Executive Producer and Editor: Nick Hilton.

Associate Producer: Ewan Cameron.

Music by Richard Strauss, arranged and performed by Anthony Willis & Brett Bailey.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With climate change an ever increasing priority for people and governments around the globe, it is necessarily becoming a major part of our legal system. How do treaties like the Paris Agreement bind countries to climate goals? Can people – old and young – use the law to hold the state to account over climate action? And, in a world where climate change denial is increasingly mainstream from politicians, can the law offer a check to the spread of that rhetoric? To discuss all this, Nicholas, Helena and Charlie are joined by Lord Carnwath, to discuss everything from Donald Trump's denialism to Tony Blair's interventions.

If you have questions, criticisms, praise or other feedback, please do send your thoughts to us via lawanddisorderfeedback@gmail.com!

Law and Disorder is a Podot podcast.

Hosted by: Charlie Falconer, Helena Kennedy, Nicholas Mostyn.

Executive Producer and Editor: Nick Hilton.

Associate Producer: Ewan Cameron.

Music by Richard Strauss, arranged and performed by Anthony Willis & Brett Bailey.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tariffs: a word that has become, in the past few months, a political hot potato. With US President Donald Trump slapping major tariffs on countries all around the world, the Law & Disorder crew gather to consider these moves in their historical context and probe their legality. Nicholas Mostyn and Charlie Falconer are – regrettably – missing Helena this week, but we have two guests to compensate: Thomas Sebastian, barrister and expert in tariffs, and Edward Stourton, presenter of Radio 4's Sunday, who is currently writing a book about American political history.

If you have questions, criticisms, praise or other feedback, please do send your thoughts to us via lawanddisorderfeedback@gmail.com!

Law and Disorder is a Podot podcast.

Hosted by: Charlie Falconer, Helena Kennedy, Nicholas Mostyn.

Executive Producer and Editor: Nick Hilton.

Associate Producer: Ewan Cameron.

Music by Richard Strauss, arranged and performed by Anthony Willis & Brett Bailey.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Until recently, there was no real pressure on parties to mediate before an issue went to court. It has created an expensive, and often destructive, dynamic. But now, there is a concerted movement to introduce more "non-court" options, from mediation and arbitration to third party evaluation and collaborative law. To discuss this attempt to innovate in a calcified field, the Law & Disorder trio are joined by two revolutionaries in the area: Karen Barham, solicitor mediator at Moore Barlow, and Tom Carter, a barrister at 1 Hare Court.

If you have questions, criticisms, praise or other feedback, please do send your thoughts to us via lawanddisorderfeedback@gmail.com!

Law and Disorder is a Podot podcast.

Hosted by: Charlie Falconer, Helena Kennedy, Nicholas Mostyn.

Executive Producer and Editor: Nick Hilton.

Associate Producer: Ewan Cameron.

Music by Richard Strauss, arranged and performed by Anthony Willis & Brett Bailey.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Earlier this spring, Sir Nicholas headed off to Chamonix for a conference of family lawyers. There, he delivered a speech titled "The Law is Above You". But is it? In this episode, we'll play an extract from that speech and spark a conversation with Charlie and Helena about the Trump administration's myriad abuses of power, and whether the law can be play a role in preventing further injustices.

If you have questions, criticisms, praise or other feedback, please do send your thoughts to us via lawanddisorderfeedback@gmail.com!

Law and Disorder is a Podot podcast.

Hosted by: Charlie Falconer, Helena Kennedy, Nicholas Mostyn.

Executive Producer and Editor: Nick Hilton.

Associate Producer: Ewan Cameron.

Music by Richard Strauss, arranged and performed by Anthony Willis & Brett Bailey.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's episode of Law & Disorder we're considering one of the big societal issues of the 2020s: the emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI). What challenges does it pose the law? And what possible advantages could be reaped? Will it be used to augment current practices? Or will it entirely refashion how the law works? To discuss this, our intrepid trio are joined by Richard Susskind, a leading lawyer and author of How to Think About AI, and Gregory Mostyn, co-founder of a legal tool, Wexler, and scion of a great legal dynasty.

If you have questions, criticisms, praise or other feedback, please do send your thoughts to us via lawanddisorderfeedback@gmail.com!

Law and Disorder is a Podot podcast.

Hosted by: Charlie Falconer, Helena Kennedy, Nicholas Mostyn.

Executive Producer and Editor: Nick Hilton.

Associate Producer: Ewan Cameron.

Music by Richard Strauss, arranged and performed by Anthony Willis & Brett Bailey.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.