Senedd and international perspectives on the rule of law - Lords committee to hear evidence

The House of Lords Constitution Committee will be hearing evidence from two panels of witnesses as part of its rule of law inquiry. 

The first session will look at a Welsh perspective on the rule of law, and the second session will look at the rule of law in an international context. 

The sessions will take place on Wednesday 2 July 2025 and can be followed live on Parliament TV.   

Giving evidence at 10:15am will be: 

• Mick Antoniw, Member of the Senedd/Welsh Parliament and former Counsel General for Wales 

Questions the committee is likely to ask include:     

• How does the Welsh Government work with the UK Government and the other devolved administrations to uphold and promote the rule of law? 

• What are the main threats to the rule of law in Wales? Are these threats different to those experienced elsewhere in the UK? 

• What lessons, if any, can the UK Government learn from the devolved nations about how to effectively uphold the rule of law? 

• What effect, if any, has devolution had on the complexity and accessibility of the law? 

• Is the joint legal jurisdiction of England and Wales a strength or a weakness for Wales? 

 Giving evidence at 11:00am will be: 

• Anne Applebaum, Writer, Journalist and Historian  

• Mark Lewis, Chief of Public Sector Partnerships at the World Justice Project 

Questions the committee is likely to ask include: 

• Is there a globally shared understanding of the core tenets of the rule of law? 

• How strong is the rule of law internationally and how does the UK compare? 

• What factors are driving global trends in the state of the rule of law? 

• What is the broader impact of a decline in the rule of law in Europe and the USA? 

• What can the UK learn from other countries about the rule of law? 

• What role does the UK have in promoting the rule of law internationally, and how is its performance in doing so?