The Gazette of the Law Society of England and Wales has featured an article by Colm Ó Cinnéide, Professor of Constitutional and Human Rights Law at University College London, warning of growing threats to the rule of law in the UK and abroad. He stresses that the rule of law—power constrained by legal norms and subject to judicial challenge—is under pressure as lawyers and judges increasingly face harassment, abuse, and intimidation for carrying out their professional duties.
Ó Cinnéide highlights a “new reality” in which solicitors, particularly in sensitive areas such as immigration, asylum, family, human rights, and criminal law, must contend with online abuse, hate campaigns, and even physical threats. Similar trends are seen internationally: disciplinary pressures on judges in Poland, widespread harassment across Europe, and, strikingly, in the United States, targeted death threats against judges and threats of prosecution against lawyers.
He attributes these developments to the amplifying effects of social media, economic stagnation eroding institutional trust, the breakdown of traditional media gatekeeping, and a political climate that normalises hostility towards legal institutions.
To counter these trends, Ó Cinnéide urges a rebuilding of societal norms, including careful use of language in public debates and renewed consensus against stereotyping and demonisation. Protecting access to justice requires ensuring that lawyers and judges can operate without fear. The Law Society’s platforming of his commentary reflects the importance of confronting these challenges and collectively working to restore trust in legal institutions.