Attorney General condemns calls to ditch international courts, invoking 1930s Nazi Germany’s rejection of law

The UK Attorney General, Lord Richard Hermer KC, has delivered a stark warning against moves to abandon international courts, drawing a chilling parallel with Nazi Germany’s rejection of the rule of law in the 1930s.

Speaking on Thursday at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in London, Lord Hermer criticised arguments that the UK can selectively ignore international obligations as a “radical departure from the UK’s constitutional tradition.” He said such ideas echo dangerous “realist” legal theories popular in early Nazi Germany, notably those of jurist Carl Schmitt, who argued that state power overrides legal constraints.

“The claim that international law is fine as far as it goes, but can be put aside when conditions change, is a claim that was made in the early 1930s by ‘realist’ jurists in Germany,” Hermer said. He emphasised that this doctrine prioritised raw state power over law, a mindset that facilitated the rise of authoritarianism under Adolf Hitler in 1933.

Lord Hermer warned against a growing “siren song” in Westminster advocating the abandonment of international law in favour of unilateral national power. He described this as a dangerous, historically discredited approach. “This is not a new song,” he said. “Because of what happened in 1933, far-sighted individuals rebuilt and transformed the institutions of international law to prevent such abuses.”

The Attorney General’s comments come amid debate within the Conservative Party and beyond about the UK’s future with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and other international legal bodies. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has suggested the UK might have to leave the ECHR if it obstructs “doing what is right,” although she has stopped short of outright calls for withdrawal.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has openly advocated scrapping the ECHR, arguing it limits Britain’s control over borders and sovereignty. Farage’s position highlights a faction within British politics increasingly sceptical of international legal commitments.

Despite this, Lord Hermer urged caution and a measured approach. He acknowledged the need to “apply and adapt existing obligations to address new situations” and called for reform where necessary, but firmly rejected any notion of wholesale abandonment. “We must not stagnate in our approach to international rules,” he said, “but reform must be grounded in respect for the rule of law, not a rejection of it.”

His speech, published on the government website, underscored the historical lessons from the 1930s, when the breakdown of international legal norms helped pave the way for devastating conflict and dictatorship. By invoking this history, Lord Hermer sought to remind lawmakers of the stakes involved in dismantling legal safeguards that have underpinned post-war peace and order.

As debates continue about the UK’s relationship with international courts, Lord Hermer’s remarks serve as a stark caution: abandoning international law in pursuit of raw power risks repeating some of history’s darkest chapters.

THE GUARDIAN

Attorney General Richard Hermer warned that the UK risks “disintegration” and becoming “less prosperous and secure” if it adopts a selective “pick-and-mix” approach to international law. Speaking at the Royal United Services Institute, Hermer defended multilateral legal frameworks that have kept peace since 1945, rejecting calls from Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and shadow attorney general David Wolfson to sideline international law. He argued their position echoes dangerous ideas from 1930s Germany and would ultimately benefit hostile powers like Russia. Hermer criticised the previous Conservative government, especially Boris Johnson, for damaging the UK’s global reputation by breaching international law and implementing controversial policies like the Rwanda deportation scheme. While acknowledging international law is imperfect and requires reform, he emphasised that abandoning it for raw power is reckless. Hermer stressed the importance of balancing realism with values to make the world safer, warning that weakening legal frameworks only aids malign actors threatening global stability.

THE TELEGRAPH

Attorney General Lord Hermer likens Tory and Reform calls to abandon international law to 1930s Nazi Germany. Speaking at RUSI, Hermer warned that threats to quit treaties like the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) echo demands by 1930s German legal experts such as Carl Schmitt, who championed state power over law and supported the Nazi regime. He criticised Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and Reform’s Nigel Farage for advocating leaving or selectively ignoring international law, calling their stance “reckless and dangerous” and a gift to Putin. Hermer outlined Labour’s “progressive realism” policy to work within international law and seek reform rather than abandon it. He condemned the “pick-and-mix” approach to treaties, emphasising that history shows the catastrophic consequences of rejecting legal constraints in favour of raw state power.