“The law is an ass” originates in Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist, when the character Mr. Bumble is informed that “the law supposes that your wife acts under your direction”.
This phrase has been brought to my attention again by a bizarre development in Australia. I leave my blog friend Keith to tell all about it in his blog post.
What a story! It can happen over here too Keith. I suppose that it could happen in any of the countries of the Common Wealth! And to the mother country what better way to salute than with this law – It is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament
According to legal experts, as parliament is still classed as a royal palace, any death of an MP (or Lord) would in theory have required members of the royal household to sit as the coroner’s jury. As this raises all sorts of questions of parliamentary privilege, such as the right to a state funeral, the polite convention arose that no parliamentarian dies until they are safely in the ambulance to a hospital.