Lawbore Legal Events Calendar

Come along to a seminar run by the Court of Protection Bar Association, with a panel of minority ethnic barristers, discussing their journeys into law, what the Court of Protection is, life as a Court of Protection Barrister and pupillage application tips. Speakers to be confirmed...

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This event launches the book "Understanding the EU as a Good Global Actor: Ambitions, Values and Metrics", published by Edward Elgar in Winter 2022.

The event is organised by Prof. Elaine Fahey, City Law School and Dr. Isabella Mancini, Brunel Law School.

The event is hybrid - if you want to attend online use the zoom link.  See link below if you'd like to come along in person - in-person spaces are limited. 

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The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is an ‘institution for conflict resolution’ par excellence. Not only does it deal with thousands of cases per year, coming from 46 countries across the continent; in doing so it also seeks to strengthen democracy, human rights and the rule of law at the national level - crucial preconditions for the peaceful resolution of conflicts by domestic institutions. In the course of more than 60 years, the Court has decided leading cases that gave shape and substance to the freedom of expression, the right to a fair trial, and so on. In recent years, the Court is confronted with a new kind of cases. They revolve around the question whether there were ulterior motives behind the authorities' actions. Mr. Navalny is arrested time and again when he wants to address his supporters. Is this simply an attempt to maintain public order, or is there a purpose behind these actions, for instance to silence a political opponent of the regime? A Polish judge is disciplined. Should the Court zoom in on the penalty imposed on him, or should it review the case in the broader context of the 'rule of law crisis' prevailing in the country? Similar questions arise in the case of SLAPPs (strategic lawsuits against public participation). Cases like these have led to the 'rediscovery' of Article 18 of the ECHR. But they may also draw the Court -- whether it likes it or not -- into highly politically sensitive grounds

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What are the strengths and weaknesses of the distinction between solicitors and barristers? What is the purpose of the independent Bar in our legal system today? How does England and Wales compare with common law jurisdictions which have abandoned, or have never had, a split profession?

Is the Bar’s history as a bastion of privilege, its various historical monopolies and prerogatives, and its culture and organisation problematic? What are the benefits of an independent Bar?

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Sir Richard Arnold, Alumni and Visiting Professor at Westminster Law School and Court of Appeal judge, will be delivering his Annual Lecture titled 'Issues and Developments in Entertainment Law: an intellectual property perspective' on 7 February 2023.

This will be the seventh annual lecture Sir Richard has delivered at Westminster Law School

The event is organised by Centre for Law, Society and Popular Culture at the University of Westminster.

Founded in 1996, the Centre for Law, Society and Popular Culture draws together work from the Westminster Law School and beyond. It has an established reputation, both professionally and academically, and covers areas such as music, sport, film and the media.

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About this lecture

Time pressure is a necessary constraint on aspects of the constitution, but it can also pose a threat to good government, parliamentary accountability and scrutiny. In this lecture Dr White considers the impact on the constitution of the time constraints created by external factors (such as the Article 50 process and the COVID-19 pandemic) and politically driven agendas (such as the approach taken by the Truss premiership). She will examine the ways in which time pressure shaped the May and Johnson governments’ strategies for giving effect to the 2016 referendum result and how they controlled time in pursuit of their policy objectives. She will discuss the impact on procedures and conventions of the imperative for the government to act swiftly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the opportunities and risks of the precedents set. And she considers the impact of Truss’s accelerated policy agenda for the constitutional safeguards built into government processes. In concluding, she will reflect on the lasting legacy of the time pressure exerted on the constitution during this exceptional period and offer some thoughts about how the constitution might be protected against the negative consequences of governing under time constraints.        

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This lecture is given by City's Puillage Advisory Service (PAS).

No booking required.

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The School of Law Anti-racist working group and the Staff Seminar Series are proud to host Dr Foluke Adebisi in a discussion of her new book Decolonisation and Legal Knowledge. This book explores how the law is entangled in colonial thought and in reproducing ideas of commodification regarding bodies and space-time. It examines the ways in which we can use theories and praxes of decolonisation to produce legal knowledge for flourishing futures. An essential intervention into the meanings of decolonisation, this book explores how such an inquiry can inform teaching, researching, and practising law.

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This lecture will examine the role played by the doctrine of frustration in cases arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic and consider, in the light of comparative law, whether English contract law should be changed in order to enable it to meet the needs of commercial parties dealing with a significant change of circumstances, such as the pandemic.

While the formal structure of English contract law has not so far been altered as a result of case law arising from the pandemic, the lecture will draw attention to some more informal means of encouraging responsible contractual behaviour in the performance and enforcement of contracts impacted by the pandemic, such as the guidance issued by the Cabinet Office, and it will consider the causes of the enactment of the Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Act 2022.

In doing so, consideration will be given to the question whether these alternative techniques are a preferable way of developing the law rather than liberalising the doctrine of frustration.

Ewan McKendrick, BCL, MA, LLB (Edinburgh), QC (Hon) is Emeritus Professor of English Private Law at the University of Oxford and Professor of Anglo-American Law at the University of Leiden. He is a Bencher of Gray's Inn and a member of chambers at 3 Verulam Buildings, Gray's Inn. He was the Registrar of the University of Oxford from 2011 to 2018.

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Seminar

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Most Pupillage Interviews will contain a legal problem question. This session aims to prepare you to approach these questions in a structured and logical way.

The problem question that we will discuss will be available on Moodle 48 hrs before the event. The barrister will present on how to approach the question. If you want to try to prepare the question beforehand you can compare your approaches. No one will be put on the spot and it will be a very useful and unique opportunity.

Refreshments served from 5.30 PM. No booking required!

A panel of barristers from a diverse range of chambers inform you on how to approach Pupillage Interviews. Each barrister will tackle a different area of the process so that you will be well prepared on what is to come. They will answer any questions that you have in the panel event or afterwards over networking. 

Chambers coming along:

Garden Court - Family
Henderson Chambers - Mixed Civil
CPS - Crime
One Essex Court Chambers – Commercial, International Arbitration.
Foundry Chambers - Crime
5 Essex Court - Public Law, Civil, Employment. Police Law

No booking required. 90 mins Q&A followed by 90 mins networking.

This online seminar explores ethical scenarios that may arise in civil proceedings, including the illicit recording of court hearings and conferences and conflicts of interest. Led by experienced civil barristers, learn more about the resources and support available to you. 

Find out more and book your place - free to attend.

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It has been just over one hundred years that a permanent judicial system has been established and, since its establishment, with the Permanent Court of International Justice, an advisory function – alongside with a contentious one – has been a permanent feature of international justice. The resort to the advisory function in the Permanent Court of International Justice and in the International Court of Justice has varied over the decades, but, without question, there have been important advisory opinions rendered by both Courts.

The availability of such function, which is different in nature and also in terms of process from contentious proceedings, has also led to intense discussions on whether seeking an advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice by, for instance the General Assembly, would be an efficient and appropriate avenue to settle difficult and sensitive legal questions such as those concerning immunities of heads of State or liability for climate change impacts.

Furthermore, many of the existing international courts and tribunals that have been created in the last 75 years, and greatly inspired in the experience of the judicial organs of the League of Nations and in particular of the United Nations, possess today an advisory function, and several of them have already had the opportunity to exercise it

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Whether the United Kingdom needs a written constitution is a staple of British constitutional debates. Over the years, the fault-lines have shifted from whether to incorporate a Bill of Rights to much deeper disagreement with respect to the people and the central power of the state. In this talk I will neither endorse the conservative case against a written constitution, nor will I argue for the existing constitution to be codified. Instead, I first assess the content of various proposals for a written constitution. I then problematize the process of constitution-making by asking not whether the UK constitution should be codified, but by relating the constitution to the people as the authors and to the state as its object.

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What is the adversarial tradition in English criminal and civil procedure, and how does it compare with the inquisitorial systems found in some civil law jurisdictions? What are the strengths and weaknesses of adversarial and inquisitorial jurisdictions? Does our adversarial system truly deliver equality of arms between the powerful and the powerless? Have modern fair trial standards, such as those required by the European Court of Human Rights, -and other developments - brought the two families of systems closer together?

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‘The Need for a Criminal Division of the High Court?’ delivered by Professor David Ormerod (Faculty of Laws, UCL)

Chair: TBC

About this Inaugural Lecture

In this lecture Professor David Ormerod CBE KC considers the distinctiveness of criminal judgecraft and questions whether there is a need to create a new Criminal Division of the High Court to reflect the need for greater specialism in High Court judges tasked with criminal work.

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As we approach the three year mark since the first COVID lockdown in the United Kingdom, the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies and the University of London Press are pleased to announce the publication of Law, Humanities and the COVID Crisis, edited by the Director of IALS, Professor Carl Stychin. This book emerges from the Director’ Series of online seminars held during the 2020-21 academic year. The occasion also marks the launch of the new IALS Open Access series with the University of London Press, Reimagining Law and Justice. The series will comprise an exciting collection of open access books focused on key issues, challenges and debates in legal studies today. Law, Humanities and the COVID Crisis will launch the new series, underscoring the commitment of IALS to open access publishing without author payment. 

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The Statute Law Society Panel Discussion

Putting the Genie Back in the Bottle: Reviving Prerogative Powers

Panel:

• Professor Robert Hazell, Constitution Unit, UCL
• Professor Jeff King, Fauclty of Laws, UCL
• Professor Satvinder Juss, King's College London

• About this talk

  The subject will be issues around expanding and contracting the Prerogative, focusing (but not exclusively) on the issues that arose in the repeal of the Fixed-term Parliaments Act.

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The Law Commission concluded its review of corporate criminality in June 2022 and one of the options for reform was canvassed to be introduced in the Economic Crime Bill but removed. The seminar will examine the options put forward by the Commission and consider alternatives such as the German model of administrative penalties.

The seminar is part of ECLA(UK)’s programme to disseminate information on EU Criminal Law and to stimulate debate on reform in the UK

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Gene editing technology gives us the ability to change our DNA – removing, adding and replacing parts of our genetic code. These technologies have been emerging and improving for some decades, but since the development of CRISPR-based editing technologies, our capacity to edit our DNA has become both more accessible, more accurate and consequently, more powerful. Gene editing could be used to prevent genetic diseases but also alter traits like height and intelligence, presenting both legal and ethical issues.

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What is the role of criminal law in society, and do we need it? How did English criminal law develop? The traditional justifications for criminalisation are retribution, deterrence, containment and control: do they stand up to scrutiny? What are the alternatives to criminalisation, such as restorative and transformative justice? Should we abolish or reform criminal law? How should a just legal system respond to harm and conflict?

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LSBU are proud to present this inaugural lecture by Professor Shaminder Takhar as part of our inaugural lectures programme for 2022-23.

Professor Takhar is Professor of Sociology in the School of Law & Social Sciences at LSBU. She is also Chair of the School Ethics Panel and leads the Race, Gender and Sexualities Research Group. Her research and publications are centred around race, gender, sexuality and social justice. You can read more about her lecture, accomplishments & impressive career below. We hope you'll join us as Professor Takhar explores important - and timely - discussions around women, politics & gender equality.

Inaugural lectures are an occasion of significance in our professors’ careers at the University. They provide an opportunity to recognise and celebrate the achievements of our recently appointed professors who are undertaking research, innovation, engagement and teaching activities in their field of expertise.

Lectures are open to all LSBU Group staff & students as well as to members of the public and are free of charge. They are taking place in person and will be recorded. They are not being live streamed at present.

You can check out the full programme of our inaugural lectures here.

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Since the death of George Floyd in May 2020, some have asked whether we need a police force.

This lecture will examine the role and purpose of the police in our society. What do the police do? What is their historical and social context? Does the current system of policing work? If so, for who? Are all citizens in our society policed fairly? Should we defund the police? If there were no police what might replace them? Are the alternatives realistic?

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A full day, comprehensive training on understanding, working with and responding to domestic abuse within Gloucestershire.

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