The use of International Law in cases in the Scottish courts: past, present and future.

The SPLG are delighted to invite you to their Winter event, on the use of international law in cases in the Scottish courts.  The event is being held jointly with Edinburgh University, on Friday 24^th February 2012.

If there ever were days when international law rarely troubled the domestic courts, they are long gone.  Scots law is in a continuing process of adaptation to international rules of law.  Some international law has changed Scots law by being incorporated directly, the most obvious examples being the European Convention on Human Rights and EU rules of law.  Other international rules such as those deriving from the Aarhus Convention are revolutionising the approach to expenses in public law cases, and encouraging a liberalisation in title and interest rules.  For the future, the Scottish Government has a legislative proposal to enshrine the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in domestic law, and there are many other untapped areas of international law that Scots lawyers could be using in the Scots courts.

We have assembled a fantastic panel to speak on this important subject.  Lord Bonomy, Senator of the College of Justice, recently spent 5 years working in the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.  He will speak about aspects of his international law experience there of benefit to Scots lawyers.  Michael Fordham QC is one of the foremost public law practitioners at the English bar, author of the leading practitioner’s book on Judicial Review, and teaches at Oxford University.  Shaheed Fatima is a barrister with Blackstone chambers, using international law in her domestic court practice.  She has written a book entitled Using International Law in Domestic Courts, has lectured at Harvard, and is Global Professor of Law at NYU School of Law.  Dr Antonios Tzanakopoulos of Glasgow University and UCL is assistant editor of the journal International law in Domestic Courts.  Between them they will look at how international law bites in domestic proceedings, past, present, and future.  The event will be chaired by Professor Alan Boyle, Professor of Public International Law at Edinburgh University.

The event will take place on Friday 24^th February 2012 at the Playfair Library, Old College, South Bridge, Edinburgh EH8 9YL.  It will commence with tea and coffee at  4.15pm.  Talks will start at 4.30pm and will run, with a Q&A session, until 6.30pm.  There will then be a drinks reception from 6.30 to 7pm.

Please email Karen.Brough@shepwedd.co.uk to book your place.  We anticipate that places for this event will be in demand.  We do not charge for our evening events, but we do ask in return that if you sign up and are unable to attend you let us know, so that your place may be offered to somebody else.