Scottish Public Law Group » Events

Autumn Seminar – Roundtable Discussion on the UK Supreme Court

admin — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 13:27:03 +0000

Please note that the venue for this event has changed as per the attached flyer. The event will now be held at Parliament House, Parliament Square, Edinburgh.

The Faculty of Advocates is sponsoring the Autumn Seminar of the Scottish Public Law Group. It is an event on Friday 9^th October 2009 from 5.30 to 7pm (with tea from 5pm, and drinks from 7 to 7.30pm). It will take the form of a roundtable discussion on the new UK Supreme Court, at the end of the court’s first week in action. There are a number of eminent speakers, including the Hon Lord Rodger of Earlsferry chairing the event, with Lord Hope (Deputy President of the Supreme Court), Professor Brice Dickson (Queen’s University, Belfast), Gerry Moynihan QC (Axiom Advocates) and Professor Neil Walker (Edinburgh University) also speaking.

Details of how to book a place are on the attached flyer. Members who are interested in attending are advised to book early as spaces are limited and the event is open to solicitors, academics, and other public lawyers.

Updated Flyer

SPLG Annual Conference

admin — Wed, 13 May 2009 17:38:11 +0000

The SPLG held its first annual conference on 15 June 2009 at Glasgow University. The conference featured sessions on recent developments in judicial review in Scotland and elsewhere, and on ongoing and crucially important changes in administrative justice, with presentations from Lord Boyd, former Lord Advocate, Aidan O’Neill QC, Mungo Bovey QC, Professor Alan Page, and the first Scottish Public Services Ombudsman, Alice Brown, as well as many others. Please see the brochure below for further details.

SPLG Summer Conference Brochure

The SPLG would like to thank all of the speakers and chairs for their contributions.

Papers from the conference can be found below:

Presentation by Anna Poole

Presentation by Christine O’Neill

Presentation by Sarah O’Neill

Presentation by Jessica Burns

Presentation by Alan Page

Presentation by Aidan O’Neill

Local Government in Scotland Forum

admin — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 09:27:12 +0000

The SPLG Spring Seminar was held on 14 May 2009 at Edinburgh University. Professor Stephen Tierney, Professor of Constitutional Theory, University of Edinburgh, chaired the event which focused on the relationships and interaction between local government and the Scottish Government.

John Ewing, Director of Public Service Reform, Scottish Government, provided a valuable overview of Single Outcome Agreements while Martin Booth, COSLA, gave participants an insight into the operation of Shared Services. Andrew Ferguson, Fife Council & Vice-President of SOLAR, concluded the evening’s events with a helpful synopsis of the Planning etc (Scotland) Act 2006 and its application to local and central government.

The SPLG would like to thank all of the speakers for their informative presentations, as well as the University of Edinburgh who kindly hosted and provided refreshments for this seminar

Human Rights Law in Scotland – Minefield to Mainstream?

admin — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 11:13:20 +0000

The Scottish Public Law Group Winter Seminar was held on Thursday 29 January 2009 at Faculty Hall, Royal Faculty of Procurators in Glasgow. Aidan O’Neill QC chaired the event and guests were treated to insightful and entertaining presentations from Tony Kelly, Partner, Taylor & Kelly and Alan Miller, Chair, Scottish Commission for Human Rights. This was followed by a lively Q&A section. Topics of discussion included:

What lessons have we learned about litigating human rights in the Scottish courts?
What about the attitude of the appellate courts, particularly the Privy Council, towards the development of human rights principles?
What role will Scotland’s new Human Rights Commission play in the development of human rights law going forward?
How important is the process of ‘mainstreaming’ human rights in the policies and practices of our public authorities?

Power point slides used by Tony Kelly in his presentation will be available in the members area shortly.

The SPLG would like to thank the Royal Faculty of Procurators in Glasgow for their support in hosting the event and providing refreshments.

The Scottish Public Law Group was launched in February 2008 as a forum in which academics, advocates, solicitors and government lawyers can meet and discuss matters of topical interest in public law in Scotland. In its first year, it is intended to hold a series of quarterly seminars. These events are free and open to all. Those wishing to attend the Spring Seminar are requested to advise Tracey Pennycuick at tracey.pennycuick@shepwedd.co.uk. Further details of our 2009/10 Programme are available in the “About” section of our website.

Autumn 2008 Seminar – Scotland’s FOI Regime

admin — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 11:42:39 +0000

The Scottish Public Law Group held its Autumn Seminar on Thursday 18 September 2008 at the Scottish Government’s premises at Victoria Quay, Edinburgh. This was a particularly appropriate time to review the experiences and practice of how FoI is operating in Scotland and beyond as we approach the 4^thanniversary of the commencement of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and following the recent House of Lords decision of Common Services Agency v. Scottish Information Commissioner ([2008] UKHL 47). The event was chaired by Ros McInnes (Solicitor, BBC Scotland) and guests were treated to presentations from Maurice Frankel (Director of the Campaign for Freedom of Information), Alicia McKay (FoI Unit, Scottish Government) and Margaret Keyse (Office of the Scottish Information Commissioner). The interesting and well informed discussion covered various topics including:

Has it lived up to the expectations of campaigners for FoI?
What have been the main areas of contention leading to appeals to the Information Commissioners and what lessons can be learnt from them?
How have public authorities responded to the new FoI regime in the way in which they go about their business?
What is the future for FoI – has it worked or is there a need for change?

Powerpoint presentations of Alicia McKay and Margaret Keyse are available in the Members’ section. The SPLG wishes to extend its thanks to the Scottish Government for hosting the event. Details of the SPLG Winter event will be announced shortly.

Revisiting the Devolution Settlement

admin — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 09:25:40 +0000

The next Scottish Public Law Group seminar will take place on Thursday 26 June 2008. The Faculty of Advocates have kindly agreed to host this event. Further details of the event will follow – please register to ensure you receive details of this and other SPLG events.

Remedies in Public Law

admin — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 10:23:57 +0000

23 April 2008
Gilbert Scott Building, University of Glasgow

The inaugural seminar of the Scottish Public Law Group will take place on the evening of Wednesday 23 April 2008. The University of Glasgow have kindly agreed to host the event.

Speakers

Professor Tom Mullen, Head of the School of Law, University of Glasgow
Jane Munro, Advocate
Professor Adam Tomkins, John Millar Professor of Public Law, University of Glasgow

Topics
During the discussions, the speakers will reflect upon recent developments concerning:

Delictual liability of public authorities in Scotland;
Remedies against the Crown in Scots law in light of the recent decisions of the House of Lords in Davidson v Scottish Ministers and Beggs v Scottish Ministers); and
The relationship between the Scotland Act and the Human Rights Act as regards remedies in public law following the decision of the House of Lords in Somerville v Scottish Ministers.

Timetable
5:00 – 5:30 Coffee and Registration, Carnegie Room
5:30 – 7:30 Remedies in Public Law, Senate Room
7:00 – 7:30 Drinks and nibbles, Carnegie Room
7:30 Close

Maps and directions are available at: http://www.gla.ac.uk/about/locationmapsandtravel/

Please register your interest by emailing Paul Reid at: paul.reid@shepwedd.co.uk