Our annual conference aims to update practitioners, advocates and academics on relevant and emerging topics in public and constitutional law in Scotland, the UK and the EU.  The conference is supported by Axiom Advocates, Arnot Manderson Advocates, the Murray Stable and Biggart Baillie LLP.

Date: 11 June 2012

Time: 9 am – 5 pm – followed by a wine reception
Venue: Roxburghe Hotel, Edinburgh
To reserve a place, book on-line.

Confirmed speakers and chairs include the Lord President of the Court of Session, The Rt Hon The Lord Wallace of Tankerness QC (Advocate General for Scotland), Sheriff Principal Taylor, Roseanna Cunningham (Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs), James Mure QC (Axiom Advocates), Simon Collins QC (Judge of the First Tier Tribunal), Professor Christine Bell(University of Edinburgh), Professor Robin Churchill (University of Dundee), Dr Robert Lane (University of Edinburgh), Lorna Jack (Chief Executive of the Law Society of Scotland), Judith Morrison (Office of the Solicitor to the Scottish Parliament), Sam Grodzinski QC (Matrix Chambers) and Dr Elaine Webster(University of Strathclyde).

The conference will be divided into four sections:

• An update on Public Law in Scotland
• Developments in England, Luxembourg and Strasbourg
• Scotland’s constitutional future: the EU and international law dimensions

·  An insight into the future of the Scottish political landscape.

We are delighted to welcome the Lord President of the Court of Session who, hot on the heels of his retirement the previous week, will chair the preliminary session. It also brings us great pleasure to announce that Lord Wallace, the Advocate General for Scotland, will address the conference as part of the afternoon session, a timely appearance so shortly after the Scotland Act 2012received royal assent on 1 May 2012. We are also delighted to welcome Sheriff Principal Taylor, who is in the process of completing the Taylor Review looking at the costs and funding of litigation in Scotland, to speak during the afternoon’s proceedings.

This day-long event should not be missed by those working in public law in Scotland, or with an interest in Scotland’s continuing constitutional development, particularly given the recent discussions on a referendum for independence and the new political and legal framework under the Scotland Act2012. Whether through public law decisions in the courts, legislative developments, or political action, the law in Scotland is changing. The fantastic line-up of experts assembled by the SPLG to speak at the annual conference will facilitate crucial discussions on a number of these emerging areas in order to ensure attendees are fully informed and prepared for the years ahead.

The preliminary session will cover updates on public law in Scotland delivered by James Mure QC (Axiom Advocates), Simon Collins QC (First Tier Tribunal Judge) and Judith Morrison (Office of the Solicitor to the Scottish Parliament). James Mure QC has a wealth of expertise in public law having acted for the Scottish Government in cases challenging legislation of the Scottish Parliament in both Imperial Tobacco and Axa Insurance. Before being appointed as a Judge, Simon Collins QC acted in many of the leading Scottish human rights cases such as Napier and Cadder. Judith Morrison is the chief legal adviser to the Subordinate Legislation Committee at the Scottish Parliament.

This will be followed by a session on developments in England, Luxembourg and Strasbourg with speakers Sam Grodzinski QC (Matrix Chambers), David Guild(Advocate Référendaire at the CJEU) and Dr Elaine Webster (University of Strathclyde). Sam Grodzinski QC acted for the UK Government in a case before the supreme court on whether the Upper Tribunal’s decisions are amenable to judicial review (Cart) – he has also acted in both the ECtHR and the CJEU. Dr Elaine Webster teaches Public Law at the University of Strathclyde and specialises in the application of Article 3 of the ECHR. David Guild is currently a judicial assistant at the CJEU and brings a unique insight into the inner workings of the EU institutions. This session will be chaired by Lorna Jack, Chief Executive of the Law Society of Scotland.

In addition, we will be welcoming Christine Bell (Professor of Constitutional Law, Edinburgh University), Robin Churchill (Professor of International Law)and Dr Robert Lane (University of Edinburgh) who will lead a discussion on Scotland’s potential role as an international actor in a post-independence scenario, looking at international obligations and international engagement with institutions such as the EU, the Council of Europe, the United Nations and NATO. Professor Bell is a leading international expert in Transitional Justice in respect of newly emerging states and Professor Churchill has previously advised a number of foreign governments, the European Commission and the European Parliament on issues of international law. Doctor Robert Lane’s principal areas of interest and leading expertise include the constitutional and administrative arrangements of the EU.

Further announcements will be made as more high-profile names are confirmed. Places are filling fast, so book as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Book on-line.

Tickets are priced at £75 (£25 concessions).  A group rate of 6 places for the price of 5 is also available.

We still have various sponsorship opportunities available.  Sponsorship Terms

If you have any enquiries please contact emily.gilmour@shepwedd.co.uk or jennifer.jack@biggartbaillie.co.uk.

The SPLG and the Faculty of Advocates are delighted to invite you to the first of two very special events which take place this summer, which feature the Chief Justices of Canada and Australia.

The first event will be led by the Chief Justice of Canada, the Rt Hon Beverley McLachlin PC, who will speak about how Canada allocates power between central and local legislatures.  Lord Reed, Justice of the UK Supreme Court, will then consider Scotland’s own recent experience and – in light of cases such as AXA and Imperial Tobacco – the extent to which Scots’ law might learn from the Canadian approach to challenges made to primary legislation in a multi-layered democracy.

The event will take place on the evening of Wednesday 6 June, exact timings will follow.  The SPLG would like to convey their thanks to the Lord President for granting us use of Court Number One and the Faculty of Advocates for their generous support.

To register for this event please click here:  http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/event/3249743069

We are also delighted to announce a second event, led by the Chief Justice of Australia, the Hon Robert French AC.   This event will take place on the evening of Friday 6 July in Court Number One (timings to follow).

If you would like to register for this event in the meantime, please click here: http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/event/3249957711

Any queries should be directed to emily.gilmour@shepwedd.co.uk

]]> http://splg.co.uk/2012/04/legislatures-at-loggerheads/feed/ 0 http://splg.co.uk/2012/03/conference-scotland-and-the-united-kingdom/ http://splg.co.uk/2012/03/conference-scotland-and-the-united-kingdom/#comments Tue, 13 Mar 2012 18:12:41 +0000 admin http://splg.co.uk/?p=418 The Scottish Public Law Group are proud to be sponsoring this event, being held by The Royal Society of Edinburgh on 27th April 2012.

The Conference, which was also held in London, is intended to bring further academic evidence and analysis to bear on the current debates on Scotland’s relationship with the rest of the United Kingdom, and to inform and challenge the discussions both inside Scotland and in Westminster about the future of this relationship.

Attendance fee is £100, places can be booked here:

http://www.royalsoced.org.uk/events/event.php?id=272

Please click here for a copy of the programme: Edinburgh Conference Programme

Wednesday 25th January 2012, 2pm – 4.30pm, Deeprose Theatre, Govan Mbeki Building, Glasgow Caledonian University. Free. Register online here: http://gcu-law.eventbrite.com/

Any queries to lawsoc@caledonian.ac.uk

Speakers are Clive Lewis QC (Intervener for First Minister of Wales) , Aiden O’Neill QC (Counsel for 3rd to 10th respondents), Aileen McHarg (University of Glasgow) and Paul Reid, Advocate.

For further information please contact law.events@ed.ac.uk

Of interest to those who attended, Sir Nicolas Bratza (shortly to become President of the European Court of Human Rights) has recently published an article entitled: “The relationship between the UK Courts and Strasbourg” in the European Human Rights Law Review (E.H.R.L.R. (2011) No.5 Pages 505-512). (available on Westlaw)

The article discusses, with particular reference to leading case law such as the contentious decision in Hirst v United Kingdom (74025/01)(2006) 42 EHRR 41 (ECHR (Grand Chamber) , the relationship between the European Court of Human Rights and national courts, responding to criticism of the former in jurisdictions such as the UK, regarding areas such as the standards and composition of the courts and regarding the allegation that it takes a uniform approach to states with established law and practices. It argues that any attempt by the UK to withdraw from the Convention framework would harm both the Convention system itself and the standing of the UK in Europe.

The paper given by Lord Reed is also available by clicking here:

 The Interrelationship of Strasbourg and UK Human Rights Law – Reed

The SPLG are delighted to invite you to their Autumn event, on current issues in media law in Scotland and the UK.  The event is being held with the support of Glasgow Caledonian University’s Institute for Society and Social Justice Research on Tuesday 29 November 2011. 

Recent developments involving and affecting the media need little introduction.  Complaints about the apparently excessive protection of privacy through the use of superinjunctions have shifted in the course of the year to much wider concerns over the involvement of media organisations in phone hacking and unorthodox, if not unlawful, relationships with the police and others.  Meantime, in the field of freedom of expression and regulation of hate speech we have had the introduction – and evolution – of the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications Bill in the Scottish Parliament.

To discuss these current issues in media law we will have a panel of speakers including:

Hugh Tomlinson QC a well known specialist in media and information law including defamation, confidence, privacy and data protection.  He has represented a number of  high profile individuals seeking to protect their privacy, including several well known (English) footballers and is highly respected as an authority on civil liberties and regulation of the media.

Rosalind McInnes is principal solicitor with BBC Scotland and the author of Scots Law for Journalists, now in its 8th edition.  She speaks, publishes and teaches on all aspects of media law and has been at the coal face for many years challenging reporting restrictions, and protecting the rights of journalists, in the Scottish courts and in the European Court of Human Rights. 

The event will take place on Tuesday 29 November 2011 at the Govan Mbeki Building, Glasgow Caledonian University, Cowcaddens Road, Glasgow

It will commence with tea and coffee at  5.15pm.  Talks will start at 5.30pm and will run, with a Q&A session, until 7pm.  There will then be a drinks reception from 7pm to 8pm.

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.

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.

Curtice

Moynihan

Paulin

And here is Martin Chamberliain‘s presentation.