By Richard Collier, Newcastle University This blog presents thoughts, necessarily tentative, on how Covid-19 may be reshaping the terrain around wellbeing in the legal profession and university law schools. Lawyer wellbeing and the broader field of legal wellness studies has become, in recent years, the subject of a distinctive strand of legal scholarship; the focus [...]
By Roger Cotterrell, Queen Mary University of London Photo credit: Keith Ewing When I arrived at the University of Texas to teach as an academic visitor three decades ago, it seemed a liberal oasis in a conservative state. But, exploring the Austin campus, I was surprised to find a huge, towering statue of Jefferson Davis, [...]
By Daria Onitiu, Northumbria University Setting the scene: discerning ‘fashion’ with AI and data personalisation I always was an enthusiastic observer of people’s styles. During my daily walk in Newcastle, the United Kingdom, I do recognise my own preferences in clothing, such as asymmetric clothing in dark colours and certain new fashion trends. Once I [...]
By Ciara Finnegan, Maynooth University International Humanitarian Law (IHL) is one of the oldest branches of International Law and in addition to being regulated by conventional and customary law, it is underpinned by the general principles of Distinction, Military Necessity, and Proportionality; all of which stem from the over-arching Principle of Humanity. These principles regulate [...]
By Stephanie Pywell, Open University The law of England and Wales provides that a couple should be able to marry in a minimal ‘2+2’ civil ceremony – a ceremony conducted by a superintendent registrar in the presence of a registrar and two witnesses – for £127. This comprises £35 per person for giving notice of [...]
By Mark Simpson, Ulster University Image Credit: Hannah Miller The Chancellor of the Exchequer describes the UK Government’s package of support for individuals, businesses and the economy, unveiled in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as “unprecedented in the history of the British state.” There may be some truth in this statement, in terms of the overall [...]
By Melissa L. Tatum, University of Arizona (@mtatumaz) and Jen Hendry, University of Leeds (@mortonjen) On July 9, 2020, in McGirt v. Oklahoma (591 U.S. ___ (2020)), the US Supreme Court issued what could potentially be one of its most important decisions on Federal Indian law. The decision itself was immediately hailed as a “watershed victory [...]
By Amanda Perry-Kessaris, University of Kent and Emily Allbon, City, University of London Can design help to make legal education more inclusive? An inclusive education ecosystem is one ‘in which pedagogy, curricula and assessment are designed and delivered to engage students in learning that is meaningful, relevant and accessible to all’. This entails ‘taking account of’ [...]
By Myriam Hunter-Henin, University College London In one of the 2019 Reith Lectures, entitled Law and the Decline of Politics, Lord Sumption questioned the role of courts in adjudicating controversies over human rights: “In a secular democracy, what is it that makes rights legitimate if not the decision of representative bodies? What is the source, [...]
By Alex Powell, City, University of London In August 2016, the Home Office issued version 6 of their Asylum Policy Instruction: Sexual Orientation in the Asylum Claim (hereafter: 2016 API). The policy is designed to guide decision-makers in determining the qualification of sexuality based refugees. The policy has been heralded as a step towards analysing [...]