Anglia Law School Newsletter September 2017 New Head of the Law School Dr Aldo Zammit Borda has been appointed Head of the Law School (Acting). He was awarded his PhD from Trinity College Dublin and originally completed a post-doctorate at King’s College London. As Research Fellow at that institution, he managed a large European Union Seventh Framework Programme-funded project entitled ‘Securing Europe through Counter-Terrorism: Impact, Legitimacy and Effectiveness.’ He holds a Master of Economic Science in European Economic and Public Affairs (University College Dublin) and a Doctor of Laws (University of Malta). Before becoming an academic, Dr Zammit Borda was active in different functions, one of them being First Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Malta during the country’s accession to the European Union. He also served as Legal Editor of the Commonwealth Law Bulletin at the Commonwealth Secretariat, London. He is an advocate of the Courts of Malta and a Solicitor in England and Wales (non-practicing). In 2009, he was appointed Fellow of the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple (UK) for his work in international law and, in 2014, Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (UK). He has published extensively in world-leading publications, including the Cambridge Journal of International & Comparative Law, the European Journal of International Law, and the Leiden Journal of International Law, amongst others. He is regularly invited to contribute to the media in relation to international criminal law, including The Times, The Guardian, Newsweek Europe, Russia Today TV and the BBC Radio.
Buddy Scheme Award Janki Patel (far left) a third year law student, receiving the Dean’s certificate and a gift voucher on completion of the Scheme from Dr Apurba Kundu, Deputy Dean for Academic Development: Please see page 3 for Janki’s article on her experiences when taking part in the scheme.
Outstanding Personal Tutor/Supervisor Jane Martin has been awarded the ‘made a difference award’ for outstanding personal tutor/supervisor during the academic year 2016 – 2017. As quoted by a student in the nomination ‘Jane has definitely made a difference in my time at university and I for one am honoured to have had the privilege of being taught by her’. For a full list of Law School Lecturers who were shortlisted for these Awards please see page 8 of the Newsletter.
Welcome to the Law School
Anglia Law School and school’s outreach By Dr Ryan Hill
Welcome to the latest issue of our newsletter for the Academic Year 2017–18. As the new Acting Head of Anglia Law School (ALS), it gives me great pleasure to welcome all students and staff to a new academic year! I remain keen to meet and speak with you over this year and, please, do drop me an email if there is something you wish to share. My email is: aldo.zammitborda@anglia.ac.uk
Within the University’s Strategic Plan 2017-2026 ‘Designing Our Future’, mention is made for the need to strengthen relationships between the university and the wider ARU community. Identified as one stakeholder group in this regard are regional schools and colleges. Within this stakeholder group are, of course, pupils facing the daunting task of deciding what they would like to do in their futures. As such, university engagement with schools and colleges can support these young people in making an informed choice.
We start the year with great NSS results. Over 90% of our students agreed that the LLB (Hons) course is intellectually stimulating and we had good results for overall student satisfaction. I would like to renew the ongoing commitment of all staff at ALS to these important objectives.
A number of initiatives are currently at the aspirational stage, but over the past year there have been some exciting Anglia Law School initiatives undertaken with schools, including on school site visits and on campus events. The most interesting of these initiatives has been a pilot engagement with a local school in which a selection of their year 12/13 pupils engaged with the Law School over a 6 week period. This project consisted of six one hourly weekly sessions covering topics including ‘what is law’, ‘criminal law’, ‘public law’ and ‘advocacy’. All sessions were interactive with two sessions being solely made up of guided group work. One of the ideas behind the project was to enhance the school pupils’ knowledge and to encourage an ‘aim higher’ approach among the pupils taking part. Feedback from the thirteen participants was very encouraging and their group work, which we assessed, showed that they were achieving real learning from the experience.
In this respect, planning for a new Law Clinic within ALS is proceeding apace. When established, the Law Clinic will provide an unparalleled opportunity for our students to gain practical experience and skills, both of which are highly valued by employers. Our students will also be pleased to know that we are taking a proactive approach to planning for the Solicitors Qualifying Examination which will be introduced by the Solicitors Regulation Authority in the near future. This new examination will have a major impact on how law is taught and how one qualifies as a solicitor in England and Wales – we therefore want to ensure that our law course remains robust and future-proof, and caters for the changing needs of students and law firms.
Looking forward, the six week pilot project will be reviewed with a view to seeing what enhancements might be made and how similar projects could be developed for other schools and colleges. Anglia Law School is also in discussion with a school in Southend wishing to incorporate some aspects of the history of law into its history course as well as working on a collaborative ‘crime themed’ campus open event. These initiatives are to be welcomed and will undoubtedly feature more distinctly as Anglia Law School further develops its school’s outreach program.
I hope you enjoy reading all the contributions from law students and academic staff which will give you an idea of the wide variety of activities which are taking place in Anglia Law School. Dr Aldo Zammit Borda Acting Head of the Law School
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To Buddy or not to Buddy? The answer is ‘go for it’
two and three students to take part in this scheme and make a difference to fellow students and build new friendships.
By Janki Patel
More information about ALSS Buddies can be found here: http://www.anglia.ac.uk/arts-law-and-socialsciences/alss-buddies/volunteering
Overwhelmed with being in a new learning environment, first year undergraduate students can find comfort in the helping hands of buddies. Buddies are senior students who are there to guide first year students to a more exciting and comfortable transition into university life.
Amman, Jordan: recruitment trip During the academic year Tom Serby spent four days in Amman, Jordan with the International Office visiting former and future LLM students at the JESEC
From summer until November 2016, I took part in the faculty Buddy Scheme run by the Faculty of Arts, Law and Social Sciences (ALSS). The Scheme aims to provide support for new undergraduate students and help them settle into university life.
recruitment fair in Amman. The trip was an interesting insight into the education system in Jordan and the aspirations of Jordanians for many of whom master’s study in the UK is very high on their agenda.
To become an ALSS buddy, I was required to undertake a training session, after which I was assigned students matched by similar interests and the course of study. I corresponded with the students prior to them arriving and during the term. This involved sending emails, meeting, answering any questions and helping them when required. There were also opportunities to meet with fellow buddies and students at organised events during Fresher’s Weeks.
New LLM International module By Dr Apurba Kundu*
I am very pleased to relay the news that our PGT provision continues to grow!
This Scheme allowed me to talk about student life at ARU as well as about my LLB (Hons) course. It makes a difference to new students by easing their development into a new stage of education when they receive advice and guidance. Buddies also fill in a log which shows the progress made with each student.
Our new LLM International Law was approved to run from September 2017. The Approvals Panel recorded just two (minor) conditions, made four recommendations, and commended the team for the variety of assessments (which include presentations, mini moot and viva); and the module Current Legal Issues for demonstrating evidence of research-infused education.
From this experience, I learned that there is always something we can all share and pass on to those starting at university. It helped to develop my skills of communication and problem solving, which will be useful for employability. Working on Welcome Days and interacting with people meant I had the opportunity to meet new students which was a satisfying experience.
Congratulations to proposal author Tom Serby, and team members Alex Murray and Aldo Zammit Borda. Thanks, too, to Vicky McCormick for all her support. * Faculty Deputy Dean for Academic Development
All ALSS buddies received the Dean’s certificate and a gift voucher on completion of the Scheme. Additionally, the hours spent goes towards the ARU Student Union volunteering credits. I would strongly recommend year
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Anglia Law School research shows that law students find recorded lectures useful
attendance if lectures were recorded, e.g. to release the recordings every three/four weeks instead of weekly; to allow students self-recording. With the new university policy on recorded lectures to be applied from September 2017, this research will help our Law School colleagues understand better how we could support learning of our students.
Dr Dagilytė, Senior Lecturer in Law, together with John Walsh, ALSS Faculty Learning Technologist, and Semra Ramadan, Anglia Law School Student Researcher, presented the results of the Learning and Teaching Project ‘Recorded lectures: What impact on student attendance?’ at our university’s ENGAGE Conference.
The project research team, which also includes Mahjabin Anwar, the second Student Researcher from Chelmsford campus, are now preparing a paper to be presented at the Society for Research into Higher Education Conference in December 2017. The research was funded by winning the Learning and Teaching Project Grant from Anglia Learning and Teaching. The ENGAGE Conference presentation video can be found here: https://myplayer.anglia.ac.uk/Player/6032 (requires ARU login off-campus)
The project investigated whether there was a direct link between recorded lectures, audio and/or visual, being made available via VLE to year-two and year-three undergraduate law students and their attendance patterns in live lectures in our university. It was done via the online student survey and analysis of student attendance data, accompanied with the actual viewings of the recorded lectures data. The online survey attracted 46 responses from current year-two and year-three LLB students in Cambridge and Chelmsford, representing 13% of the enrolled students on one of the core modules across the two academic years (2015/16 and 2016/17). The research findings indicate that there are a variety of reasons why students do not attend classes (or attend less), but recorded lectures are not one of these. The reasons highlighted by students include timetabling, childcare, working lives, illness, curriculum design, student purposive learning behaviours and tutor ability to engage / tutor personality.
Deputy Head of Law Department moving on After working at Anglia Ruskin between 1994 and 2017 Julia Ramsay, Deputy Head of the Law School, will be leaving Anglia Law School at the end of September 2017. Having originally qualified as a Solicitor before joining the Law School as a law lecturer, Julia has held a number of senior posts including Legal Practice Course Director, Programme Leader for Professional Law Courses and Course Leader of the LLM Legal Practice. In addition to her present role which she has held since 2008, she has also been Interim Head of the Department and Joint Acting Head. As Law Employability Champion she was recognised for her outstanding contribution in June 2016 by the presentation of a Vice Chancellor's Award.
The overwhelming finding was that most law students found lectures worth their time, as they allowed interacting with peers and the lecturer, promoted inclusivity and deep earning. 23.5% used the recordings to prepare for assessment / revision, while 38.2% also used them to prepare for workshops and to catch up. Differently from the findings in the literature, law students seemed to prefer full lecture recordings rather than short bite-sized videos, albeit some indicated that shorter video recordings would be extremely beneficial for understanding better the more difficult legal concepts or cases.
Julia has been highly influential in the management, strategy and development of the department and will be leaving behind her an enduring legacy in the Law School. As stated by Dr Aldo Zammit Borda, the Acting Head of the Law School, “Julia will be very much missed by colleagues for her significant contribution to the development of Anglia Law School. During her term in office, Julia has overseen a number of important and
The students also put forward a number of proposals on how academic staff could reduce the likely drop in
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positive changes in the Law School, and has been central in taking forward its employability agenda. We will ensure that the valuable work that Julia has initiated will be taken forward into the future”.
Dr Andrew Gilbert and Dr Aysem Diker Vanberg enjoyed their visit and they were impressed with the quality of teaching and the student friendly environment at the Faculty of Law.
ERASMUS PARTNERSHIP
The Erasmus Agreement has been concluded in April 2017, which means that Anglia Law School will be able to send students to the University of Bielefeld for a term in early Spring 2018 (second semester of the next academic year). The University of Bielefeld undertakes to asssist our students and staff members in finding campus accommodation through their International Office. The International Office also offers a variety of pre-sessional and in-sessional German language classes for students willing to learn or improve their German language skills. The Faculty of Law offers a variety of modules in English for Erasmus students and there is no need to be fluent in German to participate in the programme.
Dr Andrew Gilbert (2nd left) and Dr Aysem Diker Vanberg (4th left)
An Erasmus Partnership with the University of Bielefeld in Germany takes effect from the start of this academic year
Women’s’ Rowing Club
Prior to the academic year starting Dr Andrew Gilbert, Deputy Head of The Law School and Dr Aysem Diker Vanberg, Senior Lecturer and Erasmus Departmental Coordinator, visited the University of Bielefeld, Faculty of Law, in Germany, to explore the possibility of establishing a Partnership for the Erasmus+ Programme.
Kehinde Dawodu (left) is a law student who during her second year (just completed) has been rowing with the Women’s Rowing Club. She finds the time to enjoy rowing as an extra-‐curricular activity and as she states, “I find it balances out with studying law, building confidence and gaining social skills, which are essential for building up a career in law”.
Bielefeld is a city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany. The city is home to a significant number of internationally operating companies, including Dr. Oetker, Gildemeister. Erasmus+ is the European Union's exchange programme for students and staff. Through Erasmus+ our students can study in a partner higher education institution for a semester. Our law staff can also participate on Erasmus Academic Exchange which will enable them to give guest lecture/lectures and seminars in a partner institution. An Erasmus+ experience helps students to improve or gain language skills, expand their cultural awareness, enhance their existing skills, build an international network of friends. Furthermore, studying abroad will look very impressive on the students CV and help them stand out in today’s very competitive legal environment. The Law school offers a comprehensive foreign language programme. The Faculty is also well known for its Examinatorium [ a facility providing refresher and revision facilities for exams].
The above photograph is Kehinde and her university teammates from ARU during 'Lent bumps' Cambridge.
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The examiners were Professor Yvonne Rydin (UCL) and Dr. Oriola Sallavaci (internal); supervisors were Professor Robert Home and Dr. Aldo Zammit-Borda.
countries around its territorial borders and wider afield in establishing new land and maritime trade routes that will bring Chinese culture, media and products to Asia, Africa and the West and which is expected to be of even greater significance than its historical Silk Road starting from the ancient Chinese city of Chang'an (now Xi’an) from the time of the Western Han Dynasty. Rohan will speak of international copyright harmonisation and the challenges for China in developing a new Digital Economy along the One Belt and One Road. Speakers at the conference include representatives from the United Nations, British Government, China-UK Trade Council, and business and academia from around the world. For further information on OBOR, see: OBOR (https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/one-beltone-road)
Amnesty International Guest Lecture
Business and Law Careers Fair
PhD Award Susan Chadwick was examined for her PhD in the second semester, and passed with no revisions. The thesis was on ‘The Meaning and Interpretation of Sustainable Development in the Planning Framework: Humpty Dumpty has his say’.
Tuesday 31st October - Chelmsford Wednesday 1st November - Cambridge 1pm-4pm MAB 201/203 & LAB 111/112/113 • Network with employers and build your contacts • Learn more about professional bodies • Explore opportunities: graduate jobs, work experience, placements and internships. Anglia Ruskin welcomed two guest lectures from Amnesty International. Helga Hejny (3rd from right) invited Liesbeth (Amnesty International, Cambridge City Group) to discuss for the Human Rights Module the freedom from torture and enforced disappearance, and for Constitutional and Administrative Law module the freedom of academic speech.
To find out more and to book, go to anglia.ac.uk/employability/events
The Second ALS Doctoral Students Seminar 2017
This gave students the opportunity to learn a different perspective on human rights and to critically discuss the role of activists."
Oxford University International Summit on China’s One Belt and One Road
On 2 June 2017, Anglia Law School organized its Second Doctoral Students Seminar.The event started at 10.00 hrs. in the morning and ended at 15.00 hrs. in the afternoon. The event started by an opening speech by Dr Helga Hejny and she also chaired the event.
Professor Kariyawasam has been invited by Oxford University Law School’s China One Belt and One Road (OBOR) Centre to give a presentation on Fair use and copyright harmonisation in the Digital Domain: China and the One Belt One Road (OBOR). China is currently developing a new range of trade agreements with
There were nine researchers who presented on the various diverse topics. The researchers presented in the
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seminar are Adam Wicks, Derar al-daboubi, Emmanuel Ede Egba, Emmanuel C. Obikwu, Mohannad Al-Khamiseh, Nesath Sultana Khusbu, Ogunkah Azeru Ryan, Oriyola Oyewole and Sajib Hosen.
Employability Service for Law Students By the University Employability Service
The seminar provided a friendly academic environment in which researchers presented their research proposals, advancements, field results, findings and benefit from peer constructive criticism.
We are here to help and support you throughout your time with us. Our ALSS Faculty Employability Advisers will give you the chance to build and develop skills through workshops, careers fairs and employer events. We will guide you through finding and securing work experience, Jen Little and Sat Sehmbey, and help you secure a Faculty Employability Advisers job once you finish your Graduate, Cambridge Campus degree.
The seminar was an opportunity to improve presentation skills, to get feedback from colleagues, to strengthen the researchers’ community, and to share academic worries and questions in a constructive forum. Dr Helga Hejny provided general feedback on the overall presentations and talked about preparation for the viva for the Doctoral students after submitting their thesis.
PhD Graduation
Employability drop in sessions run daily for any questions you have and you can come along to a CV Surgery for help with your job applications. If you aren’t sure which career path is right for you, get in touch with our Careers Advisers.
Helga Hejny attended her Graduation ceremony at Middlesex University (London) where she has been awarded her PhD in Law. Her thesis is titled “Age discrimination in financial services. A comparative study between Italy, the UK and Austria”.
We provide online support, group sessions, phone and one-to-one appointments. To find out more or to contact a Faculty Employability Adviser Tara Lille, Faculty or Careers Adviser please email Employability employability@anglia.ac.uk Adviser Chelmsford
Law School Ball at Cambridge
This is a great link for students. http://web.anglia.ac.uk/anet/student_services/public/em ployability-guide-for-students.pdf
Law School – events for the new academic year Other employability events/activities that run throughout the year for the Law are;
Semester 1 Dr Andrew Gilbert, Dr Helga Hejny, Ms Sarah-Jane Hounsell (President of the Students Law Society (Cambridge) and Dr Egle Dagilyte at the Ball.
Mock Assessment Centre - LLB final years only – Exact date TBC Business & Law Careers Fair – open to all ALS students Tuesday 31st October - Chelmsford
*Copyright (Domininkas Zalys, Domininkas.com)
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Wednesday 1st November - Cambridge ALS Mentoring Scheme – Year 2 LLB and LPC students – info/sign up sessions in November, exact date TBC
VULNERABLE WITNESSES IN THE FAMILY COURTS
Work Placement Module – LLB final years only Careers with a Law Degree – open to all ALS students March, exact date TBC
Andrew Gilbert, Deputy Head of The Law School, was involved in hosting a seminar on vulnerable witnesses in the family courts organised by the Cambridgeshire Family Justice Board (mostly local lawyers and judges) and Fenners, a leading Barristers Chambers.
Semester 2
For further information about Anglia Law School events, please contact Tara Lilley (above) the ALS Employability Adviser.
Julia Ramsay, Deputy Head of the Law School, welcomed participants on behalf of the Anglian Law School.
Sports Law
Speakers/Contributors were Penny Grewcock, Fenners Chambers – Evidence of Vulnerable Witnesses in Family Proceedings: Liz Prosser, Registered Intermediary – Using Intermediaries in the Family Courts: Michael Procter, Fenners Chambers - Cross-examining Vulnerable Witnesses - Learning from the Criminal Courts.
Tom Serby was invited to give a half day presentation at Wolfson College, University of Cambridge in March to students of the ISDE (Madrid) on the law of match-fixing in sport.
East China Jialtong University, Nanchang, China
Tom’s paper ranged across a broad spectrum of recent events and covered both recent jurisprudence from the Court of Arbitration of Sport and looked into the interesting case of ‘Piegate’ in the televised FA Cup round between Arsenal FC and their non-league opponents, which produced interesting headlines surrounding the ‘rolypoly’ goalkeeper who lost his job as coach and goalkeeper for eating a pie on live television knowing that bets were placed on the same.
Tom Serby spent three weeks in June teaching an introductory module in English construction law at ECJU in Nanchang, China. Before becoming an academic Tom was a solicitor-advocate (Higher Rights) working in a top 50 City of London practice specialising in commercial litigation including ICC construction arbitrations.
Made a Difference Short List 2016-2017 Shortlisted for the Made a Difference Awards in the Law School for the academic year just completed were: Inclusive Lecturer Award Graham Humby Michelle McCanna Roger Thomas Special Recognition Kathleen McMahon Learning Community Award Kathleen McMahon Jane Martin
Tom passed on his knowledge of English construction law to second year undergraduate Chinese students. The trip was a fascinating insight into life in China, the emerging global economic superpower. Students from ECJU spend a semester in Chelmsford in the Department of Engineering and the Built Environment as part of a cooperation agreement. Tom was looked after very well by colleagues at ECJU.
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Student peer-support and retention
about ‘The Problem of Genocide: The History of a conceptual mistake’.
Dr Eglė Dagilytė led a university event on student peer-support and retention. The Leaders in Learning and Teaching initiative was launched by Anglia Learning and Teaching at a Christmas lunch on 15th December. LiLT is an active community, made up of Senior and Principal Fellows of the HEA, our University Teaching Fellows and holders of the new Anglia Ruskin University Teaching Fellowships and Associate Teaching Fellowships. As part of the LiLT initiative, on 6 June 2017, Dr Eglė Dagilytė, ALSS Faculty Director of Learning, Teaching and Assessment, in collaboration with Karen Sturt, ALSS Faculty Student Experience & Events Co‐ordinator, organised a university-wide event on student peer-led learning support. It was funded by Anglia Learning and Teaching.
He referred to Raphael Lemkin’s concept of genocide and explained how the ultimate crimes of genocide developed through the United Nation’s Genocide Convention. Also, he compared the concept of genocide before the Holocaust and after the Holocaust. Professor Moses mentioned that he is currently writing a book on genocide from historical perspectives. The lecture was followed by interesting questions from the audience together with drinks and canapés afterwards.
Client Interviewing Competition By Julia Ramsay (Deputy Head of Department) ‘As you know, we hosted the Client Interviewing Competition regional heat on campus in Semester 2. We were incredibly grateful to our student team Christopher Menzies, LPC Course Leader, of Yasemin Molly Byrne, Yasemin Koroglu and Julia Koroglu and Ramsay DHOD. Molly Byrne who were asked to step in very unexpectedly due to unforeseen circumstances to represent the University in the competition.
The workshop attendees looked at the student peer-led learning support schemes that already exist at faculty level (ALSS Buddies) and are being developed at university level (Study Buddies). Together with the students who took part in the ALSS Buddies Scheme, they considered the opportunities and challenges such schemes may present, as the university strives to enhance student retention and engagement, and in return - academic success and employability.
‘The Problem of Genocide: The History of a conceptual mistake’
Molly and Yasemin undertook a huge amount of work to train for the competition in just a matter of days and went way beyond what we could have expected them to do. They did so in a calm, unflappable and professional manner. Although Yasemin and Molly missed getting through to the national final, it was a close call. They did an amazing job, making us very proud of them.
Professor Dirk Moses (far right – above) of the University of Sydney delivered an interesting guest lecture on 23 February on Anglia Ruskin University Cambridge campus.
Special thanks to Christopher and Matt for all their hard work organising the heat and to Jane and Graham for their valuable input too.
This guest lecture was organised by the Anglia Law School. Professor Moses is a historian, and he talked
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Interpersonal skills – preparing for professional practice
In her presentation, she looked at whether European Union (EU) citizen workers could act together in solidarity to protect their rights to minimum wage and working conditions, as companies move across borders to benefit from more liberal employment law regimes, under the auspices of EU trade law. In this context, Dr Dagilytė‘s talk analysed the concept of organic European solidarity, putting forward an argument that such European solidarity can only form bottom-up in cross-border situations, where certain segments of society (e.g. posted and local workers and their trade unions) decide to collaborate together and are able to see each other's interests as worth protecting collectively. Support for this thesis can be found in specific empirical examples of collaboration between posted workers and local workers, all acting with the purpose to protect their social rights, as indicated by research done in industrial labour relations, social and public policy and economic sociology.
The purpose of this short extra-curricular course, run by Graham Humby, is to explain ways that law students may develop self-efficacy in interpersonal skills in preparation for working in a professional legal environment – with self-confidence and motivation. The classes are very inter-active. Interpersonal skills are the life skills we use every day to communicate and interact with other people, both individually and in groups. People who have learnt and/or worked on developing strong interpersonal skills are noticeably in a more advantageous position in their professional lives.
This socio-legal talk resulted in an active debate over lunch with Aston Law School lecturers and their colleagues from other departments and PhD students in Aston University. James Brown, Senior Lecturer at Aston Law School and the Convenor of the Research Seminar Series, thanked Dr Dagilytė for the topical and thoughtprovoking lecture.
The group this year was heavily over-subscribed as regrettably the number of attendees is restricted due to the nature of the course. It was thoroughly enjoyed by all and will be run again in the next academic year in Cambridge. Certificates were awarded on completion of the course.
Students’ Union Advisers
From the Student Adviser’s Service for law students ‘We are experienced Students’ Union Advisers based in Cambridge and Chelmsford employed by the Students’ Union.
Solidarity in the European Union: what for the future?
We offer advice that is free, confidential and impartial for all Edna Johnston Anglia Ruskin University core campus registered students and distance learners. The service is independent of the University which ensures we provide a non-judgemental approach to your concerns and issues.
Following Brexit back in June 2016, political and legal questions of UK relationship with the European Union continue to be analysed not only in Westminster and people’s homes, but also in academic circles. On Tuesday 21 February 2017, Dr Dagilyte was invited to give a guest lecture in Birmingham, as part of Aston University Law School Research Seminar Series.
We can advise on late mitigations, appeals on the grounds of maladministration, complaints, course problem, placement issues, assessment offences,
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disciplinary issues or any concerns that you may have whilst on your course. If we cannot help we will always ensure that you are directed to the appropriate service for support’.
Storify story here: https://storify.com/EgleDagilyte/anglia-law-school
From left to right Ewa Sierawska, Emilia Rust, Julia Ramsay (Deputy Head of the Law School and Jane Willis.
Burcin Drummond
The Advice Service can be contacted by phone on 01223 460008, via email at: Cambridge.advice@angliastudent.com or in person in Helmore 125. In Chelmsford, Advisers based can be contacted on 01245 258178, via email at Chelmsford.advice@angliastudent.com on in person in Tindal 1st Floor.
Acting Deputy Head of Department From September 2017, Dr Alexander Murray will be acting Deputy Head of Anglia Law School to cover Dr. Andrew Gilbert while he is on sabbatical. He will be continuing on as the LL.B Course Leader at Cambridge in addition to his scholarly activities of teaching and research. Dr Murray completed his PhD at Lancaster University on the topic of the fragmentation of international law. He undertook the Bar Vocational Course at Northumbria University and is a member of The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple.
The Great Legal Bake: Law students and staff raise money for access to justice During the week of 20-24 February 2017, Anglia Law Society, in collaboration with Dr Eglė Dagilytė, Senior Lecturer in Law (left), ran a cake bake sale in Cambridge as part of the national Great Legal Bake (GLB) initiative.
Dr Oriola Sallavaci at Socio-Legal Studies Association Conference, Newcastle
Our students and staff baked various healthy and no-so-healthy sweets, shared them with the university community and raised over £135 for the Eastern Legal Support Trust, the charity that supports free legal advice agencies in the East of England, helping people most in need and unable to afford it.
Dr Oriola Sallavaci presented a paper titled: Strengthening Transnational Cooperation in Combating Terrorism and Organised Crime: Prüm Network of Data Exchange.
Anglia Ruskin community was one of the three universities represented in the Great Legal Bake 2017 that contributed to the activities of the Eastern Legal Support Trust, among many law firms and legal advice centres: http://www.elst.org.uk/our-bakers.html
During the past decades, the EU member states as well as other countries in the world have increased their efforts to achieve a closer cooperation in combating terrorism, organised crime and illegal immigration. Oriola discussed the Prüm network, established to provide mechanisms and the infrastructure to achieve these goals through the cross border exchange of DNA profiles, fingerprints and
The pictures and Twitter posts of the delicious Anglia Law School and Anglia Law Society bakes can be found on a
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vehicle registration data. Despite its benefits Prüm continues to present challenges of a technical and scientific nature as well as legal, ethical and socioeconomic concerns.
no. And she immediately offered me one with the Essex Legal Service in the summer of 2017. Without any hesitation I accepted the offer. When I resumed work in the Summer I was assigned to three departments on a rotatory basis, namely the Advocacy team, Environment and Property and Civil Litigation.
Oriola's research covers a wide range of issues and an article has now been published at the European Journal of Criminal Policy and Research DOI 10.1007/s10610- 017-9355-0.
While with the Advocacy team I met a Barrister in Court who handed me a case bundle to read; then we both attended a hearing. The hearing lasted for about 40 minutes, after which judgement was passed. Working with the Environment and Property team challenged my administrative efficiency and significantly improved my IT skills. My brief stint with the Civil Litigation team turned out to be the most exciting. On my first day I was given an ongoing case to read, analyse and input creative suggestions on how to handle it.
My mentoring experience
By Aisha Bashir (Third Year Law Student) ‘Following Jane Martin’s advice I attended a mentoring event organised by the Employability Services.
Another task I was given was to review and update a letter that had been written to a client. My criminal litigation assessment skill came handy when rewriting the letter, which made it a huge success. The skill was also very helpful when I analysed cases, although in this case it was a verbal application of the skill. Additionally, I was asked to review and summarise an article.
To fully engage us with the plan, we were asked if we wanted to be assigned appropriate mentors and the best way to make it happen based on our preferences. It was against this backdrop that we were asked to answer the following questions: what do you think are the benefits of having a mentor and what do you hope to get from participating in the Anglia Law School mentoring scheme? Satisfied I had answered the questions I emailed my answers to the organisers of the event. And within a few weeks I received a response in which I was informed I had been assigned a mentor and advised to immediately make a contact with the mentor. I sent the mentor an email introducing myself and attached my CV to the email.
I was also assigned to a Barrister with the Civil Litigation team, with whom I went to a court to seek a Court Order. This reminded me of the time-management skill I acquired during the moot preparation. In the entire time of my work experience I acquired very important skills, most of which I earlier listed out among the benefits I was hoping to get from the scheme. Based on the above, I say without any doubt, the mentoring scheme is a smooth pathway to career planning. The work experience was a huge learning process for me, which I fully took advantage of and believe will immensely enhance my performance in the remaining period on the course and, eventually, when I step into the practice world.
My mentor’s response was very prompt, which immensely inspired me. She arranged a meeting in her office, for which I travelled to Chelmsford to attend. I had, prior to the meeting, met with Jane Martin to think about the likely questions to come up and how best to address them as well as how to make the best of this opportunity.
But I could not have achieved this without the support of the Employability Service and my lecturers who wisely counselled and gave me all the support I needed.
During the meeting with my mentor, which lasted for an hour, after the usual introduction I asked her about the challenges she faces and how she often tackles them and how I could learn from her as well as how she got to her present position. In responding to my questions she asked if I had any previous experience in a Law firm. I said
To everyone a very big thank you’.
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New Publication
Michelle reports that it was hard work but extremely rewarding; the team were very pleased with the improvements to the house, as was the Director of the Children’s Village, who wrote to the Chaplain to thank the team for ‘the wonderful work you have done and the beautiful smiles you have put on the House 14 children. Once more, thank you so much and your great team.’
Tom Serby has had his article entitled ‘Sports corruption: sporting autonomy, lex sportiva and the rule of law/articles/10.16997/eslj.204/ published in June in the Entertainment and Sports Law Journal. The paper considers what is the ‘rule of law’ that regulates on-field corruption, and concludes that it is a complex web of law, since sports governing bodies now share with the state many aspects of the sanctioning of on-field corruption. The paper considers how the doctrine of ‘the autonomy of sport’ has informed the development of lex sportiva in regard to athlete corruption, and the competing claims of private sports law and national legal systems over the regulation of athlete corruption. Tom has been asked to contribute a chapter to the upcoming volume titled “Corruption in Sport” as a part of the Routledge Research in Sport and Corruption series to be published in 2018.
Michelle and Anna raised funds for the materials and furniture needed for the house by taking part in a tandem skydive in May, raising over £1,000 between them. The photo shows Michelle coming in to land safely.
Mission Botswana 2017
After their work in Botswana was complete, the team spent three days at Madikwe Game Reserve in South Africa, and were thrilled to see all five of ‘The Big Five’ in their time there. A great reward for all the hard work!
In July 2017, Michelle McCanna, Senior Lecturer with Anglia Law School, took part in the University Chaplaincy’s Mission Botswana project. Also volunteering on the trip was Anna South, a Chelmsford Law student. The team of seven from the University spent two weeks in Gabarone, the capital of Botswana, at ‘SOS Children’s Village’, an orphanage Anna South and Michelle McCanna providing a home to 120 children. Michelle, Anna and the team worked in ‘House 14’, decorating and refurnishing it, improving the accommodation for the eight children who live in the house and their house mother. The photos show Michelle and Anna in the house at the start and end of their time there.
Michelle would encourage other students (and staff!) to take part in this, or other of the University’s ‘ICE’ projects, as the experience was deeply thought-provoking and rewarding, whilst also being fun and a good opportunity to experience another country, its people and culture. You can find out more at www.anglia.ac.uk/internationalcommunity-experience
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Dr Oriola Sallavaci at the 11th International Conference on Global Security, Safety and Sustainability ICGS3 - London 2017
charities that provide life changing legal advice and representation to those in need. So far this year we have broken records with over 12,000 people walking in 700 teams. It was a great day out and for a very worthwhile cause. Luckily for us, it was a lovely day weather wise, and whilst the sun was shining and the scenery in and around central London was beautiful, it was also very apparent as to what we were doing and why. As well as raising as much money as possible, we also had many networking opportunities and were surrounded by many different law firms including: Mills & Reeve, Barr Ellison, Irwin Mitchell, Slater & Gordon, Slaughter & May, Eversheds to name but a few.
Presented a paper titled:
Combating Cyber-dependent Crimes: the Legal Framework in the UK Computer crimes and digital investigations comprise a substantial part of criminal policy, law and practice as information becomes the cornerstone of the global economy.
Between ourselves here on behalf of Anglia Ruskin Law Society we managed to raise over ÂŁ200!!
Innovative ways of attacking, exploiting and interfering with computer and communication technologies are regularly emerging, posing increasing threats to society, the economy and security.
So a very big thank you from myself Emilia and Loren!!!
Professor Dr Ian Blackshaw
It is essential that in tackling cybercrime the right legal framework of offences is in place and that there is clarity in how the powers that are used to investigate cybercrime interact with the offences designed to catch cyber criminals. This paper reviews the current legal framework to cyber dependent crimes in the UK, including its recent amendments, and highlights areas that remain problematic and in need of attention from policymakers.
The indefatigable Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw, who is a Visiting Professor at ARU and several other Universities, including the University of Pretoria, South Africa, has again been leading Workshops, at the Cambridge Campus, on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) for our post-graduate international business law students and has also been re-invited to deliver a week of lectures, on International Sports Arbitration, at Seoul National University, on their Masters' Degree Course on International Sports Law Management, which attracts top sports lawyers and administrators from all over the world, including the Far East.
The paper is now published in the journal of Communications in Computer and Information Science.
London Legal Walk
By Jane Willis (Third Year) On 22nd May 2017, I (Jane Willis far right), Emilia Rust far left) and Loren Adkin (middle), second and third year LLB students, took part in the London Legal Walk. The London Legal Walk raises much needed funds for
Prof Blackshaw is a Member of the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Lausanne, Switzerland and also the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) Arbitration & Mediation Center, Geneva, Switzerland, where he sits on their Panel on Sports and other Domain Name Disputes. A new publication has just been compiled by Professor Blackshaw on International Sports Law. This introductory guide to international sports law will serve to satisfy the needs currently not being met in present-day sports law literature, and should also be of interest to researchers and the general reader. Although the topics covered are
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necessarily selective, sports law being such a vast subject, they are representative of the main legal issues facing the world of sport today.
students at Bournemouth University Law School. He was invited as part of the Bournemouth Law School guest lectures seminars.”
Throughout the book, the reader is referred to articles, publications and other materials that provide further information on the various subjects treated in the text, thus enhancing its value and usefulness. The Law is stated as at 1 January 2017. according to the sources available at that date.
PASS SCHEME SUCCESS: ARU Law students attend residential course hosted by the Inner Temple By Wyomie Redford
AHRC Newton Meeting Ningbo, China In June 2017, Professor Kariyawasam presented the results of some of the research for the AHRC Newton project on fair use of copyright in the Digital Domain in Ningbo, China.
As part of its outreach program, aimed at aiding individuals who otherwise experience difficulty in gaining access to the bar, the Inner Temple created the Pegasus Access and Support Scheme (PASS) in 2012 in order to:
His presentation looked at legal amendments to the Third Revision of China's Copyright Law, particularly focusing on how China's legislative body, the Chinese State Council might consider changes to current copyright law in China to take account of technological developments, such as social media, user generated content, website access and browsing, and that might place China at the forefront of legal developments in this area, particularly in finding the best balance between protecting the rights of content producers in copyright and those who may wish to use such content for fair use purposes, such as research and development, news coverage, satire and education.
“to ensure that all students with determination and the capability to pursue a career at the Bar have the opportunity to undertake work experience in barristers' chambers, regardless of their background or personal networks.” Wyomie Redford (far left) with Hameeda Hussani and Sarah-Jane Hounsell at the Residential course
The PASS scheme provides successful applicants, with not only a valuable Mini pupillage which is essential to any application for scholarships, but also with the opportunity to attend a course that provide invaluable information and opportunities to hone and develop skills all while networking to increase their portfolio of contacts that will perhaps lead to greater opportunities in the future. In order to be accepted onto the scheme, applicants must meet the eligibility criteria.
Kariyawasam and his team from Peking University Law School and Xi'an Jiaotong University Law School will be presenting the results of their research on suggested amendments to the Copyright Law to the Chinese State Council for consideration by China's highest legislative body, the National People's Congress.
Firstly they must demonstrate that they have the academic capabilities, the individual must be able to show that they have either attained a 2:1 in their degree or that they are predicted to do so. This must be supported by an academic reference which applicants supply along with their application. The next application window will open in October 2017. Secondly,
Boilerplate Clauses Dr Leonardo Valladares Pacheco de Oliveira presented a Seminar about boilerplate clauses for undergraduate
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they must demonstrate that they have the required personal skills, such as interpersonal skills and self-motivation, all of which must be evidenced by a personal statement as part of the application.
may just be the start of a wealth of opportunities for you. All of the necessary information can be found at: http://www.pegasus.me/
Anglia Law School academics attend the annual conference of the Sociolegal Studies Association
Individuals applying to the scheme must also meet the majority of the of the contextual criteria to be successful. The criteria include the following: Is the candidate the first generation to attend university in their family? Has the candidate attended a state school for the majority of their education? Candidates who are from a lower income family, Care leavers and Disabilities and BAME applicants.
Anglia Law School is often represented at the SLSA annual conferences, and this year was no exception. Dr Andrew Gilbert, who is the Co-Convenor of the SLSA’s Law, Politics and Ideology research stream, chaired a session involving papers on the influence of theology in constitutional transition and on the understanding of ‘the law and order’. Dr Eglė Dagilytė presenter her research on the access of social benefits by the European Union Roma citizens in the UK to the panel on Exploring Social and Economic Rights.
Full details about the application process can be found on the PASS website. In the previous application period, three ARU students were successful applicants to the Scheme. On the final day, attendees were provided with more invaluable information on the application process for both scholarships and pupillage, and do’s and don’ts for CV writing. As well as an insight into the employed Bar.
This research project was undertaken in collaboration with Prof Margaret Greenfields, from Buckinghamshire new University, and funded by the SLSA Research Grant in 2015.
Following on from this an insight into how chambers are run behind the scenes was provided by a talk given by an experienced chambers Clerk who offered a unique view into the profession’s day to day administration. The afternoon saw the attendees provided with the opportunity to show their their advocacy skills in the form of a mock trial, with feedback provided afterwards to further improvement in future.
Add to your Law Student CV – ARU Student Ambassador Scheme
By Kimberley Page
In addition to various opportunities to network with professionals and socialize with other attendees each day, the whole course was rounded off on a high with the COMBAR networking event in the evening of the third day. All three attendees had an amazing time at the residential course and learned a great deal. Since attending the residential course at least one of the attendees has completed an extra mini-pupillage, through networking with professionals at the events and following the chain of contacts on from there.
your studies.
The PASS scheme really is a fantastic, yet overly subscribed opportunity, so spend time on your application and chose your reference writer wisely, it
My name is Kimberley and I am the Marketing Officer for the Faculty of Arts, Law and Social Sciences, which also makes me the point of contact for the student
Hopefully you are settling in to the semester, you might be thinking about other opportunities for paid work, work experience and things to add to that all important CV. Well the ARU Student Ambassador Scheme ticks all of these boxes and is something you can do alongside
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ambassador scheme for the faculty. It is my role to recruit new students to the scheme and we are looking for new students to join from our Law courses (undergraduate and postgraduate) at Cambridge and Chelmsford.
designation, as it emerges from various human rights reports and other publicly available sources, in order to assess whether ISIL’s actions against the Yezidis may be characterized in law as the crime of genocide. While ISIL’s actions against the Yezidis in Iraq and Syria may constitute the underlying acts of the crime of genocide, on the basis of information currently available in the public domain it is not possible to reach a view on whether individual perpetrators had the dolus specialis necessary to commit the crime of genocide. The article, however, does identify a pattern of conduct which arguably constitutes a genocidal plan undertaken by ISIL.
The role of a student ambassador is to support the work of ARU by positively representing the University and, once fully trained, the scheme allows access to regular paid work throughout your time at university. You will be provided with full paid training for any role and supported by ARU staff throughout; roles may include recruitment events (e.g. Open Days) or welcome week activities, hosting online web chats or even off-site school visits. All roles are optional and can be chosen to suit your skills and fit in around your studies.
* Member of the Iraqi Council of Representatives. **Acting Head of the Law School, *** Acting Deputy Head of the Law School
You’ll improve your communication, customer service, team work and presentation skills, to name just a few, and you’ll grow in confidence and meet new people along the way.
Rugby Club
If you want to learn more about the scheme or have any further questions, you can email me: Kimberley.page@anglia.ac.uk. If you wish to apply for the scheme, you can do so via the employment bureau website: eb.anglia.ac.uk
New publication in Human Rights Law Review, 2017 Calling ISIL Atrocities Against the Yezidis by Their Rightful Name’: Do They Constitute the Crime of Genocide? By Vian Dakhil,* Dr Aldo Zammit Borda** and Dr Alexander R. J. Murray***,
Wesley Mukonoweshuro, a final year Law Student (2nd right) following the last game of the season this academic year.
In March 2016, both the United States House of Representatives and Secretary of State John Kerry designated the alleged crimes committed by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) against, inter alia, the Yezidis, a small religious minority in Iraq and Syria, as ‘genocide’.
As Wesley states "As a Law student, the last three years were challenging but rewarding and what ensured I didn't lose my mind so to speak was that I was a member of the rugby team. I've always found that sport has been a great way to relieve stress and I would encourage any law students to join a sports team, it's a great way to meet people and relieve a great deal of stress" For women and men’s rugby, law students can contact the University clubs site: http://www.anglia.ac.uk/sport/sports-clubs/contact-aclub
This article examines the evidence for this
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EXPULCIT workshop in the Netherlands
New Lecturer joins Anglia Law School Stefan Mandelbaum joins Anglia Law School from King’s College London where he lectured and tutored in ‘International Commercial Law’, ‘Law and Social Theory’, ‘Jurisprudence’, ‘German Public Law’ and ‘Law and Religion’. At the beginning of 2017, after returning from research stays at Yale University and the Max-Planck Institute for Comparative and Private International Law (Hamburg), Stefan started working as an Associate Lecturer for ARU’s LLM module ‘Transnational Commercial Law.’
On 15 June 2017, Dr Eglė Dagilytė, Senior Lecturer in Law, discussed the removal and expulsion of EU citizens with other distinguished international scholars at Nijmegen University. Following very interesting presentations by, among others, Prof Elspeth Guild (Queen Nijmegen City Mary), Prof Eleanor Spaventa (Durham), Matthew Evans (AIRE Centre) and Dr Anthony Valcke (EU Rights Clinic), she had the pleasure and privilege of contributing to the final workshop panel discussion.
Stefan’s main academic interests lie at the interface of International law, legal theory and political philosophy. Holding a Master’s degree in philosophy, law and ancient Greek from the University of Jena (Germany), Stefan loves to chat about international law as much as about what is inherently tragic in Euripides’ play Hippolytus or, as a favourite subject of his, about what are the pros and cons of the dialectical method as conceived by the German philosopher G.W.F. Hegel.
Dr Dagilytė drew on her research findings from the empirical socio-legal study on European Union Roma citizens and their access to social welfare rights in the UK, conducted with Prof Margaret Greenfields. The research discovered that there were a number of cases where the UK authorities initiated administrative removal procedures after EU citizens had applied for welfare support.
Digital Copy Services offices for Law Students From Sue Fry
As confirmed by the work conducted by the AIRE Centre and other NGOs, these administrative removals potentially breach of EU citizens’ rights to move and reside freely in the European Union, as EU free movement law awards strong protection against expulsion. Such UK practices also indicate very different standards of procedural enforcement, as compared to deportation: in practice, it is easier to initiate an administrative removal for a welfare benefit claimant than a deportation of someone who committed a serious crime in the UK.
We are an experienced team based at Chelmsford and Cambridge campuses to provide support to all law staff and law students in meeting all their printing requirements. We are able to provide high quality black and white and full colour printing Sue Fry, Head of Digital and copying on a wide range of Copy Services media. We are also able to print from A5 up to AO paper sizes in both black and white and full colour and have a range of binding and finishing services available to complete documents to a high standard.
Dr Dagilytė wishes to thank Dr Sandra Mantu and Prof Paul Minderhoud for the warm hospitality received from the Centre for Migration Law and the Faculty of Law at Nijmegen University.
Chelmsford office hours are 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. Cambridge office hours are 9.30am to 3.30pm, Monday to Friday
The pictures and Twitter posts of the conference can be found on a Storify story here: https://storify.com/EgleDagilyte/expulcit-seminar
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Digital Economy. At the RTA-Exchange Geneva meeting, Rohan spoke on changes required in WTO GATS and covered agreements reflecting international telecommunications law and how some recent Regional Trade Agreements and Bilateral Trade Agreements have incorporated changes to take account of the move to Internet Protocol 6 (IPv6), advanced telecommunications infrastructure and the movement of data.
Law Librarians Need help finding and accessing law books, law articles, cases, legislation and other legal research materials? Visit the Library’s Law Subject Guide where you’ll find plenty of links and guidance.
His presentation on these issues was delivered to an audience of WTO member state ambassadors, WTO officials, international business and diplomats. In preparation for this conference, Rohan welcomed the research assistance of two of his students on ARU’s pioneering new LLM Digital Economy (the first program of its kind in England and Wales), Marie-Anne Vercellone and Gulhan Yuce.
You’ll also find contact details of Graham Fennell (Cambridge) and Deborah the Law Subject Stebbing (Chelmsford) Librarians, who are on hand to help. (https://anglia.libguides.com/law
*Professor Kariyawasam attended Harvard Law School as a Berkman Centre Fellow, the University of Kent at Canterbury, the University of Geneva, Switzerland, the College of Law in London, and the Centre for Commercial Law Studies at Queen Mary University of London – where he obtained his PhD in commercial and IP law. He is a past recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship to Harvard and is qualified as a solicitor
WTO Consultation on Regional Trade Agreements, Geneva
Legal Practice Course – Solicitors Qualifying Examination
By Christopher Menzies, LPC Course Leader In 2020 the SRA have signalled that the LPC will be replaced by a single set of assessments - the ‘solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE).Such reform had been widely anticipated within the profession and it will mean that access to become a solicitor is wider.
ICTSD/Inter-American Bank Regional Trade Agreements Meeting Geneva.
The assessments will be set by one central provider ensuring a constant standard. The planning for this is well under way for ALS to adapt to this change to our teaching strategy and delivery to ensure our students are well prepared for the SQE.
In July 2017, Professor Kariyawasam was invited by the UN’s Inter-American Regional Development Bank and International Centre for Trade & Sustainable Development as an expert speaker to its conference on how the WTO can reform Regional Trade Agreements to take account of recent developments in the Digital Economy. Over the last two years, Rohan has been an expert member of the E-15 Digital Economy advisory group that advises the WTO and World Economic Forum on the legal amendments to the WTO covered agreements needed to promote trade in the rapidly emerging sector of the
Any queries please contact the Course Leader chistoper.menzies@anglia.ac.uk
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Law and History
humanity. Arguments still fly about how far the Nuremberg trial was simply ‘Victors’ Justice’; more recently, the case of elderly people accused of complicity in crimes some seventy years ago raises serious issues of practicality as well as of ethics. Historians have long learned to be very wary of ‘eyewitness’ testimony, however sincere or moving, offered years after the event; should lawyers take note? Even more emotively, should cases involving ‘historic’ sex abuse take more note of the care historians take not to apply modern values to previous ages? Interestingly, the police prefer the term ‘non-recent’ to ‘historic’, but it does not avoid the problem of judging one period by the standards of another.
By Dr Sean Lang*
The Courts of Justice turned out, according to Sir Richard Evans, then Regius Professor of Modern History at Cambridge, to be rather a good place for detailed historical examination. Evans was called as an expert witness for the defence in the 2000 libel suit brought by the writer and (as was conclusively proved) Holocaust-denier David Irving against Penguin Books and the American academic Deborah Lipstadt. Some of Evans’s colleagues had questioned whether it was appropriate to debate the nuances and subtleties of historical interpretation in the bruising world of the courtroom, but Evans wrote afterwards that it proved a surprisingly good place to look dispassionately and in detail at the nature and interpretation of historical evidence. Perhaps the real surprise is that no-one had realised this years ago, for law and history cover similar ground, and it is no great surprise that the path from a history degree to a career in the law is so well-trodden.
History teachers often use a courtroom set-up as a way of investigating historical problems, sometimes recreating a real court, sometimes establishing a sort of ‘court of history’. Some historical examples lend themselves very well to this process: was Oliver Cromwell guilty of war crimes in Ireland? Does Mountbatten carry the blame for the mass killings at the time of Partition? There is fruitful ground here for collaboration between history and law students and staff. Then perhaps more historians will discover, as Evans did, that the courtroom can be a very good place for historical debate.
Both disciplines involve the minute investigation of evidence in order to build a case that must be argued before a dispassionate judge and jury and in the face of an alternative interpretation of the same facts and evidence from the other side. Sometimes the evidence itself is identical: among the local historians and amateur genealogists to be found in any county records office at any given time, you can expect to find at least one lawyer in the corner checking eighteenth-century tithe or enclosure maps for conveyancing or for a property dispute . Some aspects of history are closely tied to the law. Modern history as an academic discipline developed as the study of constitutional development and the earliest history textbooks were collections of charters and other constitutional documents, compiled by Victorian scholars and churchmen. Much American history is heavily based on Supreme Court cases which shaped the development of the United States: Marbury v Madison, McCulloch v Maryland, Brown v the Board of Education, Roe v Wade – it is difficult to study American history without immersing yourself in the law. History also throws up important dilemmas in the borderland between law and morality, especially in the area of war crimes and crimes against
*Dr Lang studied history at Oxford and is a Senior Lecturer in History. He has written on medicine in British India and is also the author of First World War for Dummies. He is also a published playwright and has had a number of works performed in Cambridge, Oxford and on radio. He is a regular broadcaster on radio and television.
Law School Away Day The Law School ‘Away Day’ took place on the Chelmsford Campus this year, chaired by Dr Aldo Zammit-Borda the Head of the Law School. A number of important matters relevant to teaching and learning and the ongoing development of the Law School took place, including fiscal and budgetary plans. The Anglia Law School Newsletter has been compiled by Graham Humby with contributions from law students, law staff and members of the Faculty and University. Special thanks to Jane Martin for proof reading. All publications are at the discretion of the Faculty. Any queries should be directed to: graham.humby@anglia.ac.uk This Newsletter is for internal use only.
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