LawReport
A MAGAZINE FOR LAW ALUMNI OF KING’S COLLEGE LONDON
ISSUE 6 | APRIL 2014
TRANSNATIONAL LAWAT KING’S A TRIBUTE TO ROBIN MORSE PPL TAKES OFF GIVING BACK
1 | Law Report | April 2014
PHIL SAYER
O DEAN’S WELCOME
Cover: from left, Dr Cian Murphy, Dr Tunde Ogowewo and Dr Angela Zhang; photograph by David Levene
Law Report editorial team Editor: James Bressor Contributors: Louise Bell, James Bressor, Julie Foreman, Lucy Jolin, Eva Lomnicka, Helen May, Robert Wintemute Fundraising & Supporter Development King’s College London Strand Bridge House 138-142 Strand London WC2R 1HH Designed by Esterson Associates Tel +44 (0)20 7684 6500
n behalf of everyone in The Dickson Poon School of Law, I am pleased to present you with the 2014 issue of Law Report. As I approach my first anniversary as Dean, I want to thank the alumni, staff and students who have graciously welcomed me to King’s and made me feel at home. I feel honoured to be at The Dickson Poon School of Law at such an exciting time. The joint £40 million investment of Mr Dickson Poon and the College – for which we are continuing to fundraise – is already providing our students with new learning opportunities and allowing us to launch new programmes. This investment has, in the broadest possible terms, infused the School with an even greater sense of energy and raised our international profile. I can share two powerful examples of how this is happening. First, continuing a trend well underway due to the excellent work of the School over the years, we are attracting a remarkably diverse mix of students. Currently, about one-third of our students are British, one-third are European and the final third hail from the rest of the world. As you can imagine, a classroom discussion is lively and features an astounding array of perspectives when the students involved come from a dozen different nations. The long-term benefits of this to our students, we believe, will be profound. When today’s students are practising law a decade from now, they’ll network with peers sprinkled across the globe. A second major effect of the investment in the School is that we are thinking bigger than ever. By that I mean we have the capacity to establish more ambitious courses of study, bring more high-profile speakers to the Strand Campus and convene more thought-provoking discussions. In the following pages you’ll read about our popular Politics, Philosophy & Law programme, which is only two years old and already over-subscribed. You’ll also read about the thought leadership sessions we have hosted, which have attracted internationally recognised experts such as Professor John Knox, who is advising the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and Professor Michael Gerrard, of the Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School. I want to thank all of you who have provided financial support to help with the ongoing transformation of our School, as well as all of you who are supporting us in other ways, such as serving as mentors to our students. With your help, we are strengthening what is already one of the world’s great law schools. Dean David D Caron
Contents
2 Lord Judge shares his half-century of experience with King’s students
10 The School’s thought leadership fora explore today’s global issues
4 Making transnational law a reality at King’s
11 Khushwant Singh receives fellowship and other news; staff list
6 The School’s new PPL programme takes off
14 Professor Eva Lomnicka pays tribute to Professor Robin Morse
7 The Centre of European Law celebrates 40 years
16 View from the Strand: lesbian and gay equality
8 Alumnus Jay Tai gives back
Back cover Events & benefits
April 2014 | Law Report | 1
‘AN AMAZING
PRIZE’ Lord Judge shares with students his passion for the law and its fair application
Ask Lord Igor Judge, former Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, about the memorable moments of his career, and he doesn’t pick a high-profile case. Rather, he speaks of the ordinary people he acted for when, after suffering catastrophic injury, they turned to the law for help. As a circuit barrister in the 1960s and 70s, he made a point of seeing personal injury clients with major injuries at home, rather than asking them to come to chambers. ‘I was probably breaking the rules,’ he says. ‘But facilities for the disabled were non-existent back then. These people had spinal injuries; they had very severe brain damage. Seeing them in their homes never failed to leave me humbled at how human beings could cope with such events in their lives. I have a very deep, abiding sense of respect and admiration for all the people I saw.’ Though he retired as Lord Chief Justice in October 2013, Lord Judge continues to be very much involved with the legal profession. He sits in the House of Lords, is Treasurer of the Middle Temple and is one of two Dickson Poon Distinguished Visitors and Visiting Fellows for 2013–4, contributing to research and teaching programmes. He has already given his inaugural lecture, ‘Half a Century of Change: The Evidence of Child Victims’, in the John Toulmin Series of Lectures at King’s, and recently started leading a series of seminars for King’s students, ‘Contentious Questions with Lord Judge’, in which he gives students real-life ethically challenging cases to discuss. The series continues over the next year. ‘The most important thing is to get the students themselves to realise that these are serious questions,’ he says. ‘To realise that every case you are asked to deal with by your tutors once involved actual human beings. Some of them may still be alive. They were not legal problems but actual problems. And it’s important 2 | Law Report | April 2014
to get students to talk about them out loud, to be prepared to express a completely different view to 30 other people in the room and explain why. This not only increases their ability for self-expression, articulating their views but it enables them to recognise that there are different points of view.’ Born in Malta during the Second World War, Lord Judge decided to become a barrister when he was 16. ‘I can’t even remember what sparked my interest, but at that time I thought I was always going to defend people who were truly innocent,’ he remembers. ‘I wouldn’t prosecute anyone. I didn’t even know at that point that there was another side to the law.’ He read history at Magdalene College, Cambridge, and was called to the Bar in 1963. It was a different world back then, he says. As a barrister travelling the Midlands circuit, specialising in advocacy rather than a particular area of law, he acted for clients ranging from men accused of homosexual practices, then illegal, to trade unions.
It’s a wonderful system, and we should be proud of it
Not to be taken for granted
‘Passionately committed’
‘I had a very broad advocacy practice,’ he says. ‘That’s what you did in those days. I think it’s a pity that’s increasingly difficult these days. When you become a judge, it helps to have many areas with which you are reasonably familiar. You don’t have to start learning a whole lot of new areas.’ He took silk in 1979, aged 37, and became a high court judge nine years later. In 2008, he became Lord Chief Justice. Again, ask about his achievements in the position, and he brushes off the question. ‘Nobody likes a show-off,’ Lord Judge says with a smile. But he admits to being ‘passionately committed’ to improving the way in which children and victims of sexual crimes give evidence. Their presence in the courtroom, he said in the Bar Council’s annual Law Reform
Committee lecture last year, should be seen as an ‘antediluvian hangover from laughable far-off days of the quill pen and the ink well’. His other passion is judicial training. ‘The first time I sat, as a recorder, I’d never had any training of any kind,’ he says. ‘You became a judge and off you went. The thinking was understandable. Most of the people in the judiciary at that time had been in the war. They had seen terrible things. Life hadn’t exactly passed them by. And it was thought that if you could cope with that sort of terrible experience, you could cope with being a judge. But my first-ever jury trial was a case in which two police officers had accepted very small bribes for not prosecuting people for speeding on the motorway. So, even the burden of proof was the wrong way round.’
Lord Judge is a Dickson Poon Distinguished Visitor and Visiting Fellow for 2013–4
He joined the Judicial Studies Board, now the Judicial College, shortly after its inception. ‘And judges up and down the country, at every level, reckon that they are better in their judging if they have the training. That is a really dramatic change.’ Lord Judge hopes to imbue the students he meets with his first and most important passion – the law. In the UK, he says, we tend to take the rule of law and our independent judiciary for granted. ‘But to have an independent judiciary that the citizen can go to, knowing that if the law has been broken by the people who have power over us, the judge will say so and will find for the individual citizen, however humble, is an amazing prize,’ he says. ‘Our administration of justice is not perfect. It’s not perfect because it is run by human beings and human beings are fallible. But it is run by people who are genuinely committed to getting the honest answer required of the law, by the law. It’s a wonderful system, and we should be proud of it.’
JILLIAN EDELSTEIN
April 2014 | Law Report | 3
DAVID LEVENE
Debates, teaching and research aim to position King’s as a leader in one of law’s
MAKING TRANSNATI A REALITY
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Transnational Speaker Series Alumni are invited to join the School’s conversations with leading thinkers in transnational law, led by the Dean, Professor David D Caron. The Transnational Speaker Series focuses on how globalisation is affecting the rule of law, the role of states and the duties of lawyers today. Launched last autumn, the series has featured Judge Joan E Donoghue of the International Court of Justice, Professor Greg Schaffer of the University of Minnesota and Professor Peer Zumbansen, who teaches in Toronto. This year’s visitors have included Bill Neukom, President of the World Justice Project, and Professor Sally Engle Merry from New York University. Please visit kcl.ac.uk/ law/newsevents to learn more about future lectures.
most significant new fields of scholarship
Staff at the forefront in making transnational education a reality at the School include, from left, Dr Cian Murphy, Dr Angela Zhang and Dr Tunde Ogowewo
A lively discussion with Judge Joan E Donoghue, former adviser to President Obama, highlighted the first year of The Dickson Poon School of Law’s Transnational Speaker Series. Open to all, the guest lectures are a tangible result of King’s newly sharpened focus on transnational activities, following the £20 million gift from benefactor Dickson Poon, half of a planned £40 million investment in the School. The study of transnational law draws on an intricate knowledge of legal, economic and cultural practices around the world, exploring their impact on a wide range of issues, such as corruption, environmental protection and world trade. No area of law remains untouched by its ever-widening influence, and King’s is determined to play a leading role in shaping the transnational agenda rather than merely responding to it. The School’s Dean, Professor David D Caron, is an enthusiastic champion of transnational activities and has a clear vision of the College’s long-term ambitions. ‘With this fantastic new investment, we will not only develop all the talent and expertise currently at King’s, but also attract transnational experts from around the world and position ourselves as the global leader in the field,’ he says. His ambition is infectious. ‘Everyone here has a very positive attitude,’ says Law Lecturer Dr Cian Murphy. ‘It offers the opportunity to think more broadly, to travel and to engage in partnerships and collaboration.’ A key task in the coming months is to establish The Dickson Poon Transnational Law Institute, a condition of the Dickson Poon gift, and recruiting its director, with the aim of getting the institute up and running this autumn. ‘A big advantage is that we have, in fact, been a transnational school for some time,’ says Dr Murphy. ‘Our mix of cultures and backgrounds means that more and more people
IONAL LAW April 2014 | Law Report | 5
from different countries will want to work and study here.’ One new recruit is Dr Angela Zhang, who is fulfilling a long-held ambition to teach after practising for six years at law firms in Beijing, Hong Kong, New York, Brussels and London. ‘In my practice I have been helping Chinese investors to understand EU competition law,’ she says. ‘My knowledge of China also allows me to give European investors an insight into Chinese business dynamics.’ ‘These transactions are not just about the law itself, but also about the challenges arising from a country’s political and economic institutions, especially in China, where Europeans must understand the idiosyncratic corporate structure of Chinese state-owned firms and the Communist regime.’ King’s transnational agenda was a big draw for Dr Zhang when she was looking for her first academic post. ‘Now I am in academia, I am enjoying the freedom to be quite entrepreneurial myself, by pursuing
my own research interests in areas like anti-trust and competition policy, which feed into my teaching.’ Promoting rigorous and accountable systems of law in Africa is the key priority of a new project launched this year by the School in partnership with the London set Brick Court Chambers. Professor of Ethics Leif Wenar and Dr Tunde Ogowewo, a senior lecturer, are leading the initiative for King’s, working with Richard Gordon QC from Brick Court. ‘The first stage will be setting up a “thought salon” to exchange ideas and, ultimately, we plan to organise a conference on transnational law and the rule of law in Africa,’ says Dr Ogowewo. Having served as co-editor of the Journal of African Law from 2000 until 2007, Dr Ogowewo is presently on the editorial board of the African Journal of International and Comparative Law. He also acts as an expert in a range of transnational cases before English courts. Dr Murphy stresses that King’s
At King’s in particular there is an attitude of getting things done
has a unique role to play in addressing some of the major challenges related to globalisation. In his own research he has looked at the EU’s response to terrorism, arguing that laws are being adopted without adequate scrutiny from member states. His new project explores the idea of control beyond the state. ‘I’m examining the areas of transnational law – for example, security and international finance in particular – that are being strongly influenced by quasi-public organisations that are not accountable to the state,’ he says. With most staff being encouraged to focus on transnational law, he believes the School will be able to hold its own and stand out from other international players, despite strong competition. ‘At King’s in particular there is an attitude of getting things done. We want to tackle the big questions – challenges such as climate change and global financial services – that fulfil our wider agenda of serving society.’
LAW PLUS MORE King’s new LLB programme in Politics, Philosophy & Law aims to give lawyers and legal academics a strong and distinct competitive advantage by providing insight into the social, political, economic and philosophical principles that underpin the legal system, as well as a solid understanding of the law itself. ‘We want to produce complete lawyers,’ says Dr Christoph Kletzer, right, who directs the programme. ‘That means intellectually rounded individuals who can confidently navigate the tricky waters of legal and political discourse.’ The programme, which launched in September 2012 and has so far taken in two cohorts with a total of nearly 70 students, is modelled on Oxford University’s renowned Politics, Philosophy and Economics course, but with the additional benefit of providing a fully qualifying law degree. Co-taught by The Dickson Poon School of Law, the Department of Philosophy and the Department of Political Economy, the course comprises core and optional modules, giving students the flexibility to tailor 6 | Law Report | April 2014
their own programme of study that can focus on any or all of the three constituent subjects. Dean David D Caron describes the programme as an opportunity for students to not only pursue a career in the legal world but to reflect upon law more broadly and to deepen their understanding of the values that underpin the law and the ways in which politics influence how and when laws are implemented. Feedback from the first cohort of students has been extremely positive. Students speak of feeling as if they are part of an elite group, and of working in a world-class academic and pedagogical environment. According to Dr Kletzer, students in the programme are notable for their enthusiasm and levels of ambition – ambition that is equalled by the scope of the course itself. ‘This is not just a world-class law degree,’ he says. ‘We’re offering our students the philosopher’s stone too.’ More information about the Politics, Philosophy & Law programme is available at kcl.ac.uk/law/study/ ug/ppl.aspx
DAVID LEVENE
A new four-year degree in Politics, Philosophy & Law is offering students a legal education with a difference
FOUR DECADES OF LEADERSHIP
MICHAEL DONALD
The Centre of European Law continues to go from strength to strength
The EU counted just nine members in 1974, the year King’s created its pioneering Centre of European Law. Four decades later, 28 countries, reaching from Ireland to Cyprus, are in the fold, and research at the centre reflects the EU’s widening economic and social impact on its diverse band of members. ‘Britain had only just joined the EU in 1973, so at the beginning the centre’s function was mainly to look at the implications of our membership,’ says Professor Andrea Biondi, who co-directs the centre. ‘Now we are a major research and teaching resource with three professors, a thriving community of PhD students and several hundred people enrolled on our distance learning courses.’ Back in 1974, the centre was the idea of comparative law expert Professor Alexandros Chloros, who was appointed its first director. ‘He became one of the first professors of European law in the
country and was very highly regarded,’ says Professor Biondi. ‘Following Greece’s entry to the EU in 1981, he left King’s to become the first Greek judge on the European Court of Justice.’ His successor was Professor Sir Francis Jacobs, who combined his academic career with practise as an eminent barrister in European law and directed the centre until 1988, when he was also appointed to the European Court of Justice. ‘King’s was one of the very first places to specialise in European law and over the last 40 years the centre has gone from strength to strength,’ says Sir Francis, who now serves as the centre’s President. Today, around 300 people are studying on the four distance learning postgraduate courses that cover key elements of EU law. ‘They attract professionals from all 28 member states. We have lots of government officials, lawyers and experts working in the European
Among the Centre of European Law staff are, from left, Co-Director Professor Andrea Biondi, Professor Sir Francis Jacobs KCMG QC, Co-Director Professor Takis Tridimas, Executive Officer Andrea Cordwell James, Centre Manager Christine Copping and Dr Oana Stefan, Senior Lecturer in Public and European Law
Commission, Court and Parliament,’ says Professor Biondi. European experts also turn to the centre for the latest thinking in critical fields such as economic, criminal and environmental law and human rights, often politically sensitive issues within the EU’s member states. ‘We are currently looking at access to justice as well as regulation in areas such as agricultural policy, state aid and data protection,’ says Professor Biondi. ‘Examining banking regulation is also a growth area, and this will now be headed by the leading scholar Professor Takis Tridimas, who joined us this year as the centre’s new co-director.’ Each year the centre runs a programme of lectures and workshops to publicise its research. Its annual conference in February attracted a large crowd of practising lawyers, judges and scholars, a sure sign that the centre is still a highly regarded and trusted source of intelligence on the complexities of EU law. April 2014 | Law Report | 7
GIVING BACK
Donor Jay Tai draws on his successful career to mentor international students
Since graduating from King’s with an LLB in 1996, Jay CS Tai’s career ascent has been rapid. After his first taste of practice at a small firm in his home country of Malaysia, he moved to Singapore to work in regional and international companies and then to Hong Kong, where he is now handling multi-million-dollar deals as a partner at the leading American firm Proskauer Rose. ‘I have moved relatively often, but each time it has been a step up the career ladder,’ says Tai, who is still in his 30s. At Proskauer Rose he represents corporations, private equity firms and hedge funds that are investing in China and other parts of Asia. ‘With so much money at stake there is a lot of pressure. My largest recent project amounted to $1.3 billion. It’s a fast-paced business and as the lawyer you have to work hard to please everyone,’ he says. ‘It’s interesting learning about 8 | Law Report | April 2014
I want to advise students on the options open to them
Jay CS Tai: ‘It’s a fast-paced business and as the lawyer you have to work hard to please everyone’
a wide cross-section of industries and dealing with people who work in areas as diverse as fashion, wastewater treatment or packaging.’ Tai’s thirst for learning was encouraged from an early age by his parents, whose origins are Malaysian-Chinese. As Malaysia is a former UK colony, he says many families still view a British education as the best avenue to a good career. ‘I was very lucky that my parents supported me,’ he says. ‘I chose King’s because I’m a city guy. I love London and its multicultural environment, and also because the College has one of the country’s best law schools. ‘It’s a great location too. I remember standing outside the Royal Courts of Justice watching the crowds of reporters during the George Michael case against Sony in 1994.’ Tai is now supporting The Dickson Poon School of Law both through his donations and his interest in
mentoring Malaysian and Singaporean students. He says he hopes to show current students that the buzz and satisfaction of practising law in Asia’s dynamic business environment are within their grasp. ‘I want to advise them on the options open to them. I was told before I graduated that as Malaysians we really have not much choice but to go straight on to do Bar exams,’ he says. ‘But I could have done an LPC course and applied for an apprenticeship in a Magic Circle firm, which would have been more relevant to my corporate practice.’ Fluent in English, Malay, Cantonese and Mandarin, he stresses that language skills are a great bonus when working in Hong Kong and China. ‘My parents insisted that I learn Chinese in school. This means I can really understand and blend in with the culture when I travel or work in China.’
EGIL BJARKI
April 2014 | Law Report | 9
TACKLING WORLD QUESTIONS
An ambitious series of discussions is bringing opinion leaders to King’s
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Dr Ann Mumford, left, and Dr Eloise Scotford
MICHAEL DONALD
What is the role of the courts in tackling climate change? Can governments reduce poverty and human rights abuses by implementing fairer tax systems? A new series of thought leadership fora, hosted by The Dickson Poon School of Law, aims to find answers to questions such as these – some of the greatest challenges facing humankind in the 21st century. ‘The idea behind the sessions is to reinforce the links between academic research and civil society,’ explains Dr Ann Mumford, reader in taxation law. ‘We want to show that the work we’re doing here at King’s can have a real and measurable impact on the issues that affect us all, today and tomorrow.’ The series was launched in May 2013 with well-received sessions focusing on global challenges such as developing a successor to the UN’s Millennium Goals and the ethics and legitimacy of revolution and outside intervention in countries such as Syria and Egypt. Building on this successful launch, the School hosted two autumn sessions, the first focusing on the role of the courts in relation to climate change and the second on global tax justice and illicit financial flows. Both sessions succeeded in bringing together high-profile journalists, government officials and industry leaders – senior opinion-formers and decision-makers. ‘We wanted to make sure the people who attended really did have the capacity to bring about change at the very highest level,’ says Dr Mumford. The climate change forum was chaired by Lecturer in Law Dr Eloise Scotford and Professor Thomas Pogge. The discussion emphasised the need for lawyers to think beyond conventional litigation and to consider the political, financial, technological and demographic aspects of climate change.
The second forum, convened to coincide with an expert workshop on global tax justice, focused on three areas. Anthea Lawson of Global Witness led a session on advocacy with a powerful address highlighting the links between illicit money flows and international tax structures. Professor Reuven Avi Yonah, of the University of Michigan Law School, looked at the fundamental question of what exactly the results of changes to the tax regime should be. Finally, Anne Fairpo, of 13 Old Square Chambers and a visiting lecturer at King’s, spoke on the role of advisers.
Organisers are looking to build on the success of these fora by arranging more events in 2014. ‘These sessions have been a big success,’ says Dr Mumford. ‘They’re helping to establish us as a forum for policy discussions at the very highest level, a place where people can discuss issues openly and honestly and explore new ideas and make new connections.’ For summaries of thought leadership sessions hosted by The Dickson Poon School of Law, please visit kcl.ac.uk/law/newsevents/thoughtleadership-forum.aspx
School news
Khushwant Singh awarded fellowship
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ust two months before he died, alumnus Khushwant Singh was awarded a fellowship of the College in recognition of his exceptional accomplishments in the fields of literature and journalism. Singh, recognised as one of India’s leading historians and novelists, was a forthright political commentator and an acute social critic. Born in 1915 in Hadali (now Pakistan), he entered King’s as an undergraduate law student in 1934. To mark the 80th
anniversary of Singh’s arrival in London, the Principal, Professor Sir Richard Trainor, bestowed the fellowship – the College’s most prestigious honour – at a private ceremony at Singh’s home in January. ‘We are delighted to confer this award on Mr Singh in celebration of the substantial achievements of one of our most successful and best-known Indian alumni,’ Principal Trainor stated at the Delhi event. After graduating in 1938, Singh was called to the Bar
The CMS Prize in International Arbitration
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he School has partnered with the law firm CMS to award three prizes to King’s LLM students for the best research essays in international commercial and investment arbitration.
The prestigious prizes will be known as the CMS Prize in International Arbitration. ‘We always look for ways to find and support young people who are interested in this field,’ says Dr Dorothee Ruckteschler,
Head of the CMS International Arbitration Group. ‘We have chosen to partner with King’s College London because we believe that its bright and driven students will become the leading lawyers of tomorrow.’
King’s tops London law schools’ employability rating
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he Guardian’s 2014 League Table, released in June, revealed that The Dickson Poon School of Law has the highest rating for employability amongst all London law schools. Eighty-four per cent of King’s graduates were recorded as being in employment or further education six months after graduating.
Overall, King’s placed seventh in employability amongst all UK law schools, up two places from 2013. The guide also shows 90 per cent of King’s students are satisfied with their teaching. ‘We’ve been working with King’s law students right throughout their education to place them in the best possible position to gain employment upon graduating,’ says Helen
Lovegrove, Careers Consultant for The Dickson Poon School of Law. ‘We hold a law fair each year with more than 70 law firms who actively target King’s students. We will continue to build upon these initiatives to ensure a very high percentage of King’s law students gain employment in their chosen field upon graduating.’
International Distinguished Chair in Law
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rofessor Maleiha Malik of The Dickson Poon School of Law has been appointed by the Law Faculty of the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) as the Suzanne Tassier Chair for 2013-4. The nomination was received in recognition of Professor Malik’s work on comparative discrimination law, developed in her book Discrimination Law: Theory and Context as well as in a series of scholarly articles. The theme for her tenure
will be ‘Gender and Human Rights’. Professor Malik will present a public lecture, ‘Why Gender Matters in Human Rights Law’, and specialist seminars to undergraduates and postgraduates titled ‘Gender at the Heart of Multiple Discrimination’. She will also teach a specialist PhD master class on
‘Feminist Theory and Cultural Pluralism’. ULB established the Suzanne Tassier Chair to bring distinguished professors from other institutions to speak about the working conditions of women, and to assist in developing research into gender studies.
by the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, and he then practised law for nearly a decade at the High Court of Lahore, Pakistan. In 1947, he entered the diplomatic service of newly independent India, serving his country for four years in London and Ottawa. During the 1980s, he was a member of the Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of the Indian Parliament. Known to millions for his newspaper column ‘With Malice towards One and All’, he died on 20 March.
Students heading to Vienna for moot competition
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ix students from The Dickson Poon School of Law are taking part in the Willem C Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot in Vienna this year, with the support of two international law firms, CMS and Clifford Chance. The moot is intended to stimulate the study of international commercial law, in particular the legal texts prepared by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law and the use of international commercial arbitration to resolve international commercial disputes. This year’s team coach is Maria-Krystyna Duval, a solicitor-advocate at CMS and visiting lecturer at King’s. Duval says team members view their diversity as their strength, speaking four languages fluently between them and bringing different perspectives to a complex problem of international commercial law. This moot is in its 21st year and more 300 law schools from around the world are expected to participate in this year’s competition. April 2014 | Law Report | 11
School news
Alumna’s fellowship award funds research in Myanmar
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n late 2013, law alumna Alicia de la Cour Venning, of the International State Crime Initiative (ISCI), completed her second field trip to Myanmar, where she gathered information about the ongoing persecution of the Kachin people. De la Cour Venning manages the ISCI’s three-year comparative research project ‘Resisting State Crime: A Comparative Study of Civil Society’, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. After a successful first field trip to Myanmar in December 2012, the American Society of International Law’s (ASIL) Helton Fellowship allowed her to conduct additional fieldwork in Myanmar’s northern Kachin state in December 2013.
‘I was delighted to be awarded the Helton Fellowship, as it allowed for the extension of ISCI’s research in Myanmar,’ says de la Cour Venning. ‘This is particularly important in light of Myanmar’s ethnic and religious diversity. The fellowship enabled me to visit Kachin state, where a ceasefire broke down between the Burmese Army and the Kachin Independence Army in June 2011. The Kachin people, like Myanmar’s many other ethnic minority groups, have suffered from decades of state violence and discrimination under successive military regimes.’ Throughout her research, residents of Kachin repeatedly emphasised that severe human rights violations, including ethnic and religious discrimination, continue
to be inflicted on the Kachin people, despite reforms taking place elsewhere in Myanmar. ‘I have been utterly inspired by the determination, bravery and remarkable sense of humour demonstrated by countless individuals in their efforts to bring about fundamental change to ensure all people can enjoy basic freedoms and justice,’ says de la Cour Venning. ‘The opportunity provided by ASIL and ISCI has been transformative: I’ve gained a deeper understanding of Myanmar’s political complexities and I’m convinced I want to continue work in the humanitarian sector.’ Based in The Dickson Poon School of Law, the ISCI operates in partnership with Harvard, Hull and Ulster Universities.
Alumna’s play presented worldwide
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laywright and King’s alumna Tess Berry-Hart (LLB, 1997) has written London’s first rapid-response protest against President Vladimir Putin’s recent anti-gay legislation in Russia. Her work has been developed into a full-length play, Sochi 2014. Based on verbatim accounts from LGBT Russians, it explores the historical and political background of widespread homophobia in Russia. ‘Instantly, I saw the piece as a living testament of voices
which could be constantly updated as the situation developed,’ says Berry-Hart. ‘I intended the piece to be a call to action and a blow against political apathy and appeasement.’ The production ran at the same time as the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. It was performed at the Hope Theatre in London. Sochi 2014 was also presented by partners at venues in several other nations as part of an international protest against Russia’s anti-gay laws.
Yeoh family’s £7 million gift celebrated in Kuala Lumpur
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n September, Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Yeoh Tiong Lay and his family hosted a celebration in Kuala Lumpur to mark the Yeoh family’s £7 million gift to King’s. The Principal, Professor Sir Richard Trainor, and Dean David D Caron attended the event. The gift will be used to establish the Yeoh Tiong Lay Centre for Politics, Philosophy & Law, named in honour of the Yeoh family. The researchbased centre will underpin the new Politics, Philosophy & Law LLB degree (see page 6). Through a newly created endowment, the gift will establish a chair, two lectureships and 16 Yeoh Tiong Lay LLM scholarships, with preference given to students from Malaysia. The Principal thanked the Yeoh family on behalf of the College. ‘The generous gift of £7 million will further assist The Dickson Poon School of Law in becoming one of the world’s great centres for the study of law, and King’s is very grateful to the Yeoh family for their vision and generosity.’ King’s alumnus Dato’ Mark Yeoh, Seok Kah (Law, 1987) was also in attendance. ‘As an alumnus, I am very pleased my family has contributed this new centre,’ he said. ‘The centre extends our support to postgraduate studies as well as to developing new and innovative courses relevant to today’s world.’
In conversation with Judge Joan E Donoghue
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udge Joan E Donoghue visited The Dickson Poon School of Law in November to share some of her insights and experiences as a sitting judge on the International Court of Justice. Speaking to students, staff and guests, Judge Donoghue 12 | Law Report | April 2014
described the competitive process for appointments to international law positions, stressing the importance of students being able to demonstrate how they stand out. After a distinguished career at the US Department of State, where she was the senior career
attorney, Judge Donoghue was elected to the World Court in 2010. In previous roles, she served as an adviser to President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. ‘Conversations such as this are central to our mission at The Dickson Poon School of
Law’, said Dean David D Caron. ‘We maintain an ongoing dialogue with those who live the law on a daily basis, especially in international institutions or fields of transnational law, so our students are equipped for the challenges of the global legal environment.’
Cherie Booth and Principal laud Dickson Poon Scholars
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herie Booth CBE QC joined the Principal, Professor Sir Richard Trainor, in an autumn celebration to formally welcome this year’s Dickson Poon Scholars. ‘You have joined a distinguished network of high-achieving individuals who are united by their passion to pioneer a new standard in legal education for the 21st century,’ the Principal told the students at the Great Hall reception. Seventy-two undergraduates and five PhD students were named Dickson Poon Scholars for 2013-4. Each of them received a special silver Reggie pin denoting them as Dickson Poon Scholars. In a question-and-answer discussion with the Dean, Professor David D Caron, Booth reflected on the differences between 1976, when she was called to the Bar at Lincoln’s Inn, and today. When she entered the legal
Staff list
profession, women accounted for less than 10 per cent of new barristers and solicitors, the separation between those two classes of lawyers was rigidly enforced and new barristers had to pay for their pupillages. Booth said law students in the 1970s learned little about international law and the legal systems of other nations, other
than a possible introduction to common law in Hong Kong and India, whereas people entering the profession today need to be ‘truly international’. The Dickson Poon Scholarship programme is named in honour of philanthropist Dickson Poon, whose £20 million gift – the largest gift ever to a European
law school – is transforming King’s law school and establishing it as a leader in transnational law. Booth is the wife of former Prime Minister Tony Blair. Their daughter Kathryn graduated from King’s in 2011 with a degree in Law with European Studies; she was called to Lincoln’s Inn in 2012.
Dean
Professor Satvinder Juss Dr Dionysia Katelouzou Mr Perry Keller Dr Christoph Kletzer Dr Prabha Kotiswaran Dr Barbara Lauriat Professor Penney Lewis Dr Ying Khai Liew Professor David Llewelyn Professor Eva Lomnicka Professor Timothy Macklem Professor Maleiha Malik Professor Paul Matthews Professor Aileen McColgan Professor David Mosey Dr Ann Mumford Dr Cian Murphy Ms Aruna Nair Professor Renato Nazzini Professor David Nelken Dr Tunde Ogowewo Dr Federico Ortino Dr Nicola Palmer Professor John Phillips Professor Raymond Plant Professor Elaine Player
Professor Thomas Pogge Professor Joseph Raz Professor Genevra Richardson Dr Irit Samet-Porat Dr Michael Schillig Dr Thomas Schultz Dr Eloise Scotford Professor Rosamund Scott Professor Cindy Skach Dr Alexander Steel Dr Oana Stefan Dr Eva Steiner Professor Ravindra Tennekoon Dr Christopher Townley Professor Takis Tridimas Dr Leslie Turano Taylor Professor Alexander Turk Ms Patricia Walsh Dr Philippa Webb Professor Leif Wenar Professor Robert Wintemute Professor Karen Yeung Dr Angela Huyye Zhang Dr Lorenzo Zucca
Professor David Caron Distinguished visitors
The Rt Hon Lord Judge The Rt Hon Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers Academic and staff teaching
For more information about The Dickson Poon School of Law and its staff, visit the School’s website at kcl.ac.uk/schools/law
Professor Tanya Aplin Dr Dennis Baker Professor Andrea Biondi Professor Robert Blackburn Professor Benjamin Bowling Professor Roger Brownsword Professor Allen Buchanan Professor Keith Ewing Mr Stephen Gilmore Professor Jonathan Glover Professor Penelope Green Professor Jonathan Harris Mrs Jane Henderson Dr Ori Herstein Professor Richard Hooley Professor Sir Francis Jacobs Professor Alison Jones
April 2014 | Law Report | 13
‘THE FINEST KIND OF
PUBLIC SERVICE’ Professor Eva Lomnicka pays tribute to her long-time colleague Professor Robin Morse
In the last issue of Law Report we noted that Robin Morse had been deservedly awarded the King’s College Lifetime Achievement Award at the annual King’s Awards ceremony. Last year also marked his official retirement, although he has been persuaded to continue teaching the LLB course that he made his own: Conflict of Laws. Robin was recruited to King’s Law School in 1971 by Professor Ronald Graveson, himself an eminent scholar in ‘private international law’, the continental term for what AngloAmerican lawyers tend to call ‘conflicts’. Ron was looking for a bright youngster to work with him in developing King’s as a centre of excellence in that subject and found whom he needed in Robin. Robin had just graduated from Wadham College, Oxford, where he had been taught by another conflicts scholar of Ron’s generation: Peter Carter. Robin joined Tony Guest, who had also been recruited from Oxford a few years before. Robin 14 | Law Report | April 2014
and Tony became lifelong friends. Now that they are both retired but still active in The Dickson Poon School of Law, they share a room in the Somerset House premises. When Robin joined King’s, the School was housed in the infamous pre-Dickensian townhouses overlooking the Strand and both Robin and Tony, as well as other heads of School, devoted a great deal of time and energy to the acquisition of new premises, a campaign that culminated in the move to Somerset House. Robin was soon joined by Ian Kennedy (now Sir Ian Kennedy QC), Joe Thomson (who went on to become Regius Professor at Edinburgh), Jill Martin (who became Deputy Public Trustee, as it then was), Martin Dockray (who became Head of School at City University Law School), Judith Mayhew (now Dame Judith, first Director of the Anglo-French Programme), Jeff Price (who did so much to further student welfare) and a number of others who are still on the staff:
He is an invaluable source of wisdom for his colleagues
Francis Jacobs QC (back from being Advocate General), Jane Henderson, Ravi Tennekoon and me. The 70s and early 80s were happy and busy years and saw the School grow and prosper. Robin took a year out in 1979-80 as visiting professor at the John Marshall Law School, Chicago, and was a visiting professor at the University of Leuven in the early 1980s, but his commitment to King’s was never in doubt. Clear exposition
When Ian Kennedy became Head of School in 1986, Robin became his deputy. Together they worked to ensure that the School prospered as a pre-eminent centre of legal scholarship and a source of talented professional lawyers. As well as undertaking heavy administrative responsibilities, Robin’s research thrived: in particular he became editor of the leading text Dicey and Morris on the Conflict of Laws and he published widely. He became reader in 1988 and then professor in 1992.
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Robin succeeded Ian as Head of School in 1997. During his tenure he consolidated and enhanced King’s reputation as a leading law school in many ways, most obviously in recruiting established scholars, such as Raymond Plant, and many ‘bright young stars’, but also in nurturing the existing faculty. He furthered and deepened the reputation of King’s as a centre of excellence in his subject, for example by persuading world-class scholars to deliver the annual Graveson Memorial Lecture, also sponsored by Gray’s Inn. He was responsible for the Jeffrey Price Memorial Scholarships, granted to talented students with limited means. After standing down – as some will know, in protest over the physical state of the School – he supported his successors and was an invaluable source of wisdom for his colleagues. Throughout his career, he has been a devoted and extremely popular teacher, retaining his ability to engage and enthuse students to this day. He has eschewed any (let alone
modern) teaching aids, reminding us that there is no substitute for clear exposition. He has struggled with new technology but he has built up such a fount of affection and goodwill amongst both the administrative and academic staff that all have rushed to help him on the occasions when he could not avoid it. Utterly selfless
On his retirement last year, there was an overwhelming desire to thank him for his contribution to the Law School. A splendid dinner was held at the Inner Temple, attended by past and present colleagues and alumni. The Principal gave an appreciation on behalf of the College, observing that Robin’s career ‘has been a sterling example of the finest kind of public service: utterly selfless, and profoundly, unequivocally and unhesitatingly dedicated to the good of the institution and all those who serve it’. I had the honour of making a personal tribute to Robin on behalf
Professors Eva Lomnicka and Robin Morse at the dinner to thank Professor Morse for his years of service to the College
of the Law School and I took the opportunity to share a few anecdotes and reminisce about the 40 or so years that had passed since we both joined the School in the 1970s. Central to those years was the experience of working in the old Laws Building. Some will recall that heavy autumn rain caused the ceiling of Robin’s room to collapse one day when he was Head of School and the incident was immortalised by a cartoon in the Times Higher Educational Supplement. As a reminder to him, one of the gifts we presented to Robin was a framed copy of that cartoon. To quote from the tribute that accompanied his Lifetime Achievement Award: ‘Robin’s is a legacy to his subject, his students, his School and his College that does not shout its name but is all the more real and enduring for that fact. He touched many lives during his time at King’s and we hope he continues his association with King’s for many more years to come.’ April 2014 | Law Report | 15
View from the Strand Professor Robert Wintemute traces gains made in the UK during the past two decades, and the ongoing discrimination that remains common in many nations today When I started as a law lecturer at King’s in September 1991, lesbian and gay equality was a distant dream in Britain. The age of consent for sexual activity between two men was 21 versus 16 between a man and a woman or two women, and the European Commission on Human Rights had found that these unequal ages did not violate the European Convention on Human Rights. This meant that it was a criminal offence for most gay male law students at King’s to act on their sexual orientation with another man of any age. Anti-discrimination legislation did not cover sexual orientation, so universities were free to discriminate against lesbian and gay students, and law firms and other employers were free to refuse to hire them or to dismiss them because of their sexual orientation. The worst employer was the armed forces, which automatically dismissed every lesbian or gay member who came out voluntarily, or whose secret was revealed by an informant. Equal rights for same-sex couples and parents were unthinkable. On the contrary, section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988 prohibited local governments from ‘promoting homosexuality’ or ‘the teaching in any maintained [government-funded] school of the
acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship’. Things began to change in 1997, after the election of ‘New Labour’ and its first reform in this area: a change to the Immigration Rules allowing non-EU same-sex partners of UK residents to apply for residence permits. Like a row of dominoes, discriminatory laws and policies began to fall one by one. In 1999, the European Court of Human Rights held that the blanket ban on lesbian and gay members of the armed forces violated the convention (Smith & Grady v United Kingdom); the ban was abolished in early 2000. In late 2000, the age of consent was equalised by the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000, and the Human Rights Act 1998 came into force, prohibiting sexual orientation discrimination by public authorities (including universities). In 2003, section 28 was repealed, all remaining discrimination in the criminal law was removed by the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and an EU directive banning sexual orientation discrimination in public or private sector employment or higher education was implemented by the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003. In December 2005, the Civil Partnership Act 2004 and the Adoption and Children Act 2002 came into force, allowing same-sex couples in England and Wales to register their relationships, and to adopt children jointly (with or without registering). In 2007, the prohibition of sexual orientation discrimination was extended to access to housing, education and other goods and services, including the services of adoption agencies and hotels, by the Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007. One year later, the Public Order Act 1986 was amended to prohibit incitement to hatred based on sexual orientation, and the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act
Protesters at Westminster urge MPs to approved same-sex marriage in the UK
2008 provided for equal treatment of same-sex couples in relation to donor insemination and surrogacy. The next step: marriage
With same-sex couples now having access to all of the rights of married different-sex couples, it remained only to end their historical exclusion from the public institution of legal marriage. The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 did so, and allows the first legal marriages of same-sex
PROGRESS TOWARDS LESBIAN AND GAY
EQUALITY
16 | Law Report | April 2014
couples to take place in England and Wales from 29 March 2014. Apart from a very mean exception with regard to survivor’s pension benefits for both married and civilly partnered same-sex couples – which is clearly contrary to EU law (Maruko, CJEU, 1 April 2008) and is being challenged in the Employment Appeal Tribunal – the long journey to legal equality for lesbian and gay Britons will reach a happy end this year. Can the same be said for the rest
of the world? Unfortunately, the legal situation of the majority of lesbian and gay individuals and same-sex couples in the world is similar to what it was in Britain in 1991, or worse. More than 75 countries still criminalise same-sex sexual activity, with at least five authorising the death penalty (as England and Wales did until 1861). These countries include the majority of nations in Asia and Africa and 11 independent Englishspeaking Caribbean countries.
April 2014 | Law Report | 17
LEON NEAL/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
A huge amount of work remains to be done
More than half are Commonwealth countries, including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Jamaica, Nigeria, Uganda and Zambia. Many countries that have decriminalised same-sex relationships, such as China, do not protect against discrimination. Another example is Russia, which in 2013 passed a more extreme version of section 28, under which individuals may be fined and deported (in the case of foreigners). It prohibits ‘propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations’, including statements suggesting that there is a social equivalence between same-sex and different-sex sexual activity or couple relationships. Equal access to marriage has clearly been achieved by same-sex couples in all or part of only 17 of the 193 UN member states (Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, UK, US and Uruguay). As a result, legally married same-sex couples find, like the hero of Twelve Years a Slave, that their human rights vary greatly when they travel. For example, two women who marry in the UK might find that their marriage is not recognised for immigration and other purposes, and that their sexual relationship is a criminal offence, both in the Caribbean home of one spouse and in the Persian Gulf country where the other spouse is working temporarily. Since 1960, when sexual activity between men was illegal in almost every part of the former British Empire, including the UK, Ireland, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand and every state of Australia and the US, there has been a great deal of progress towards lesbian and gay equality. But a huge amount of work remains to be done, and King’s law graduates can play an important role wherever they live around the world.
Events & Benefits Events The International Law Association British Branch Spring Conference Date: 23-24 May 2014 Venue: The Dickson Poon School
of Law This year’s International Law Association Conference focuses on the topic of Foundations & Futures of International Law. Alumni Weekend 2014 Date: 6-8 June 2014 Venue: Multiple locations
Benefits Online journals
King’s alumni can enjoy free online access to JSTOR, allowing them to view hundreds of online academic journals. JSTOR is a high-quality, interdisciplinary archive of scholarship, with more than 1,000 journals in both digital and print formats. To sign up to JSTOR or to create your JSTOR alumni account, please log in to Alumni Online (alumni.kcl. ac.uk) or register to become a member (‘new user registration’ link). King’s email address
As a member of Alumni Online, the free King’s web community, you can set up a King’s email address for professional and personal use. Visit alumni.kcl.ac.uk/email to find out more.
Somerset House East Wing, home of The Dickson Poon School of Law, above; below, from left, the Principal, Professor Sir Richard Trainor, Professor Robin Morse and the Dean, Professor David D Caron, at the October celebration honouring Professor Morse for his years of service to King’s and its students
Alumni discounts
Royal Institution
There are currently more than 20 discounts for King’s alumni listed on Alumni Online. Check out the wide range of exclusive deals; visit alumni.kcl.ac.uk to find out more.
The Royal Institution is offering a 20 per cent discount on membership to alumni. Membership provides a range of benefits, including access to lectures, discourses, exhibitions and interactive activities. For more information, please email membership@ri.ac.uk or call +44 (0)20 7670 2961.
Keep fit at King’s
Kinetic Fitness Club is a fully equipped fitness centre providing top-quality amenities to students, alumni and local businesses from its base in Stamford Street. To learn more, call +44 (0)20 7848 4650.
Stay at King’s
Outside term time, alumni are able to take advantage of accommodation in some of the best locations in London, enjoying excellent new facilities and having the chance to explore the capital all over again. Access to libraries
Alumni can join the College’s libraries, including the magnificent Maughan Library on Chancery Lane. Reference-only membership is free and borrowing privileges are available for an annual charge of £60. To apply for library membership, you will need your alumni number, which your can obtain by contacting the Alumni Office at alumoff@kcl.ac.uk
DOLLY CLEW
King’s 11th annual Alumni Weekend will feature a range of lectures, tours and entertainment open to alumni from all graduation years, schools and merged institutions. This year’s theme is Curiosity, exploring everything that is interesting or unusual about King’s, and our continued desire to learn and know more. The Principal’s Lunch will be particularly special as the Principal, Professor Sir Richard Trainor, is marking his final year at the College. The lunch will be held at the Waldorf Hotel at 12.30 on Saturday 7 June. For more information, please visit alumni.kcl.ac.uk/alumni-weekend. You can contact the Alumni Office at alumoff@kcl.ac.uk to register your interest for the Principal’s Lunch.