Centre for Law and Culture Hosts Annual Conference at St Mary's

The Centre for Law and Culture (CLC) at St Mary’s University, Twickenham hosted its second annual conference on 10-11^th September. The theme of this year’s conference was Change, inspired by recent events including the Scottish Independence referendum, a general election and a fundamental reassessment of the foundation principles of the European Union. The Centre was delighted to welcome delegates from across the world with speakers from the United Kingdom, China, Poland, Canada, Portugal, Hong Kong and the Netherlands. International representatives gathered to consider how cultural and political change has impacted on law and procedure and legal thought. The conference was honoured to have plenary papers delivered by Prof Leslie Moran of Birkbeck College, University of London on ‘Laughter and institutional change: Performing gender as a judicial virtue in the theatre of justice’ and Prof Fiona MacMillan, Birkbeck College, University of London on Locating the cultural turn in law. The Directors of the Centre for Law and Culture, Dr Thom Giddens, Dr Judith Bourne and Mark Mackarel were very happy with the legal approaches to cultural issues taken at the Conference.   Mark Mackarel said, “The range of legal concepts and analysis , the international aspect of the conference and delegates enthusiasm for considering comparative legal approaches to cultural shifts, have emphasised the interdisciplinary nature of the Centre’s work.” About the Centre for Law and Culture: Founded in 2014, the Centre for Law and Culture is a hub for fostering and actively promoting research and scholarly activity related to the various emanations and intersections of law and culture. The next events to be hosted by the Centre will be a series of lectures on Issues in International Crime and International Criminal Responsibility. For further information on the Centre and its work please visit the website http://www.stmarys.ac.uk/law-and-culture/