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News & Events from the FLJS
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Welcome to our Spring round-up of news and events. All of our lectures and workshops are free and open to everyone. If you can't attend but are interested in the topics, do visit our website for news, summaries and podcasts of events, policy briefs and reports.
This newsletter also brings you up-to-date with news of our inaugural Science of Constitutions study programme for senior policymakers and advisers in September.
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Lecture: How Judges Decide
Courts operate under principles of independence, which means they are neither directly responsive nor directly accountable to the political process.
How then do judges decide cases, especially hard cases? What are the underlying principles, the informal guidelines, the constraints and limitations?
Justice Robert Sharpe, of the Ontario Court of Appeal and a Visiting Professor at the University of Oxford, examines the arguments and reasons that count, and the constraints under which courts operate.
How Judges Decide Lecture
29 April 2016, 5.30pm-6.30pm, Leonard Wolfson Auditorium, Wolfson College, Linton Road, Oxford OX2 6UD
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Workshop: How Judges Decide
The day after the How Judges Decide lecture,
Denis Galligan, Professor of Socio-Legal Studies, University of Oxford and Director of the Foundation for Law, Justice and Society, is joined by an impressive line-up of judicial and academic experts to further the debate.
Participants include:
Sir Stephen Sedley, former Lord Justice of Appeal and Visiting Professor, University of Oxford
Alan Paterson OBE, Professor of Law and Director of the Centre for Professional Legal Studies at the Strathclyde University Law School.
Scot Peterson, Bingham Research Fellow in Constitutional Studies and Junior Research Fellow in the Social Sciences, Balliol College, University of Oxford
Daniel Smilov, Associate Professor at the Political Science Department,
University of Sofia, and Programme Director at the Centre for Liberal Strategies, Sofia.
Lindsay Stirton,
Professor of Public Law at the University of Sussex.
How Judges Decide Workshop
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Free Film Night: Bridge of Spies
Directed by Stephen Spielberg and based on a true story, Bridge of Spies is a thrilling film which entwines law, justice and society.
Tom Hanks plays Jim Donovan, an American lawyer recruited by the CIA in 1957 to represent Rudolph Abel at trail, after the European artist, living in the US, was arrested for spying for the Russians.
Set in the Cold War, at a time of intense distrust and fear of nuclear capabilities, the move was to ensure Abel had a fair trail. That small act of fairness plays out into a drama of complexities, as Donovan successfully pleads for Abel to get life imprisonment, rather than the death sentence. His argument was that Abel may be a fair future exchange for any US citizens imprisoned by the Russians.
Bridge of Spies |
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Science of Constitutions Study Programme Sept 4-17 2016
The FLJS is pleased to announce the inauguration of a unique and intensive two-week training programme for those involved in constitutional issues at a senior level.
Aimed at senior civil servants, advisers to governments, officials in international organization, representatives of particular groups such as social minorities, private interest groups, political parties and civil society organizations, the two-week, residential programme will be based at Wolfson College, Oxford.
Subjects to be covered include: constitutions as a vital part of the social, political, and economic
structure of a nation; the scientific method and approach; functions, purposes and structure of
constitutions; the processes of constitution-making; interim constitutions; dealing with division
and conflict in constitution-making; institutional design; electoral systems; rights provisions;
amending constitutions; communicating constitutional matters.
For more detail, pricing and booking, please email Administrative Director Judy Niner: judy.niner@fljs.org
Study Programme
4-17 Sept 2016, Wolfson College, Linton Road, Oxford OX2 6UD
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FLJS moves into newly opened wing at Wolfson College
On March 10, the President of Wolfson College, Professor Dame Hermione Lee, officially opened the new Academic Wing, where the FLJS now has its new office.
In her presentation, Professor Lee, pictured centre, specially acknowledged FLJS Chairman John Adams, pictured left, for his long-time support of the College. Also pictured is Wolfson Foundation CEO Paul Ramsbottom.
A display has been erected alongside the library at Wolfson, acknowledging Mr Adams, plus all the alumni, members and friends whose generous support made the new building possible.
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Dates for your diary
May 11, 2016, 5pm-6.30pm, Wolfson College
Book Colloquium. Title tbc.
June 7, 2016, time and title tbc, Wolfson College
The Max Watson Memorial Lecture
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About the FLJS
We identify issues of contemporary interest and importance, and distil relevant academic expertise and analysis to practitioners.
Our aim is to make our work easily accessible to professionals in government, business, or the law, and in so doing, to bridge the gap between academia and policymaking. All our events are free and open to all. We look forward to seeing you.
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The Foundation for Law, Justice and Society | Wolfson College | Oxford | www.fljs.org |
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