Events

Upcoming events

Past events

2023

10 November 2023 Assize Seminar - Cutting Edge Criminal Law Organised by Mark Dsouza (UCL) | Matthew Dyson (Oxford, Chair) | Paul Jarvis (CBA) | Rachel Clement Tolley (Cambridge)	About the event: The Assize Seminars provide a space for cutting edge academic work to play a practical role in understanding and developing the law. They are a chance to challenge, debate and refine criminal justice, providing a bridge from academia to criminal legal practice. Just like the Assize of old, the seminars are peripatetic, rotating between three leading academic institutions: Oxford, Cambridge and University College London, and occasionally, making a special stop elsewhere in England & Wales. Each Assize Seminar runs with the support of the Criminal Bar Association. Please visit the event's website for further information.
20 July 2023 Juries and Evidence in Sexual Offence Prosecutions This workshop was co-organised by the UCL Centre for Criminal Law and the UCL Judicial Institute	About the event: In the wake of the Law Commission’s recent opening of a consultation on Evidence in Sexual Offence Prosecutions, this joint workshop by the UCL’s Centre for Criminal Law and UCL Judicial Institute brought together leading experts with a diversity of experience and knowledge to share their insights on how juries respond to evidence in sexual offence prosecutions. Each speaker presented for 15 minutes and there was time allocated for Q&A. Please visit the event's website for further information.
7 February 2023 The Comparative Study of Miscarriages of Justice in Light of the English Experience With Professor Kent Roach (University of Toronto)	About the event: What can be learned from the experience in England and Wales about remedying miscarriages of justice? This talk will discuss the English experience in the context of ongoing research that examines ways to remedy miscarriages of justice in Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand and the United States. The experience of a review commission limited to factual innocence in North Carolina and the recent creation of a criminal cases review commission in New Zealand and recent proposals in Canada will be examined. In addition, ambitious proposals in India to compensate “wrongful prosecutions” and the creation of second subsequent appeals in several Australian states will also be examined. Topics to be examined include the reaction of appellate courts to referrals of cases from the executive, referral and appeal tests including whether sentences should be in the mandate of review commissions, the dangers of underfunding commissions, factual innocence in relation to miscarriages of justice, the role of defence counsel and innocence projects, and the implications of the rise in the number of guilty plea wrongful convictions receiving remedies. Organiser: Mark Dsouza (UCL) Speaker: Professor Kent Roach, Professor of Law at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law Host: Professor David Ormerod, KC, (UCL) Commentators: Henry Blaxland KC (Garden Court Chambers) Dr Jon Robins (Brighton) Dr  Hannah Quirk (KCL) Please visit the event's website for further information.

2022

18 November 2022 Assize Seminar in Cutting Edge Criminal Law The Assize Seminars provide a space for cutting-edge academic work to play a practical role in understanding and developing the law.	About the event: The Assize Seminars provide a space for cutting edge academic work to play a practical role in understanding and developing the law. They are a chance to challenge, debate and refine criminal justice, providing a bridge from academia to criminal legal practice. Just like the Assize of old, the seminars are peripatetic, in this case rotating over the next 18 months between three leading academic institutions: Oxford, Cambridge and University College London, all with the support of the Criminal Bar Association. Each institution normally offers a speaker or commentator at each event, with the other half of the slots filled by academics, judges, practitioners, law reformers and others. Events attendance and speaker slots are open to all. Organisers: Mark Dsouza (UCL) Matthew Dyson (Oxford, Host) Paul Jarvis (CBA) Rachel Clement Tolley (Cambridge) Speakers: Dr Rachel Clement Tolley (Cambridge) Comment: Eva Niculiu (3 Raymond Buildings) Dr Jonathan Turner (Oxford) Comment: Katherine Hardcastle (6KBW) Paul Jarvis, (6KBW) Comment: Rt Hon. LJ William Davis (Judge, Court of Appeal of England & Wales, Chairman Sentencing Council)
23 June 2022 Online | Key Issues In Sentencing Event Co-organised by UCL Centre for Criminal Law and the Sentencing Academy	About the event: The Key Issues in Sentencing seminar series features expert speakers to discuss topical sentencing issues. They are aimed at a wide audience and offer the opportunity to ask questions of leading experts in the field. The Speakers Tom Little QC, Senior Treasury Counsel at the Central Criminal Court on ‘Where are we with whole life sentences?’ Dr Elaine Freer, Barrister, 5 Paper Buildings and College Teaching Officer, Robinson College, University of Cambridge 'Deferring sentencing' Dr Rory Kelly, Lecturer in Criminal Evidence and Criminal Law, UCL Faculty of Laws ‘Sentencing for multiple crimes and the principle of totality' The Organisers This event was jointly organised by UCL Centre for Centre for Criminal Law who promote research and teaching at UCL in criminal law subjects, namely substantive criminal law, criminal procedure and evidence, the criminal justice system, criminology and the philosophy and practice of punishment and the Sentencing Academy which is a research and engagement charitable incorporated organisation dedicated to developing expert and public understanding of sentencing in England and Wales. It encourages the Government to implement effective sentencing practices and informs public debate about sentencing, acting as a bridge between those with expert knowledge of sentencing, the public, and policy makers. The event was chaired by Cynthia Akinsanya JP
13 May 2022 Assize Seminar in Cutting Edge Criminal Law The Assize Seminars provide a space for cutting-edge academic work to play a practical role in understanding and developing the law.	About the event: The Assize Seminars provide a space for cutting edge academic work to play a practical role in understanding and developing the law. They are a chance to challenge, debate and refine criminal justice, providing a bridge from academia to criminal legal practice. Just like the Assize of old, the seminars are peripatetic, in this case rotating over the next 18 months between three leading academic institutions: Oxford, Cambridge and University College London, all with the support of the Criminal Bar Association. Each institution normally offers a speaker or commentator at each event, with the other half of the slots filled by academics, judges, practitioners, law reformers and others. Events attendance and speaker slots are open to all. Organisers: Mark Dsouza (UCL) Matthew Dyson (Oxford) Paul Jarvis (CBA) Rachel Clement Tolley (Cambridge, Host) Speakers: Dr Colin King (IALS) and Dr Jen Hendry (Leeds) Comment: Matthew Dyson (Oxford) Dr Jonathan Rogers (Cambridge) Comment: HHJ Jonathan Cooper (Deputy Resident Judge for Cambridgeshire) Dr Jennifer Collins (Bristol) Comment: Jonathan Grimes (Partner, Kingsley Napley) Please visit the event's website for further information

 

2021

12 November 2021 Assize Seminar in Cutting Edge Criminal Law Organised by Mark Dsouza (UCL) | Matthew Dyson (Oxford, Chair) | Paul Jarvis (CBA) | Rachel Clement Tolley (Cambridge)

About the event: The Assize Seminars provide a space for cutting edge academic work to play a practical role in understanding and developing the law. They are a chance to challenge, debate and refine criminal justice, providing a bridge from academia to criminal legal practice. Just like the Assize of old, the seminars are peripatetic, rotating between three leading academic institutions: Oxford, Cambridge and University College London, and occasionally, making a special stop elsewhere in England & Wales. Each Assize Seminar runs with the support of the Criminal Bar Association. Please visit the event's website for further information on the programme, speakers, and downloads and recordings.

14 May 2021 Assize Seminar in Cutting Edge Criminal Law The Assize Seminars provide a space for cutting-edge academic work to play a practical role in understanding and developing the law.

About the event: The Assize Seminars provide a space for cutting edge academic work to play a practical role in understanding and developing the law. They are a chance to challenge, debate and refine criminal justice, providing a bridge from academia to criminal legal practice. Just like the Assize of old, the seminars are peripatetic, in this case rotating over the next 18 months between three leading academic institutions: Oxford, Cambridge and University College London, all with the support of the Criminal Bar Association. Each institution normally offers a speaker or commentator at each event, with the other half of the slots filled by academics, judges, practitioners, law reformers and others. Events attendance and speaker slots are open to all. Speakers: Mark Dsouza (UCL) Matthew Dyson (Oxford, Chair) Paul Jarvis (CBA) Findlay Stark (Cambridge) Rachel Tolley Clement (Cambridge) Please visit the event's website for further information.

2020

20 November 2020 Assize Seminar in Cutting Edge Criminal Law The Assize Seminars provide a space for cutting-edge academic work to play a practical role in understanding and developing the law.	About the event: The Assize Seminars provide a space for cutting-edge academic work to play a practical role in understanding and developing the law. They are a chance to challenge, debate and refine criminal justice, providing a bridge from academia to criminal legal practice. Just like the Assize of old, the seminars are peripatetic, in this case rotating over the next 18 months between three leading academic institutions: Oxford, Cambridge and University College London, and occasionally, making a special stop elsewhere in England & Wales. Each assize seminar runs with the support of the Criminal Bar Association. Dr Antje du Bois Pedain, Reader in Criminal Law and Philosophy, Faculty of Law and Director of the Centre for Penal Theory and Penal Ethics, Institute of Criminology, The University of Cambridge ‘The Breaches Regime for Non-custodial Sanctions: A Principled Critique of the Current Legislation and Related Sentencing Council Guidance’. Commentator: Dr Jake Phillips, Reader in Criminology, Sheffield Hallam University Ailsa McKeon, Barrister at 6KBW ‘Beyond the Pale? The Expanding Territorial Reach of Criminal Investigations’. Nathan Rasiah, Barrister at 23 ES and Supervisor in Criminal Procedure and Evidence and Criminal Law, The University of Cambridge ‘Causation in Homicide - Principle and Practice in Difficult Cases'. Please visit the event's website for further information.
21 October 2020 Online | A Smarter Approach to Sentencing? – The Sentencing White Paper Chaired by Prof. David Ormerod, QC (Hon), Professor of Criminal Justice at UCL, and Dr Lyndon Harris, Sentencing Academy	About the event: On 16 September, the Ministry of Justice published what it described as a ‘landmark White Paper’ that the Secretary of State for Justice, Robert Buckland, stated was ‘the first step in a fundamental shift in our approach to sentencing, towards one that is fairer, smarter and ultimately better protects the public’. Whilst much of the pre-publication publicity focused on the proposals designed to ensure that certain violent and sexual offenders serve longer periods in custody, this wide-ranging White Paper also contains a number of measures designed to promote alternatives to custodial sentences, including a problem-solving court pilot scheme and proposals to reform community orders. In response to the publication of the A Smarter Approach to Sentencing White Paper, the Centre for Criminal Law and the Sentencing Academy are pleased to host an online discussion event. Speakers include: Professor Andrew Ashworth (University of Oxford), Kate Aubrey-Johnson (Garden Court Chambers), Umar Azmeh (BCL Solicitors LLP), Phil Bowen (Centre for Justice Innovation) and Professor Nicola Padfield (University of Cambridge). Visit the event's website for further information. You can also watch a recording of the event.
29 September 2020 Online | A Dutiful Boy - in conversation with Mohsin Zaidi A UCL Laws community event supported by Laws Race Equality Network, OutLaws, and the Centre for Criminal Law	About the event: Mohsin Zaidi's recently published book 'A Dutiful Boy' is a coming of age memoir about growing up queer in a strict Muslim household. Mohsin grew up in a poor pocket of east London, in a devout shia Muslim community. His family were close-knit and religiously conservative. From a young age, Mohsin felt different but in a home where being gay was inconceivable he also felt very alone. Outside of home Mohsin went to a failing inner city school where gang violence was a fact of life. As he grew up life didn't seem to offer teenage Mohsin any choices: he was disenfranchised from opportunity and isolated from his family as a closet gay Muslim. But Mohsin had incredible drive and became the first person from his school to go to Oxford University. At university came the newfound freedom to become the man his parents never wanted him to be. But when he was confronted by his father and a witch doctor invited to 'cure' him Mohsin had to make a difficult choice. Mohsin's story takes harrowing turns but it is full of life and humour, and, ultimately, it is an inspiring story about breaking through life's barriers. Please visit the event's website for further information.
11 August 2020 Online | Consent to Sex, Deception and R v. Lawrance Chaired by Prof. David Ormerod, QC (Hon), Professor of Criminal Justice at UCL, former Law Commissioner for England and Wales	About the event: n R v Lawrance [2020] EWCA Crim 971, V consented to unprotected sex with D on D’s express assurance that he’d had a vasectomy, and so could not make V pregnant. D had lied. Yet, in its judgment handed down on 23 July 2020, the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) held that D’s lie did not vitiate V’s consent to sex, and that D could not be convicted of rape. In this virtual event, commentators representing a diversity of views and expertise offer their opinions on the merits of the CACD’s judgment, the state of the law relating to the effect of deceptions on consent to sex, and the way in which they hope the law will develop. Please visit the event's website for further information and to download the speakers' slides. Watch the video of this event on our Youtube channel at https://youtu.be/TBR3jlWR69Y.
31 March 2020 POSTPONED: Special Advocates in the Adversarial System: A Panel Discussion	About the event: This event has been postponed due to the coronavirus. A new date for the event will be announced soon. Speakers Jonathan Hall QC (6KBW College Hill) Tom Hickman QC (UCL & Blackstone Chambers) Professor John Jackson (University of Nottingham) Cathryn McGahey QC (Temple Garden Chambers) Shaheen Rahman QC (One Crown Office Row)  Sir Stephen Silber (former High Court Judge) The last twenty years have seen an unprecedented rise in the use of “closed material proceedings” largely brought about in response to the need to protect intelligence sources in the fight against terrorism. This has called into question the commitment of legal systems to long-cherished principles of adversarial justice and due process. Foremost among the measures designed to minimise the prejudice caused to parties who have been excluded from such proceedings has been the use of “special advocates” who are given access to sensitive national security material and can make representations to the court on behalf of excluded parties. In 2019 Professor John Jackson published a study – the first of its kind – analysing the professional services special advocates offer across a range of different types of closed proceedings. Drawing on extensive interviews with special advocates and with lawyers and judges who have worked with them, his book examines the manner in which special advocates are appointed and supported, how their position differs from that of ordinary counsel within the adversarial system, and the challenges they face in the work that they do. In making an assessment of the future of special advocacy, Professor Jackson argues that there is a need to reconceptualise the unique role that special advocates play in the administration of justice. This event, hosted by the UCL Centre for Criminal Law in conjunction with 6KBW College Hill, will provide an opportunity to discuss some of the findings made by Professor Jackson in his ground-breaking study.  In a panel discussion moderated by Jonathan Hall QC, Professor Jackson will begin by outlining some of the key points derived from his study. The other panellists, who have extensive experience of national security litigation from a variety of perspectives, will then provide their views on the special advocate system and its relationship to the adversarial process.  Time permitting, there will an opportunity for the audience to ask questions.

2019

Saturday 16 November 2019 Assize Seminar on Cutting Edge Criminal Law Organised by Mark Dsouza (UCL), Matt Dyson (Oxford, Chair), Paul Jarvis (CBA) and Findlay Stark (Cambridge)	About the event: The Assize Seminars provide a space for cutting edge academic work to play a practical role in understanding and developing the law. They are a chance to challenge, debate and refine criminal justice, providing a bridge from academia to criminal legal practice. Just like the Assize of old, the seminars are peripatetic, rotating between three leading academic institutions: Oxford, Cambridge and University College London, and occasionally, making a special stop elsewhere in England & Wales. Each assize seminar runs with the support of the Criminal Bar Association. Please visit the event's website for further information.
Wednesday 22 May 2019 Seminar: Works in Progress on Criminal Law Theory Chaired by Dr Mark Dsouza, Lecturer UCL Laws	About the event: With Professor Terry Skolnik, Assistant Professor, University of Ottawa Dr Elaine Freer, Robinson College, University of Cambridge Dr Matthew Gibson, Senior Lecturer, Liverpool Law School  Dr Kate Greasly, Hertford College, University of Oxford Please visit the event's website for further information.
Friday 17 May 2019 5th Assize Seminar on Cutting Edge Criminal Law Criminal Cases Review Commission, Birmingham Organised by Matt Dyson, Mark Dsouza, Paul Jarvis and Findlay Stark, in collaboration with the Criminal Cases Review Commission, and particularly Justin Hawkins	About the event: Following from our 'sold-out' events in Oxford (May 2017), UCL (November 2017), Cambridge (April 2018) and Oxford (November 2018), we stepped out of the usual sequence of host locations, to visit the Criminal Cases Review Commission in Birmingham. Please visit the event's website for further information.
Tuesday 19 March 2019 Sentencing Discretion & Individualised Justice: The tension between “instinctive synthesis” and sentencing guidelines Panel Discussion The Hon Justice Christopher Maxwell President of the Court of Appeal, Supreme Court of Victoria, Australia and Professor Julian Roberts Professor of Criminology, University of Oxford Chaired by Professor David Ormerod QC Law Commissioner for England & Wales Professor of Criminal Justice, UCL Faculty of Laws	About the event:  This seminar was jointly organised by the UCL Centre for Criminal Law and the UCL Judicial Institute In his introductory remarks, Justice Maxwell discussed the broadly instinctive approach to criminal sentencing in Australia, and discussions about reform in Australia, and more particularly in Victoria. Professor Roberts drew on his decade long experience as a member of the Sentencing Council of England and Wales to talk about the way in which the Sentencing Council’s work has changed sentencing decision-making, and how judges have responded to the guidance provided. These comments were followed by a lively Q&A session in which both discussants were invited to expand on their opening comments and requested to opine on areas of particular controversy.

2018

Friday 9 November 2018 Assize Seminars: Cutting Edge Criminal Law Speakers:  Dr Hannah Quirk, Reader in Criminal Law, King's College, London Rudi Fortson QC, 25 Bedford Row and Visiting Professor, Queen Mary, University of London Sir Tony Bottoms, Emeritus Wolfson Professor of Criminology at the University of Cambridge Commentators: Prof. Jonathan Herring, Professor of Law, University of Oxford and Fellow of Exeter College Katie Wheatley, of Bindmans LLP Dame Maura McGowan, Judge of the High Court and a Presiding Judge of the South Eastern Circuit	About the event:  The Assize Seminars series is convened by Matthew Dyson (Oxford, Chair), Mark Dsouza (UCL), Paul Jarvis (CBA), and Findlay Stark (Cambridge) The Assize Seminars provide a space for cutting edge academic work to play a practical role in understanding and developing the law. They are a chance to challenge, debate and refine criminal justice, providing a bridge from academia to criminal legal practice. Just like the Assize of old, the seminars are peripatetic, in this case rotating over the next 18 months between three leading academic institutions: Oxford, Cambridge and University College London, all with the support of the Criminal Bar Association. Papers: “Limitations to Loss of Self Control” (title tbc) Dr Hannah Quirk Comment: Prof. Jonathan Herring “Making Dishonesty Fit the Crime” Rudi Fortson QC Comment: Katie Wheatley “The Role of Equity Factors in Sentencing” Sir Tony Bottoms Comment: Dame Maura McGowan
Wednesday 7 March 2018 Parole and Recall to Prisons: Decision-making and Transparency Panelists:  Dr Jamie Bennett, Governor of HMP Grendon & Springhill, and editor of Prison Service Journal Sir David Calvert-Smith, Fmr Chairman of the Parole Board, High Court Judge James Dixon, No 5 Chambers, Visiting Lecturer at UCL Phillippa Kaufmann QC, Matrix Chambers, acting for two victims in a challenge against Worboys’ release. Deborah Russo, practicing solicitor and joint manager of the Prisoners' Advice Service	About the event:  Recent media coverage of the cases of John Worboys and Jon Venables have shone light on how decisions are made to release prisoners on licence and to recall them for breach of the licence conditions. We have gathered an expert panel to take questions from the audience on the law, the process and the problems. How are prisoners assessed for possible release, how are suitable licence conditions determined, should the Parole Board be more transparent in explaining its reasons, should there be internal review of its decisions, and what sort of breaches of licence conditions result in recall? To find out all this, and more, and to ask a question of your own, please join us. For a report on the event, see: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/criminal-law/news/2018/mar/our-first-event-parole-decisions
Friday 27 April 2018 Assize Seminars: Cutting Edge Criminal Law Speakers:  Professor Nicola Padfield QC (Hon), University of Cambridge Professor Ian Dennis, University College London Francis FitzGibbon QC, Doughty Street Chambers Commentators: Professor Andrew Ashworth QC (Hon), University of Oxford Alex Chalk MP The Hon. Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb	About the event:  The Assize Seminars series is convened by Matthew Dyson (Oxford, Chair), Mark Dsouza (UCL), Paul Jarvis (CBA), and Findlay Stark (Cambridge) The Assize Seminars provide a space for cutting edge academic work to play a practical role in understanding and developing the law. They are a chance to challenge, debate and refine criminal justice, providing a bridge from academia to criminal legal practice. Just like the Assize of old, the seminars are peripatetic, in this case rotating over the next 18 months between three leading academic institutions: Oxford, Cambridge and University College London, all with the support of the Criminal Bar Association. Papers: "What is a Sentence?" Professor Nicola Padfield Comment: Professor Andrew Ashworth "Prosecution Disclosure: Are the problems insoluble?” Professor Ian Dennis Comment: Alex Chalk MP "Difficulties in Getting Into the Court of Appeal Following a Change in Law" Francis FitzGibbon Comment: Hon. Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb For a report on the event, see: https://www.cccj.law.cam.ac.uk/assize-seminars

2017

Wednesday 6 November 2017 Assize Seminars: Cutting Edge Criminal Law   Commentators:  Prof. Loraine Gelsthorpe (University of Cambridge), Prof. Peter Alldridge, (Queen Mary University of London), HH Judge Martin Picton, of. David Ormerod QC (Hon), UCL	About the event:  The Assize Seminars series is convened by Mark Dsouza (UCL), Matthew Dyson (Oxford, Chair), Paul Jarvis (CBA), and Findlay Stark (Cambridge) The Assize Seminars provide a space for cutting edge academic work to play a practical role in understanding and developing the law. They are a chance to challenge, debate and refine criminal justice, providing a bridge from academia to criminal legal practice. Just like the Assize of old, the seminars are peripatetic, in this case rotating over the next 18 months between three leading academic institutions: Oxford, Cambridge and University College London, all with the support of the Criminal Bar Association. Papers: “Justifying the criminalisation of misconduct in public office: how far should we go?” Prof. Jeremy Horder, Professor of Criminal Law, and Head of the Law Department, LSE “The evolution of sentencing law and practice as a result of the emerging sentencing guidelines" Prof Julian Roberts (Worcester College, Oxford)
Wednesday 14 June 2017 Diversions from Prosecution: Policy and Practice UCL Centre for Criminal Law Speakers: Sarah Boland (Legal Manager, Crown Prosecution Service) Tony Edwards (TV Edwards LLP, Visiting Professor at QMUL) Chair: Lord Justice Peter Gross (Judge, Court of Appeal) 1.5 learning hours for Bar Standards Board training records Please visit the event website for further information.	About the talk: As more magistrates’ courts close and funds for criminal justice remain very limited, diversions from court are again likely to be increasingly used by police and prosecutors. In this session, senior figures from the CPS and private practice considered some of the ongoing questions. How are decisions to offer diversions controlled internally, and what are the possible remedies where an inappropriate offer has been made? What are the various considerations when advising a suspect whether to accept a diversion? Themes and learning outcomes at a glance: Increased understanding of decision-making on diversions from prosecution Up-to-date knowledge of remedies for inappropriate offers of diversion Insight into defence strategies in relation to acceptance of diversions
Friday 12 May 2017 Assize Seminars: Cutting Edge Criminal Law Launch Event The first event was sponsored by the Faculty of Law, University of Oxford.	About the event: The launch of the Assize Seminars on Criminal Law took place on 12 May 2017 in Oxford. The seminars will provide a space for cutting edge academic work to play a practical role in understanding and developing the law. They will be a chance to challenge, debate and refine criminal justice, providing a bridge from academia to criminal legal practice. Just like the Assize of old, the seminars will be peripatetic, in this case rotating over the next 18 months between three leading academic institutions: Oxford, Cambridge and University College London, all with the support of the Criminal Bar Association. 15.00 Welcome by Dr Matthew Dyson, with a Prologue by Prof. Andrew Ashworth CBE QC FBA, Vinerian Professor of Law Emeritus; Emeritus Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford. 15.15 “Why conditional intent should count as intent” Dr Rebeccca Williams, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law and Tutorial Fellow of Pembroke College, University of Oxford; Comment by Mr Julian Knowles QC, Matrix Chambers. 16.15-16.45 Break for refreshments. 16.45 "Is our criminal appeal system fit for purpose?" Prof. John Spencer CBE QC (Hon) Professor Emeritus, Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge; Bye-Fellow of Murray Edwards and Life Fellow of Selwyn College, Cambridge; Academic Bencher of the Inner Temple. Comment by Prof. David Ormerod QC (Hon), Professor of Criminal Justice at UCL; Law Commissioner for England and Wales; Door Tenant at 18 Red Lion Court and Bencher of Middle Temple. 17.45-18.00 Break 18.00 “Are freedom, capacity and agreement always essential components of consent?" Mr Paul Jarvis, 6KBW College Hill Comment by HH Peter Rook QC, sometime judge of the Central Criminal Court; Judicial Fellow of the UCL Judicial Institute. 19.00 Drinks for 19.30 Dinner  on behalf of the Assize Seminar Committee Mark Dsouza (UCL), Matthew Dyson (Oxford, Chair), Paul Jarvis (CBA), Findlay Stark (Cambridge)

2016

Wednesday 30 November 2016  UCL Centre for Criminal Law, with the UCL Centre for Law & Ethics Issues in Open Justice   Speakers: Stephen Parkinson, Partner Kingsley Napley LLP John Jackson, Professor of Comparative Criminal Law and Procedure, University of Nottingham Jonathan Hall QC, 6 King’s Bench Walk Chair: Professor Ian Dennis (UCL Laws) Accredited with 1.5 CPD hour by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Bar Standards Board

About the talk: The principle that justice should be open and freely reportable has been widely regarded as fundamental. However, challenges to the principle have increased in recent years, and this seminar will review some of the key issues.  The panel of expert speakers considered closed hearings, the use of special and security-cleared counsel, restrictions on publication of judgments, and anonymity of participants in legal process.

Wednesday 9 March 2016  UCL Centre for Criminal Law The Psychoactive Substances Act  Speakers: The Rt. Hon. The Lord Howarth of Newport CBE, Rudi Fortson QC (25 Bedford Row) and Dr Robert E Ardrey (Director, Triple A Forensics Ltd) Chair: Professor Ian Dennis (UCL Laws) Accredited with 1.5 CPD hour by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Bar Standards Board

About the talk: The Psychoactive Substances Act gives effect to the government’s policy to prohibit the production and supply of drugs commonly referred to as ‘legal highs’. The Act is controversial and the offences it creates may present significant issues for their use in practice. The issues will be discussed by Lord Howarth of Newport, a former Minister who has taken a particular interest in the Act, and Rudi Fortson QC, a barrister and noted expert on serious crime, including the drug laws.

2015

Monday 19 January 2015 UCL Centre for Criminal Law  Reforming Offences Against the Person Speakers: Professor David Ormerod QC (Law Commission), Rudi Fortson QC (25 Bedford Row), and Professor Ian Dennis (UCL) Chaired by Dr Jonathan Rogers (UCL)  Accredited with 1.5 CPD hour by the SRA, and BSB

About this lecture:  This lecture will discuss the Law Commission’s recent scoping consultation paper, Reform of Offences Against the Person. The Offences Against the Person Act 1861 is in daily use in the criminal courts in England and Wales, but there have been many calls over the years for its replacement. The scoping paper examines the case for reform and present numerous important questions for consultation.

2014

Thursday 31 July 2014 UCL Centre for Criminal Law with Thomas Bingham Chambers Challenging Proecution Decisions Speakers: Professor Ian Dennis and Dr Jonathan Rogers (UCL) Accredited with 1.5 CPD hour by the SRA, and BSB

About this lecture:  The speakers will discuss developments in the law governing challenges to prosecution decisions. Professor Dennis, Director of the Centre, will deal with decisions to prosecute and challenges to them by way of judicial review and applications to stay for abuse of process. Dr Rogers, Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Laws UCL, will deal with challenges to decisions not to prosecute, with consideration of possible human rights arguments.

Monday 7 April 2014 UCL Centre for Criminal Law Juror Misconduct Speakers: Professor David Ormerod QC (QMUL) and Professor Cheryl Thomas (UCL Laws) Accredited with 1.5 CPD hour by the SRA, and BSB

About this lecture:  This lecture will discuss the issues for criminal justice presented by misconduct on the part of jurors. The primary focus will be on the proposed new offences in the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill relating to research by jurors on cases they are trying and other misconduct. The provisions in the Bill follow the recommendations of the Law Commission in their report, Contempt of Court (1): Juror Misconduct and Internet Publications (LC 340, December 2013). Professor Ormerod is head of the criminal law team at the Law Commission and Professor Thomas has carried out ground-breaking research on juries for the Ministry of Justice.

2013

Thursday 25 July 2013 UCL Centre for Criminal Law with Old Bailey Chambers Expert Evidence Speakers: Professor Ian Dennis, Professor of Law and Director of the Centre for Criminal Law, UCL Professor Nigel Eastman, Emeritus Professor of Law and Ethics in Psychiatry, St George’s, University of London Accredited with 1.5 CPD hour by the SRA, and BSB

About this lecture:  This lecture is organised by the Centre for Criminal Law at UCL, in collaboration with Old Bailey Chambers, London. Professor Dennis will review the law on expert evidence, dealing with admissibility, the duties of an expert witness, and current controversies. Professor Eastman will discuss psychiatric evidence relating to the partial defences to murder, a subject on which the law was changed significantly by the Coroners and Justice Act 2009.

2012

Wednesday 5 December 2012 UCL Centre for Criminal Law Prosecution Decisions and Discretion: Revising the Code Speaker: Keir Starmer QC (Director of Public Prosecutions) and Dr Jonathan Rogers (Senior Lecturer, UCL)  Chair: Professor I.H. Dennis (Director, UCL Centre for Criminal Law)  Accredited with 1.5 CPD hour by the SRA, and BSB	About this lecture:  This lecture discussed issues relating to decisions to prosecute, and not to prosecute, in the context of the current revision of the Code for Crown Prosecutors. The extent and exercise of discretion in prosecution, the role of proportionality in prosecution decision-making, and the development of detailed policies in particular areas are all topics of great current interest.
Thursday 12 July 2012 UCL Centre for Criminal Law and Old Bailey Chambers Criminal Defences: Diminished Responsibility & Provocation Speaker: Professor Ian Dennis (Director, UCL Centre for Criminal Law)  Chair: The Hon Mr Justice Fulford (Presiding Judge South-Eastern Circuit, and Judge at the International Criminal Court) Accredited with 2 CPD hour by the SRA and BSB	About this lecture:  Professor Dennis reviewed recent legislative and case law development in the law of criminal defences. There will be ample opportunities for questions and discussions.

2011

Wednesday 16 November 2011 UCL Centre for Criminal Law An Update on Hearsay and Anonymous Evidence Speakers include:  Professor Ian Dennis (Director, UCL Centre for Criminal Law)  David Perry QC (6 King's Bench Walk) Accredited with 1.5 CPD hour by the SRA and BSB

About this lecture:  This seminar will examine recent developments in the law relating to hearsay and anonymous evidence in criminal proceedings. It is hoped that by this date we shall have the long-awaited judgement of the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights in Al-Khawaja and Tahery v United Kingdom. There will be ample opportunity for questions and discussion.

Wednesday 2 November 2011 UCL Centre for Criminal Law Current Issues in the Prosecution and Trial of Serious Fraud Speakers include:  The Rt Hon Sir John Thomas (President, Queen's Bench Division) Richard Alderman (Director, Serious Fraud Office) Stephen Parkinson (Partner, Kingsley Napley)  Chair: Professor Ian Dennis (Director, UCL Centre for Criminal Law ) Accredited with 1.5 CPD hour by the SRA and BSB

About this lecture:  This seminar will discuss some current issues in the prosecution and trial of cases of serious fraud. The speakers will examine these issues from the perspec

2010

Monday 1 November 2010 UCL Centre for Crimninal Law Legal Advice in Police Stations Professor Pascoe Pleasence (UCL) Dr Layla Skinns (University of Sheffield) Professor Michael Zander (LSE) Accredited with 1.5 CPD hours	About this lecture: This event will explore legal advice in the police station, 25 years after the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 created a statutory right of access to legal advice for suspects in police stations for the first time. Professor Pleasence and Dr Skinns will be presenting the results of their latest research with new and important quantitative and qualitative data. Professor Zander will comment on the results from his position of unique authority on PACE.
Thursday 2 & Friday 3 September 2010 UCL Centre for Criminal Law Two-day Conference Seeking Security: Pre-empting the Commission of Criminal Harms Speakers include: Lawrence Alexander (San Diego) Ian Dennis (UCL) Anthony Duff (Stirling) Jeremy Horder (Law Commission) Peter Ramsay (LSE) Jonathan Rogers (UCL) Stephen Shute (Sussex) Andrew Simester (Singapore) John Stanton-Ife (KCL) Robert Sullivan (UCL) Malcolm Thorburn (Queen's University, Kingston) Shlomit Wallerstein (Oxford University) Clive Walker (Leeds) Martin Wasik (Keele) Lucia Zedner (Oxford)	About this conference: The papers presented at this conference will analyse the issues of principle and policy that are raised by the increasing use of state resources to prevent the commission of criminal acts that may be committed at some future and uncertain point in time. Critical examinations will be made of the extensive use of covert surveillance, of coercive interventions under the criminal and civil law at points well in advance of any realised harm, and the use of imprisonment not as punishment for harms done but to prevent  harms that might be done.The aim of the conference is to inform criminal law/ justice policy makers and scholars of the nature and extent of these preventative measures. The objective will to increase the capacity of these communities to make informed assessments of the efficacy of these measures and their ethical and policy implications. This objective will be assisted by the undertaking of a leading legal publisher to publish a monograph based on the conference papers.
Tuesday 11 May 2010 Centre for Criminal Law Are Juries Fair? Speaker: Professor Cheryl Thomas, UCL Faculty of Laws Commentators:  Prof. Michael Zander, LSE David Perry QC, 6 King's Bench Walk  Accredited with 1.5 CPD hours	About this seminar The Ministry of Justice has recently published a major report by Professor Cheryl Thomas, "Are Juries Fair?". The report sets out the findings of a large-scale research project designed to explore the fairness of jury decision-making. Professor Thomas's findings do much to clarify contested claims about jury behaviour and dispel a number of  popular myths about the willingness of juries to convict in certain courts and in certain types of crime. The findings also provide valuable data about the current workings of the criminal justice system. At the same time the report highlights some issues for concern, where further research would be desirable. The publication of the report made headline news and it is destined to set the agenda for future discussion of the process and outcomes of jury trial. This seminar offers an unrivalled opportunity to hear Professor Thomas present her report and discuss its findings with the assistance of expert commentary from Professor Michael Zander, member of the former Royal Commissions on Criminal Procedure and Criminal Justice, and David Perry QC, a leading criminal silk who has appeared in many major jury trials.
The formal launch of the Centre took place on Tuesday 27 October from 6.00 - 9.00 pm at UCL. The Provost and President of UCL, Professor Malcolm Grant CBE, opened the proceedings.  Professor Andrew Ashworth CBE QC DCL FBA, Vinerian Professor of English Law in the Universitry of Oxford, delivered the keynote address on the subject of Risk, and risk management, in the criminal law. This was followed by a panel discussion, chaired by Professor Bob Sullivan, Professor of Criminal Law at UCL. The panellists are: The Rt Hon Sir Richard Buxton, former Lord Justice of Appeal, Professor Jeremy Horder (Law Commission) and Professor Nicola Lacey, Professor of Criminal Law, LSE.