On the Law of Speaking Freely

On the Law of Speaking Freely

Speaker: Prof Adam Tomkins (University of Glasgow)

Respondents: Prof Colm O’Cinneide (UCL Laws) and Prof Erin Delaney (UCL Laws)

Chair:  Prof Rick Rawlings (UCL Laws)

About the book

This book tackles the most pressing problems of contemporary free speech law by examining where the idea of free expression came from in the first place, applying the lessons of the past to address the challenges of the present.

Free speech cannot be taken for granted – it needs to be fought for. But its champions will be successful only if they understand what they are defending. For free speech is a deceptively simple principle. How should it guide us on the bounds of what is acceptable to say? Should we be free to preach hatred, or to spread fear or fake news? Can media freedom be balanced against the right to privacy? How does free speech work online? Can the internet be made a safe space without compromising freedom of expression? On the Law of Speaking Freely offers not just insights but answers to these and other such vital questions by roaming widely over the law of free speech, from English common law to the European Convention on Human Rights via the US First Amendment. In rescuing free speech from the culture wars in which it has become embroiled, Adam Tomkins restates its values, its complexities and its enduring importance, in prose that is as passionate as it is clear-sighted. Even-handed, informed and authoritative, this is a major, timely work from one of the UK's leading constitutional scholars.

This seminar is part of the Public Law Seminar Series.

Please note that this talk will be filmed and photographed for promotional and publicity purposes.

About the Speaker

Professor Adam Tomkins has held the John Millar Chair of Public Law in the University of Glasgow since 2023. Before that time he taught at King's College London and at St Catherine's College, Oxford. On the Law of Speaking Freely (Hart, 2025) is his fourth monograph but is the first he has written since he returned full-time to academic life after serving as a Member of the Scottish Parliament from 2016-21. 

About the Respondents

Colm O’Cinneide is Professor of Constitutional and Human Rights Law at University College London (UCL) and Vice-Dean (Research) of the Faculty of Laws. A graduate of University College Cork and King's Inns, he has published extensively in the fields of comparative constitutional, human rights and anti-discrimination law. He has also acted as specialist legal adviser to theJoint Committee on Human Rights and the Women & Equalities Committee of the UK Parliament, as well as a range of national and international organisations including the ILO and the European Commission. He also was from 2006-16 a member of the European Committee on Social Rights of the Council of Europe (serving as Vice-President of the Committee from 2010-4), and since 2008 has been a member of the academic advisory board of Blackstone Chambers in London. In 2024, he was nominated by the Government of Ireland as a candidate for the European Court of Human Rights, and his work has been cited by the Court of Justice of the EU and the Irish Supreme Court. 

Orla Lynskey is Chair of Law and Technology at UCL Laws and a Visiting Professor at the College of Europe, Bruges. She was previously Associate Professor at LSE Law (2012-2024). Her research examines the ways in which digital technology and regulation shape fundamental rights and public values and reconfigure public-private relations. Orla is particularly interested in the impact and role of non-constitutional actors, including regulators and civil-society, in securing constitutional rights and values through digital regulation. She is currently also investigating whether counter-majoritarian perspectives can, and should, inform State decision-making about personal data usage.

About the GCDC

The Global Centre for Democratic Constitutionalism, based at the UCL Faculty of Laws, seeks to advance scholarly understanding of the relationship between democratic government and the rule of law in domestic, comparative, and transnational perspective, with a particular focus on identifying the supporting conditions for constitutional resilience in electorally competitive political systems. Read more about the group and its work.

Book Your Place

You can attend this event in-person at UCL Faculty of Laws (Bentham House, 4-8 Endsleigh Gardens, London WC1H 0EG) or alternatively you can join via a live stream.

Please make sure you choose the correct ticket when booking your place.

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Picture by Markus Winkler on Unsplash