Bentham Association Presidential Address and Dinner 2026 marks start of Laws’ UCL200 celebrations

UCL Laws’ UCL200 celebrations began in spectacular style last week with the Bentham Association Presidential Address and Dinner, during which the 2026 President, Professor Sir John Baker KC, delivered an inspiring Address on the early history of the Faculty and on ‘Sovereignty of Parliament and Legal History’.

Sir John – a leading English legal historian who studied and lectured at UCL Laws in the 1960s and 1970s – explored the Faculty’s historic role in shaping legal education, and the threats posed to the constitutional order today by broad ranging executive powers conferred by existing legislation, illuminated by contemporary and historical comparisons. He addressed a packed Denys Holland Lecture Theatre filled with UCL Laws alumni, Faculty members, students, lawmakers, policymakers and legal practitioners.

This year marked the 75th Bentham Association Presidential Address, and for the first time it was opened to the wider academic and London legal community. The programme began with a warm welcome from Professor Eloise Scotford, Dean of UCL Laws, and was chaired by Philippe Sands, Professor of the Public Understanding of Law. The celebrations continued with a reception and a dinner for UCL Laws alumni, offering a joyful opportunity to reconnect and reflect on the Faculty’s impressive history and its value-defining origin story of excellence through inclusion and equal opportunity.

Professor Scotford said: “It was my genuine pleasure to welcome so many members of our alumni community back to UCL Laws for the launch of the Faculty’s UCL200 celebrations. The Bentham Address and Dinner is one of our most cherished traditions, and it was especially fitting to have Professor Sir John Baker KC – one of the country’s foremost legal historians and scholars – offering a powerful reflection on the Faculty’s history while urging us to consider the role of law and legal education in today’s challenging constitutional times. It was a warm, thought‑provoking, and truly celebratory evening – a defining example of UCL Laws at its best.”

We’re pleased to share the recording of the Presidential Address, above. You can also read or download a copy of the Address.

The evening also marked the launch of the bicentennial edition of A History of UCL Faculty of Laws. Written by Faculty alumnus Dr Julius Grower and updated by UCL Laws’ Dr Peter Lythe (UCL Bentham Project) with a new chapter for UCL200, the book charts the Faculty’s story through archival research and interviews with those who led and experienced key moments in its history. The book is available to order on UCL’s online store.

To celebrate the bicentennial this year, the Faculty has planned many UCL200 events and opportunities for alumni to get involved, including the UCL Laws Alumni Weekend from 8-10 October. Please register your interest in attending via the button below.