Conference: 'Conscience Conference: Exempting Conscientious Beliefs in UK Law'

Venue: Institute of Criminology, Sidgwick Ave, Cambridge CB3, UK

Leading UK scholars will gather in Cambridge on 13 June 2017 at the Conscience Conference. Scholars have been asked to comment on the significant volume of UK cases that have been decided on whether or not individuals with conscientious beliefs (religious or non-religious) should be exempted from legal requirements that contradict their beliefs. The most recent high profile case is the Ashers Baking Case (otherwise known as the Gay Cake case) where the NI Court of Appeal held that a Christian bakery was not entitled to refuse to bake a case embedded with a slogan saying ‘Support Gay Marriage’.

Scholars will engage on the case law from theoretical, comparative and doctrinal perspectives. Julian Rivers, Peter Jones and Cécile Laborde will investigate the moral foundations of a putative moral right to conscientious exemption. Yossi Nehushtan, Robert Wintemute and Ian Leigh will provide guidance as to how courts should resolve claims of conscientious exemption. Frank Cranmer, Lucy Vickers and Maleiha Malik will comment on the doctrinal difficulties of the present state of the UK law on conscientious exemption.

The Conscience Conference is convened by John Adenitire, PhD Candidate at the Law Faculty. The Conference is sponsored by the Centre for Public Law and by Fitzwilliam College.

Full details of the conference can be found at www.conscienceconference.com.