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The Courts

Research conducted by academics at the Faculty of Law influences decision-making by the judiciary and other officials and can help to shape public policy. Recent examples of judicial citation include:

Politics

In the political sphere, Professor Catherine Barnard has been advising the Department of Business on the Balance of Competences in the Single Market.

Professor Kenneth Armstrong, the Director of CELS, has been advising the UK and Scottish Parliaments on Scottish Membership of the European Union.

Professor John Spencer and Dr Alicia Hinarejos (together with Prof Steve Peers, University of Essex) produced a report entitled "Opting out of EU Criminal law: What is actually involved?"Following on from the publication, they were involved in advising Home Office and Ministry of Justice officials, and provided oral evidence to the House of Lords on the subject.  The House of Lords subsequently published the report "EU police and criminal justice measures: The UK’s 2014 opt-out decision" which drew on their evidence.

Professor Catherine Barnard has made significant contributions to a review of the EU's competences which the Foreign Secretary launched in July 2012, drafting the legal papers which have formed the basis of three reports published in July 2014 on free movement of services, on employment law and on cohesion policy.

Professor Graham Virgo, Dr Matthew Dyson, and Dr Ben Crewe (Institute of Criminology) gave evidence to the House of Commons Justice Select Committee on the doctrine of Joint Enterprise in criminal law, and were cited in the subsequent report.

Scholarly Debate

Faculty research can redefine the terms of scholarly debate and became building blocks for future scholars. Professor Matthew Kramer's Torture and Moral Integrity: A Philosophical Enquiry will be the subject of four symposia. The papers from one of the symposia will appear in Philosophy and Public Issues in 2015, while the papers from the other symposium will appear in the Jerusalem Review of Legal Studies in 2016. It will also feature at two further symposia - at McMaster University (in Canada) in November, and at the University of Bologna (in Italy) in December.

Other Sectors

Members of the Faculty have also been involved in advising not for profit organisations on matters of public concern.

Professor Graham Virgo and Dr Matthew Dyson were consulted by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism on the first in-depth statistical analysis of the impact of joint enterprise law.

Professor Jo Miles is one of two academic members on the Family Justice Council's Financial Needs Working Group, chaired by Mrs Justice Roberts, to take forward a recommendation made by the Law Commission in its report on Matrimonial Property, Needs and Agreements, published in February 2014.