‘Bribery Reforms: Professor Peter Alldridge interviewed on BBC Radio 4’s ‘Law in Action’

Professor Peter Alldridge, financial crime specialist and Head of the Department of Law, was interviewed on BBC Radio 4’s ‘Law in Action’ programme on Tuesday 9 March 2010. The programme considered the Bribery Bill, currently before Parliament, in the light of the recent decision by the Director of the SFO to enter into a plea bargain with BAE systems, under which BAE plan to plead guilty to a regulatory offence but not to bribery. Will reform lead to more successful prosecutions?

Professor Peter Alldridge was specialist advisor to the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Draft Bribery Bill – the pre-legislative scrutiny phase in respect of this Bill – in the summer of 2009.

Listen to the Law in Action podcast on the BBC Radio 4 website

School of Law: Professor Chris Reed ‘Chatroulette is 'predator's paradise,' experts say’

Chatroulette.com has become a global internet sensation but it poses risks to users and is proving to be challenging for law enforcers. The site connects users to millions of other strangers around the world via video chat forums, although a large number of them are exposing themselves.

Professor Reed says that despite the legal problems surrounding the site, individuals could be extradited to a foreign country for publishing obscene images online, although this is unlikely. He said: “In practice, no country has sufficient law enforcement resources to take action in other than symbolic cases. There just aren't enough courts, police officers, etc, to chase after online activities which cause little harm in the receiving country.”

Read the full article on foxnews.com

Professor Heinze wrote a comment piece about science and religion in the media. He said: “The usual question is: 'Are they compatible?' In its challenges both to religious dogma and to strict empiricism, the Greek legacy of metaphysical thought underscores the shortcomings of both. It offers further grounds for questioning orthodoxies, both scientific and religious.”

Read the full article in 'On Faith' in the Washington Post
Read more about Professor Eric Heinze.

Dr Rafael Leal-Arcas selected to join Lord Mayor's delegation to
Saudi Arabia

Dr Rafael Leal-Arcas has been selected to take part in the Lord Mayor's
business delegation to reinforce commercial ties between the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia and the UK. The main purpose of the visit is to foster ties
between the two nations and identify opportunities for them to work together
in order to open up financial markets in the Gulf.

Further information at www.arabnews.com
Read more about Dr Rafael Leal-Arcas

Dr Rafael Leal-Arcas to speak in Belgium on "Trade Relations
between the EU and Emerging Economies: The Case of China" on 4 March 2010

Dr Rafael Leal-Arcas to speak at the Institute for European Studies, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, in Belgium on "Trade Relations between the EU and Emerging Economies: The Case of China," in the framework of the conference Global Governance, Regionalism and the Role of the EU: Facing the emergence of a Multipolar World.

Download the programme for this event [PDF 444kb]
Read more about Dr Rafael Leal-Arcas

Queen Mary MSc Law and Finance student wins essay contest

Nana Esi Atsem won the $7,500 prize in an essay contest on banking regulation. She is a current student on the MSc Law and Finance programme at Queen Mary, University of London.

Her essay, "What works best for banking regulation: market discipline or hard-wired rules?", was considered the best entry in the competition sponsored by the International Centre for Financial Regulation and the Financial Times.

You can download her winning essay and read the full article on FT.com

Professor Loukas Mistelis to speak at International Arbitration events in Australia and Germany

22 February 2010: Professor Loukas Mistelis will speak at a seminar in Sydney organised by ACICA (Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration) and hosted by Clayton Utz on "User Trends in International Arbitration"

19 February 2010: Professor Loukas Mistelis will speak on Independence and Impartiality of Investment Treaty Arbitrators at a conference organised by the University of Sydney Law School.

27 February 2010: Professor Loukas Mistelis will speak at the 8th Annual DIS (German Arbitration Institution) Conference (Petersberger Schiedstage) on Arbitration and Finance.

Angie Raymond, LLM Co-Director, to speak on "Comparing business environments in Europe, the US and Asia", EU Studies Fair Seminar, Brussels, Friday 12 February

Along with representatives from the European Commission, the US mission to the EU, and Luc van den Brande, outgoing President of the Committee of the Regions, Angie Raymond, Co-LLM Director will be speaking on "Comparing business environments in Europe, the US and Asia", as part of the 11th EU Studies Fair Seminar, Brussels, Friday February 12 Angie will also be attending the Fair on Saturday 13 February, 10.00-17.00 See europeanvoice.com for more details.

Read more about Angie Raymond.

Dr Rafael Leal-Arcas' new book published

International Trade and Investment Law: Multilateral, Regional and Bilateral Governance [PDF 166kb] (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2010), 350 pages; ISBN-13: 978 1 84980 319 9.

Dr Prakash Shah is part of an EU FP7 programme project 'RELIGARE'

The programme project, RELIGARE, includes 13 partner institutions in 11 EU countries and Turkey, with leading experts in law, sociology and anthropology.

RELIGARE aims to:

1. examine the way religious diversity and pluralism are treated in Member States;
2. ascertain deficits and explore the potentials of more appropriate practices, case law, expert and target group inputs and academic literature; and
3. advance policy recommendations to address current and future dilemmas in protecting religious diversity and pluralism, considering the role of the EU.

The three-year project's kick-off meeting took place in Leuven and Brussels on 4-5 February 2010. The project is supported by a grant of more than 2.5 million Euros from the EU Commission. Part of the output will be a website hosting case law from partner countries, the European Court of Human Rights and the European Court of Justice on the team's four concrete research areas: the family, the workplace, religion in the public square, and state support of religious institutions.

Read more about the EU's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7)
Read more about Dr Prakash Shah

Dr Maher Dabbah participates in high level proceedings in the European Parliament

The proceedings, held on 2 February 2010, dealt with the European Commission's anti-cartel enforcement. They were designed to explore ways in which deterrence and efficiency can be enhanced in cartel investigations. The proceedings were held in the context of swearing in a new European Commission. Dr Maher Dabbah was the representative of academia and practice at the proceedings. The Commission was represented by Philip Lowe, outgoing Director General for Competition in the European Commission. The business community was represented by Karl Hofstetter, General Counsel and Member of the Board of Directors, Schindler Group-one of the world's biggest corporations and leading global mobility provider. The new Commission is expected to be confirmed this week.

Funding success for "Access to Justice" research project

Professor Takis Tridimas and Dr Gabriel Gari were awarded a grant from the Nuffield Foundation to carry out a statistical analysis of the case law of the European Court of Justice on judicial review. This inter-disciplinary project is funded as part of the “Access to Justice” programme of the Nuffield Foundation and builds on a project completed by the same authors and funded by the British Academy.

£120,745 awarded for 'Beyond Text' research project

Professor Uma Suthersanen has been awarded a grant of £120,745.00 by the Arts and Humanities Research Council under the Small Grants (Beyond Text) Scheme. The project is entitled Who Owns the Orphans? Traditional and Digital Property in Visual Art, which investigates the regulation of non-attributable or abandoned visual art (orphan works), as expressed by traditional and digital media, within the context of legal, business and customary practices. A more detailed description of the project, and the Beyond Text scheme is available at projects.beyondtext.ac.uk

CCLS at the Supreme Court

On 27 January 2010, the new Supreme Court of the United Kingdom delivered one of its most important judgments so far. In A v HM Treasury [2010] UKSC 2 the Court held that the Terrorism (United Nations Measures) Order 2006 and the Al-Qaida and Taliban (United Nations Measures) Order 2006 were unlawful on the ground that they did not give the affected persons an effective remedy against their designation by the United Nations Sanctions Committee as suspected terrorists. The judgment relies on and cites with approval various writings of Professor Tridimas.

Law Winter Graduation 2009

Postgraduate law students were awarded their degrees at the graduation ceremony held on 9 December 2009 in the Queens Building. Read more...

Professor David Ormerod on “The Coroners and Justice Act 2009 and the Policing and Crime Act 2009”

Professor David Ormerod delivered a lecture for 6 King’s Bench Walk at the Reform Club on “The Coroners and Justice Act 2009 and the Policing and Crime Act 2009”

Queen Mary alumnus named a Lord Justice of Appeal

One of the first law graduates at Queen Mary, University of London has just been appointed a Lord Justice of Appeal by Her Majesty, the Queen. Lord Justice (Christopher John) Pitchford, 62, takes his new post with immediate effect, following the retirement of Lord Justice Scott Baker. Read the full article about Lord Justice Pitchford on the Queen Mary media centre.

LLM Scholarships announced for 2010-2011

The School of Law is offering a range of full and partial scholarships for the LLM programme.

For more information and how to apply see our Postgraduate Fees and Funding page.

Read more about the LLM programme

Professor David Ormerod on the use of polygraph and lie detector evidence

Professor David Ormerod delivered a paper to the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee in Parliament on the use of polygraph and lie detector evidence in criminal trials.

Equal Justices Initiative Launched

Professor Kate Malleson and Professor Lizzie Barmes, together with a group of colleagues in academia and legal practice, have launched a new initiative to promote the equal participation of men and women in the judiciary. Full details can be found on the Equal Justices Initiative (EJI) website. Supporters of the initiative can add their name to the website.

Department of Law Professors elected as Benchers of Middle Temple

Kate Malleson, Andrew Le Sueur and David Ormerod have been elected as Benchers of Middle Temple.

Benchers of the Inns of Court are responsible for managing the Inn and deal with matters such as the allocation of scholarships for trainee barristers as well as ongoing education and training provision for members of the Bar. The election of three Professors from the School of Law, Queen Mary, University of London is part of a wider initiative on the part of Middle Temple to strengthen connections between academia and the Bar.

External Mooting Success for Queen Mary mooting team

The Queen Mary undergraduate mooting team demonstrated their excellent mooting skills in the autumn term.

On 29 November, the Queen Mary mooting team came top of the leaderboard in the 3rd round of the LUMS Shield Competition, gaining a score of 16, beating all of the other 7 London universities in this round of the competition. On 8 December, the Queen Mary team won against LSE in this round of the ESU Essex Court Chambers Competition.

On 4 December, the Queen Mary team put in a fine effort against the University of Hertfordshire in the first round of the OUP competition. Congratulations to all of the team, and to their Moot Master, Bonis Llukaci.

Mooting, the verbal presentation of a legal issue or problem, an exercise designed to give students the closest experience to appearing in court, is represented by the Queen Mary Student Mooting Society. This society plays an active part of undergraduate life at Queen Mary. Read more about our undergraduate mooting

LLM alumni photos on Facebook

See pictures of LLM alumni in Sao Paulo and Bangkok on The Queen Mary Alumni Network page on Facebook.

View photos of the Queen Mary LLM Brazilian alumni attending the British Council London Week Alumni event in Sao Paulo.

View photos of the Queen Mary LLM Thai alumni participating in the British Council Law Event in Bangkok.

Bursaries announced for MSc in Law and Finance

Launched in September 2008, the Department of Economics and CCLS which jointly run the MSc in Law and Finance, will be offering five bursaries worth £3,000 to outstanding candidates starting in September 2010.These bursaries are paid once the student has enrolled and do not take the form of a fee waiver. All students who have been offered a place are automatically considered for a bursary; there is no separate application form. For further information see the MSc Law and Finance programme page.

International Constitutional Law summer school for CCLS students

CCLS students will continue to benefit from a fully-paid NICLAS summer school in Vienna and Budapest thanks to Dr Rafael Leal-Arcas who successfully negotiated a three-year agreement for Queen Mary, University of London.

The New International Constitutional Law and Administrative Studies (NICLAS) Summer School is a two-week summer school funded by the European Commission.

For more information on the NICLAS Summer School see www.internationalconstitutionallaw.net/summerschool

Read more about Dr Rafael Leal-Arcas

Dr Kern Alexander to present report on financial transactions to the European Parliament

Dr Kern Alexander co-authored a commissioned report by the European Parliament entitled 'Clearing and Settlement in the EU' that analyses the legal and regulatory framework of clearing and settling financial transactions in European financial markets and the need to control systemic risks. Alexander will present the report before the Parliament's influential Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs in February 2010.

Download the 'Clearing and Settlement in the EU' report [PDF 963kb]

Read more about Dr Kern Alexander