Many thanks to the speakers, co-organisers, and the audience, it was genuinely a fantastic discussion and I've learned a lot. I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did. @drhannahwhite.bsky.social @timdurrant.bsky.social @efieldingd.bsky.social @rupavardhini.bsky.social @ilankelman.bsky.social
The Role of Parliaments in Crises and Emergencies: Before, During, and After Programme Date: 22 January 2026 Venue: Attlee Suite, Portcullis House, 1 Victoria Embankment, London, SW1A 2JR Time: 14:00 – 18:00 (Registration from 13:15) 14:00-14:05 Introduction Dr Paolo Sandro (House of Commons/University of Leeds) 14:05-14:20 Opening Remarks Prof Ilan Kelman (UCL) 14:20- 15:05 Preparing and Legislating Dr Thomas Muinzer (University of Aberdeen) Suzanne Raine (University of Cambridge) Eve Samson (House of Commons) Chair: Dr Hannah White OBE (Institute for Government) 15:10- 15:55 Responsive Management and Scrutiny Sarah Davies (House of Commons) Prof Jeff King (UCL) Dr Jonathan Murphy (IDEA) Chair: Prof Erin Delaney (UCL) 16:00- 16:45 Accountability and Lesson-learning Sir Jack Beatson (24 Lincoln's Inn Fields) Kate Dewsnip (University of Liverpool) Dr Cath Haddon (Institute for Government) Chair: Dr Rupavardhini Balakrishnan Raju (UCL) 16:45-17:15 Audience Q&A and Conclusion Led by Dr Paolo Sandro and Dr Hannah White OBE
The Role of Parliaments in Crises and Emergencies: Before, During, and After In the theory and practice of emergency powers since the time of the ancient Roman republic, legislatures have played a muted or entirely absent role during the exercise of potent executive powers to manage the crisis. The twentieth century has seen a profound change in this regard. There has been a steady proliferation of various statutory models for addressing emergencies and crises, and, in some jurisdictions, the rise of a more prominent supervisory role for national parliaments. On any approach, the management of emergencies and crises often entails constitutional disruption to the parliamentary processes of making or approving laws and scrutiny of Government. Such was quite apparent in the very rapid passage of the Coronavirus Bill through the UK Parliament in 2020, and in the hundreds of public health emergency regulations made by the UK and devolved governments to address the COVID-19 pandemic. Notwithstanding some disruption, however, the UK legislatures remained open and this was consistent with international practice too. Even in this context where the Government had to act with extreme urgency, parliaments have continued to enjoy a supervisory and legislative role in mitigating the risks to the established principles of constitutional democracy. Such a role is all the more possible and evident in crises of slow onset, such as climate change and financial crises, in some cases leading to complex governance frameworks such as the Climate Change Act 2008. The aim of this event is to explore and discuss the various roles/functions that parliaments, and in particular the UK Parliament, may play before, during, and after an emergency or crisis. How should the foundations of constitutional democracy be protected in the context of emergencies and crises? What type of framework legislation allows for optimal response once one of these events occurs? How should the legislative scrutiny fu…
What role should parliaments play before, during, and after a crisis or emergency?
With the Institute for Government and the UCL Global Centre for Democratic Constitutionalism, we have put together an amazing lineup. /1
@efieldingd.bsky.social @timdurrant.bsky.social @drhannahwhite.bsky.social
A MUST watch Jack Smith and @weissmann.substack.com at UCL Global Centre for Democratic Constitutionalism
youtu.be/DR79GW6SvxE?...
#AuthoitarianismRising #DemocracyIsTheAnswer
#LearnAndAct
#GCDC #UCLLaws
@laws.ucl.ac.uk @efieldingd.bsky.social
The 2025 European Lecture is now available 👇
Michael Ignatieff on Academic Freedom: What It Is, What It Isn’t and Why It’s Under Threat
Watch now: youtu.be/IYi_67T5VnM?...
@laws.ucl.ac.uk @efieldingd.bsky.social
Our 2025 UCL Europe Lecture is on tomorrow - privileged to be chairing Michael Ignatieff's talk on Academic Freedom. He'll be in conversation with @efieldingd.bsky.social and field questions after the talk.
Sign up and come to @laws.ucl.ac.uk to join us for it (or follow via livestream).
Looking forward to chairing the 2025 UCL Europe Lecture on #AcademicFreedom.
Michael Ignatieff, with @efieldingd.bsky.social & @ucl.ac.uk's Provost Michael Spence.
Convened by @uclei.bsky.social with @laws.ucl.ac.uk & Disagreeing Well.
30 Oct. Free tickets:
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/academic-f...
📣 Academic Freedom: What It Is, What It Isn’t and Why It’s Under Threat 📣
Join us for our annual Europe Lecture, in partnership with UCL Laws, supported by UCL Disagreeing Well
Register for free: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/academic-f...
#UCL #AcademicFreedom #Europe
📢 New article in ICON•S journal by @efieldingd.bsky.social, Rosalind Dixon & @davidkosar.bsky.social.
It explores how chief justices maintain legitimacy and resilience, particulary in times of democratic backsliding⚖️
🔗 Read more here: doi.org/10.1093/icon...
#icon-s #jusdiciary #democracy
🗓️📣 Save the Date!
The ICON•S 2026 Annual Conference will be hosted by
University College Dublin in Dubin, Ireland 🇮🇪
📅 June 29 – July 1, 2026
Stay tuned—the CfP and further details will be shared soon!
Prof. Erin Delaney (@efieldingd.bsky.social) joined @strictscrutiny.bsky.social to discuss the legacy of the late justice David Souter, and her memories of clerking at the Supreme Court under his leadership. crooked.com/podcast/can-...
The Dean of UCL Laws and @efieldingd.bsky.social have returned from a visit to Hong Kong to strengthen connections with alumni, students and academic partners. Read more in the highlights 🔗
On 2 June, the @houseofcommons.parliament.uk will collaborate with scholars incl our members @ucllaws.bsky.social, @durham-university.bsky.social & @uodroitpublaw.bsky.social on a workshop on the role of politicians & parliamentary personnel in sustaining the unwritten dimension of constitutionalism
Computer-generated simulation of the gravitational waves radiating outwards from two merging black holes. Colours indicate the intensity of the waves from strongest to weakest, red, then yellow, green and blue. Image credit: Werner Benger, Albert Einstein Institute, Max Planck Institute of Gravitational Physics, Potsdam, Germany. Reproduced under CC BY 4.0.
The Trust is pleased to announce Professor Albrecht Klemm as the final winner of our 2023 International Professorship scheme. Professor Klemm joins @sheffielduni.bsky.social to lead on quantum geometry and arithmetic research. www.leverhulme.ac.uk/news/prestig...
📑 How to structure your article
🎙️ Prof. @efieldingd.bsky.social (UCL Faculty of Law)
🗓️Tuesday, 25 February
🕛 12:00 - 13:00 (UTC)
If you are in London, feel free to come to @ucllaws.bsky.social to this panel on enforcing human rights judgments.
We will be assessing "resistant compliers" and long-term unenforced judgments. I will be focusing on the experience of the Inter-American Court .
www.ucl.ac.uk/laws/events/...
Timely, isn't it? The Italian Parliament is about to elect, once again 4 male judges 😖 @democracytalk.bsky.social @tomginsburg.bsky.social @richardalbert.bsky.social @efieldingd.bsky.social @cherylas1.bsky.social @argeliaqueralt.bsky.social @maytesalvador.bsky.social @itziargomez.bsky.social
And it's launched! Check out The Contrarian - a new media platform devoted to the defense of democracy. Jen Rubin and Norm Eisen lead our merry band of contributors - and I'm proud to be one of them! contrarian.substack.com/p/this-is-th...
📣🔖🏆 Call for Nominations for the 2025 ICON·S Book Prize! Nominate your candidates by January 31, 2025.
Learn more about eligibility and the nomination process here: icon-society.org/book-prize-n...
Thank you for sharing, Naz!!
Thank you to @northwesternlaw.bsky.social for your generous sponsorship of the Winter/Summer School!
The @uodroitpublaw.bsky.social is thrilled to once again support the @icon-s.bsky.social winter/summer school for emerging scholars. Please consider applying to participate.
Last year, I had the privilege of attending the @icon-s.bsky.social Winter/Summer School organised by Prof Rosalind Dixon. It’s not just about research but also an incredible way for junior scholars to gain insights into academia in a supportive environment. Highly recommend applying!🍀🐨🦘💡🖌️
🚨 DEADLINE EXTENSION: The NEW deadline for the 2025 ICON•S Annual Conference Call for Abstracts is now January 31st!
Learn more and submit here: icon-society.org/icon-s-annua...
#iconsbrasilia
Really looking forward to seeing old friends and meeting new in Brazil!!!
As part of our ongoing commitment to broadening access to studying law and the legal profession, UCL Laws is announcing the launch of new Faculty-funded scholarships to mark the 200th anniversary celebrations of UCL 🎓
If you’re interested in constitutional and democratic theory in Europe, make sure to register for this two-day conference on ’Taking Ambivalence Seriously: The European Court of Human Rights and Democracy Promotion’, that we will host in Edinburgh on December 5-6th.
www.law.ed.ac.uk/news-events/...
An absolute pleasure and honor to celebrate this wonderful book - thank you to our speakers and the audience for an engaging and generative set of presentations and conversations!!! #gcdc
We close this round of seminars on the book Women, Gender and Constitutionalism in Latin America, with this event organised by the GCDC at @ucllaws.bsky.social
@ebrodeala.bsky.social @berihungebeye.bsky.social @efieldingd.bsky.social @veronicaundurraga.bsky.social @xispougim.bsky.social
We're delighted to announce that a groundbreaking research project addressing the Post Office Scandal, led by a team from UCL Laws and University of Exeter, has won a prestigious 2024 ESRC Celebrating Impact Prize for Outstanding Societal Impact
www.ucl.ac.uk/laws/news/20...
