Predictions for the 21st Century: the Importance of Engaging with Pro Bono Practice.

With the reductions recently made to legal aid, and the subsequent possibilities for more self-representation in court, and/or the potential for cheaper, or even pro bono advice, from suitably qualified, or suitably supervised students will be recurring issues. Whilst this ‘access for all’ is already provided by, for example, Law Works, the Solicitors pro bono organization, the potential for universities to increasingly provide such opportunities for their students will exist. Whilst meeting a recognized social need, such opportunities will provide students with valuable experience of the ethics of the legal profession, (not always foremost in their minds) as well as the practicalities of ‘problem solving’ in real world contexts. The fact that many organizations are already working internationally through pro bono work with legal teams and nongovernmental organizations, for example Trust Law Connect, is not currently recognized by many students. However, in a competitive and rapidly changing legal market, both for the provision of services and for recruitment, the value of pro bono work and its relationship to the ethics of the legal profession will be increasingly important. This perceived ‘value’ covers a wide spectrum, from environmental, humanitarian and social issues, including corporate responsibility, to the enhancement of the reputation of the legal profession, the organizations involved, the universities and last, but not least, to the students themselves. This poster addresses the ethical value of the above issues, highlighting the varied pro bono work already done with individuals and voluntary organizations, and student run initiatives, including those of the University of Central Lancashire, in the UK

Teaching and Learning in 'Real World Contexts': Pro Bono Practice and 'Situated Learning/Communities of Practice.

With the reductions recently made to legal aid, the subsequent possibilities for more self-representation in court, and/or the potential for cheaper, or even pro bono advice, from suitably qualified, or suitably supervised students will be recurring issues. Whilst information on ‘access for all’ is already provided by, for example, Law Works, the Solicitors pro bono organization, the potential for universities to increasingly provide such opportunities for their students will exist. UCLan Law school has recognised that, whilst meeting a recognized social need, such opportunities will provide students with valuable experience of the ethics of the legal profession, as well as the practicalities and learning experience of ‘problem solving’ in real world contexts. The fact that many organizations are already working internationally through pro bono work with legal teams and nongovernmental organizations, for example Trust Law Connect, is not currently recognized by many students. However, in a competitive and rapidly changing legal market, both for the provision of services and for recruitment, the value of pro bono work and its relationship to the ethics of the legal profession will be increasingly important. This perceived ‘value’ covers a wide spectrum, from environmental, humanitarian and social issues, including corporate responsibility, to the enhancement of the reputation of the legal profession, the organizations involved, the universities and last, but not least, to the students themselves. This poster addresses the ethical value and learning opportunities provided by the varied pro bono work already done with individuals and voluntary organizations. However, its main focus will be the pro bono work, including the ‘McKenzie Friends’ type of initiative, currently being created within UCLan by Lancashire Law school

EU SUGGESTED BEST PRACTICE DOCUMENT: CRITICAL ANALYSIS AND POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR EU-WIDE HATE CRIME LAWS

This document subjects the various EU hate crime provisions to critical policy analysis, weighing up their pros and cons, and defending aspects of them from inappropriate forms of critique, and then draws some policy conclusions based on a sense of best practice. The aim of identifying best practice is to generate reform suggestions in the form of detailed model legislation. This is contained in the final section of this document. A key point considered is the narrow definition of protected groups under current EU measures. The restrictions to racist forms of hate crime and genocide denial contained in the Framework Decision is not central to the political and constitutional cultures of all member states. Indeed, it has not prevented the criminal law implementation measures of some EU Member States from including a number of other grounds, such as disability, anti-Semitism, or sexual orientation. Certain EU bodies have even encouraged this expansive approach to national implementation, with the FRA stating: ‘In the spirit of non-discrimination, it is certainly preferable to widen criminal law provisions to include equally all grounds of discrimination covered by Article 14 of the ECHR or Article 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.’ This criticism would, in practice, suggest a need for Members State supplementing these categories with one of more the following: gender, social origin, genetic features, language, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, birth, property or other status, disability, age or sexual orientation. Whilst supporting an expansion of the range of groups covered, the following paragraphs issue a cautionary warning against a massive extension to cover all these groups on grounds of both principle and practical consequences

'The Accidental Birth of Hate Crime in Transnational Criminal Law: 'Discrepancies' in the Prosecution for "Incitement to Genocide" during the Nuremberg Process involving the cases of Julius Streicher, Hans Fritzsche and Carl Schmitt.'

This volume of three interrelated studies aims to explore the various contingencies through which individuals responsible, to various degrees, for promoting expressions of racist hate were subjected to markedly different types of legal responses within the landmark Nuremberg trials programme. These contingencies, together with loose judicial reasoning, complicate scholarly efforts to identify the historical emergence of this type of transnational hate crime, and to illustrate the complications that arise when seeking to ascertain its implications as a precedent. It needs to be emphasised at the outset that what follows is not a comprehensive study of the origins of the criminalisation of hate speech in general as this would have to include a full comparative survey of all domestic laws and their judicial interpretation, application and institutional enforcement. In addition, the interaction between domestic, regional and international criminalisations would also have to be addressed in what would amount to a massive multi-volume study, beyond the scope of this study. It is acknowledged that a strong case can be made for a more comprehensive approach, placing the contents of what follows within this wider context of transnational regulation. For example, there has clearly been a measure of interaction, albeit of an inconsistent type, between US immigration and naturalisation law and practice, and international criminal law relating to hate speech, with the Streicher case expressly referred to as a precedent for the idea that "persecution," as a subset of crimes against humanity, can include racist and anti-Semitic propaganda

Why a postwar legal debate over the impact of private sex still matters today

As the UK marks the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Sexual Offences Act, it’s crucial not to forget that views on sexual identity and orientation are diverse and often directly contradictory – and that this applies in lawmaking too. There’s been plenty of research on the ways public and private behaviour and sexual activity are regulated, but there’s surprisingly little analysis of the ideological and cultural forces that shape those regulations as they’re formulated.This short blog engages with those issues

Software Quality Skills in CMM-Based Development Environments

This paper examines the complex software development environment in which IS professionals commonly function today. Skills and competencies appropriate to this environment are increasingly related to managing change and adopting change agent roles. These skills and competencies are discussed in relation to complex and changing environments. Asurvey of IS professionals evaluates their perceptions of the importance of these competencies and their own capability in these areas. Observations and conclusions in this paper are primarily drawn from research on organizations that have initiated software process improvement initiatives (McGuire 1996a; 1996b; 1997)

The Accidental Birth of Hate Crime in Transnational Criminal Law: 'Discrepancies' in the Prosecution for "Incitement to Genocide" during the Nuremberg Process

This case study of Julius Streicher’s prosecution at Nuremberg aims to explore one element of the various contingencies through which individuals responsible, to various degrees, for promoting expressions of racist hate speech have been subjected to markedly different types of legal responses within the landmark Nuremberg trials programme. These contingencies, together with loose judicial reasoning and indeterminacies in the meaning(s) of international criminal law doctrines, complicate scholarly efforts to identify the historical emergence of this type of transnational hate crime. They also illustrate the complications that arise when seeking to ascertain the implications of the Streicher, and other related case studies, as precedents

Student Recital: Taik-Ki Kim, Violin; Janet McGuire, Piano; May 19, 1972

Centennial East Recital HallMay 19, 19728:15 p.m