The evening of the opening day of the conference included a visit to Belfast`s very large City Hall for a reception generously sponsored by the Journal of Legal History and various legal professional associations. The next evening there was a tour of the spectacular Parliament Buildings in Stormont, with a generous buffet and a reception sponsored by Belfast lawyer Carson McDowell. In addition to a walk through the large classical building of the 1920s and 1930s, there was a fascinating lecture by Professor Margaret O`Callaghan, essentially another plenary presentation, albeit brief. Its theme was “January to June 1922: James Craig and the Consolidation of the Division.” It was an interesting reflection on the tensions and tragedies in the North during this period. The Legal History Section of the SLS exists to provide a forum for those interested in the history of law, in general. The co-organizers of the section strongly believe in the importance of legal history for the health of legal studies and practice and therefore consider this section to be particularly important within the SLS, with its ability to promote stimulating and far-reaching perspectives on the current state of the law today and how its current position, its reputation and future have been shaped by its history. Traditionally, legal history has focused on the law of black letters in a historical context; The Legal History Section of the SLS also enthusiastically welcomes as members those who pursue a wide range of socio-legal and interdisciplinary approaches to the study of the history of law. The section informs about events with a legal historical dimension and offers – especially during the annual conference – an arena for meetings, discussions and exchange of ideas, experiences and information on resources, etc. The section heads will be happy to help you with any questions you may have. The theme of the conference was law and authority. Contributions focused on how the law has historically been shaped by different forms and notions of authority and how legal sources and frameworks for their application have evolved over time in relation to concepts of authority or the authority of other institutions, processes or actors within the legal system. The titles of the work are included in the final programme [1 July 2013].
It was a busy conference; Not all of them were ultimately able to do so due to COVID and air traffic issues, but more than 150 people were present. I had the impression that, although there were members from continental Europe, Australia and North America, there were not as many of those regions as usual; But this was only an impression and it can be wrong. The size of the conference meant that some of the five sessions had four or three separate panels, with each panel having three to four presentations. Thus, a multitude of researches were shown, which testified above all to the liveliness of legal history in Great Britain and Ireland. It is impossible to discuss individual articles, except for those in which I have personally participated, so I will be indulgent. But there were no less than six excellent plenary sessions. In one case, Lady Hale reflected on the Human Rights Act; in another, Sir John Baker discussed the “Origins of Judicial Review”, while later Professor Ian McBride of Oxford discussed “Irish Catholics and Plenary Acts”; Professor Lauren Benton (Yale) gave a lecture on “Law and Armed Peace in the British Empire”. The sixth plenum was a round table at the end of the conference. I will highlight Dr. Timothy Murtagh`s fascinating fourth plenary lecture for its profound implications.
Its title was “Beyond 2022”. As all historians know, on June 30, 1922, when the Irish Civil War began, the Public Record Office of Ireland was destroyed. The “Beyond 2022” project is a virtual and digital replica of the Office and its contents, gathered from copies archived elsewhere. It was fascinating and gives an indication of what can be done. The Selden Society is the only learned and publishing society dedicated exclusively to English legal history. The conference was superbly organized, and the main credit must be given to Professor Emeritus Norma Dawson of QUB; but, as she would admit, it was a community affair, and the loan must also go to various others, including Dr. David Capper, Dr. Conor McCormick, Dr. Niamh Howlin, and John Gordon, who also served as a passionate MC in times of need. One of the main reasons to bring the OHHC to Belfast was the late Sir Anthony (still known as Tony) Hart, who passed away in 2019.
Look www.elhblog.law.ed.ac.uk/2021/09/22/sir-anthony-hart-memorial-lecture-in-legal-history/ He was very present in the minds of those who attended the conference, and He was well thought out and thoughtful. Lady Hart was present and kindly presented prizes for the best work awarded by research students. Given the fierce competition, this was best judged by Ashley Hannay, who is taking a position in Manchester after completing a thesis at Cambridge; but your blogger is proud to say that he supervised Ashley`s LLM thesis on the council courts in Edinburgh a few years ago. These include the history of law, the development of legal ideas, the legal profession and legal courts and institutions, judges and individual lawyers, literature and legal records; In short, explore the history of all that is characteristic of our unique Customary Law and English legal system.