Public Lectures from the Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge

This is the third interview with Mrs Charity (Cherry) Hopkins, Life Fellow of Girton College, University of Cambridge. Mrs Hopkins was interviewed for the third time on 14 February 2024 in the Squire Law Library.For more information, see the Squire Law Library website at:http://www.squire.law.cam.ac.uk/eminent-scholars-archive

Speaker: Professor Mark Roe (Harvard Law School)Chair: Felix Steffek (University of Cambridge)Abstract: The notion of stock-market-driven short-termism relentlessly whittling away at the American economy’s foundations is widely accepted and highly salient. Presidential candidates state as much. Senators introduce bills assuming as much. Corporate interests argue as much to the Securities and Exchange Commission and the corporate law courts. Yet the academic evidence as to the problem’s severity is no more than mixed. What explains this gap between widespread belief and weak evidence?Bio: Mark J. Roe is a professor at Harvard Law School, where he teaches corporate law and corporate bankruptcy. His research interests cover bankruptcy (corporate bankruptcy and reorganization), corporate law and corporate finance. He wrote Strong Managers, Weak Owners: The Political Roots of American Corporate Finance (Princeton, 1994), Political Determinants of Corporate Governance (Oxford, 2003), and Bankruptcy and Corporate Reorganization (Foundation, 2014). Academic articles include: Stock-Market Short-Termism’s Economy-Wide Impact (forthcoming); Containing Systemic Risk by Taxing Banks Properly, 35 Yale Journal on Regulation 181 (2018), Financial Markets and the Political Center of Gravity, 2 J. Law, Finance, and Accounting 125 (2017) (with Travis Coan); Bankruptcy’s Three Ages, 7 Harvard Business Law Review 187 (2017); Corporate Structural Degradation Due to Too-Big-to-Fail Finance, 162 University of Pennsylvania Law Review 1419 (2014); Corporate Short-Termism — In the Boardroom and in the Courtroom, 68 Business Lawyer 977 (2013); and Breaking Bankruptcy Priority: How Rent-Seeking Upends the Creditors’ Bargain, 99 Virginia Law Review 1235 (2013) (with Frederick Tung).3CL runs the 3CL Travers Smith Lunchtime Seminar Series, featuring leading academics from the Faculty, and high-profile practitioners.For more information see the Centre for Corporate and Commercial Law website:http://www.3cl.law.cam.ac.uk/

Speakers: Professor Eleanor Sharpston KC, Advocate General, CJEU (2006-2020) and Goodhart Professor, University of Cambridge (2023/2024) and Dr Markus W. Gehring, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law and Member of CELS. Abstract: On 18 September 2023 the Group of 12 Experts from both France and Germany released their proposal ‘Sailing on High Seas: Reforming and Enlarging the EU for the 21st Century’. The Group make two proposals on the Rule of Law and five further proposals for institutional reform. Overall, the Group had three objectives to increase the EU’s capacity to act, to get the institutions ready for enlargement and strengthen democratic legitimacy and rule of law. This resulted in a series of proposals for inter alia treaty change. The proposals are all on a continuum but largely aim for reform rather than a recreation of the European Union. They align with other reform proposals and at times take up proposals that were made for EU reform in the past or indeed discussed during the EU Constitutional convention process in the early 2000s. The objective here was clearly reformation rather than revolution. This conversation discusses some of the individual reform proposals in the context of the practice of the Court of Justice – could these proposal mean the beginning of 'Europe’s Second Constitution'?For more information see:https://www.cels.law.cam.ac.uk/weekly-seminar-series

Speaker: Professor Eleanor Sharpston KC, Advocate General, CJEU (2006-2020) and Goodhart Professor, University of Cambridge (2023/2024)Abstract: As an AG Professor Sharpston worked on religious discrimination and employment matters, delivering an opinion in one of the first two hijab cases (Bougnaoui) and then the ‘shadow opinion’ in Wabe and Müller, which she posted via Professor Steve Peers’ EU law blog after leaving the Court. She has already compared Achbita and Bougnaoui to the decisions in Egenberger and the Caritas hospital case (IR v JQ) in her festschrift contribution for Allan Rosas. Unsurprisingly, she has been keeping an eye open for further developments in that case law (WABE and Müller, S.C.R.L (Religious clothing) and, most recently, Commune d’Ans (Grand Chamber, 28 November 2023). Additionally, she has also been looking at what the Court has been saying in relation to ritual slaughter of animals (as required for meat-eating observant Jews and Muslims). Notable cases include Liga van Moskeeën, Oeuvre d’assistance aux bêtes d’abattoirs (OABA) and Centraal Israëlitisch Constistorie. The case law of the European Court of Human Rights also addresses these issues: Eweida v UK on religious symbols in the workplace, and the very recent decision (13 February 2024) in Executief van de Moslims van België and Others v Belgium on banning ritual slaughter of animals without prior stunning. The cases are constitutionally important in terms of the deference shown to Member States; and in some respects, they are troubling for anyone who is religious and non-Christian.Discussion chaired by Dr Markus W. Gehring, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law and Member of CELS.For more information see:https://www.cels.law.cam.ac.uk/weekly-seminar-series

On 9th April 2024 the European Court of Human Rights delivered Grand Chamber rulings in three cases relating to climate change:Carême v. France - https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng?i=001-233261Duarte Agostinho and Others v. Portugal and 32 Others - https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng?i=001-233174Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and Others v. Switzerland - https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng?i=001-233206In this video, Dr Stefan Theil discusses the extent to which the ECHR is prepared to dictate how countries might implement their own climate change policies.Stefan Theil is Assistant Professor in Public Law and a Fellow and Director of Studies at Sidney Sussex College. In Stefan's recent book 'Towards the Environmental Minimum' (Cambridge University Press, 2021) he argues for the recognition of a comprehensive framework that addresses the relationship between human rights and environmental harm.For more information about Dr Theil, please refer to his profile at:https://www.law.cam.ac.uk/people/academic/s-theil/6578Law in Focus is a collection of short videos featuring academics from the University of Cambridge Faculty of Law, addressing legal issues in current affairs and the news. These issues are examples of the many which challenge researchers and students studying undergraduate and postgraduate law at the Faculty.

This is the second interview with Mrs Charity (Cherry) Hopkins, Life Fellow of Girton College, University of Cambridge. Mrs Hopkins was interviewed for the second time on 16 October 2023 in the Squire Law Library.For more information, see the Squire Law Library website at:http://www.squire.law.cam.ac.uk/eminent-scholars-archive

Baron Cornelius Ver Heyden de Lancey (1889-1984) was a wealthy and public-spirited Dutchman who at different times in his life was a dentist, doctor, surgeon, barrister and art historian. In 1970 he created the De Lancey and De La Hanty Foundation, to promote studies in medico-legal topics. The Foundation generously gave Cambridge the Ver Heyden de Lancey Fund, which since 1996 has funded occasional public lectures on medico-legal issues of current interest.The 2024 Baron Ver Heyden de Lancey Lecture on Medico-Legal Studies was delivered by Professor Sir Jonathan Montgomery of University College London on 21 March 2024, and was entitled "Medicine and the Rule of Law".For more information about the Baron Ver Heyden de Lancey Lecture series, please see:http://www.lml.law.cam.ac.uk/events/vhdl-events

Speaker: Elisa Cencig (Norges Bank Investment Management)Cambridge 3CL invites you to a seminar on the responsible investment strategies of Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), the entity responsible for managing Norway's government pension fund, valued at over 1 trillion US dollars. Operating in over 70 countries, NBIM is at the forefront of shaping sustainable and fair market practices globally. This session will delve into NBIM’s role in policy-making and standard setting, highlighting its commitment to responsible stewardship.The focus will be on NBIM's active investment approach across various levels - from market-wide initiatives to individual company engagements. NBIM works to ensure long-term growth in its investments while minimizing environmental and societal harm, through direct company engagement, goal setting, and strategic voting at shareholder meetings. Key topics like climate change action, responsible AI practices, and CEO compensation will be discussed, showcasing NBIM's dedication to guiding global investments towards ethical and sustainable outcomes.Leading this session is Elisa Cencig, Senior ESG Policy Advisor at NBIM. Her expertise will provide a comprehensive view into how a major global investor like NBIM navigates the complexities of responsible investment.Biography: Elisa is Senior ESG Policy Advisor at Norges Bank Investment Management, where she is responsible for the fund’s engagement with international organisations, standard-setters and policymakers on sustainability, responsible investment and corporate governance. Prior to that, she worked at the UK Financial Authority, first on EU Withdrawal Policy and Strategy and more recently leading the FCA’s engagement at the Financial Stability Board. Earlier in her career, she worked at the Association of Financial Markets in Europe’s Brussels office on prudential and resolution policy and advocacy. She is an alumna of the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa (Italy) and the College of Europe (Belgium) and holds a PhD in Political Science from the London School of Economics.3CL runs the 3CL Travers Smith Lunchtime Seminar Series, featuring leading academics from the Faculty, and high-profile practitioners.For more information see the Centre for Corporate and Commercial Law website:http://www.3cl.law.cam.ac.uk/

This event was hosted by Cambridge Family Law Centre (CFL) on 7 March 2024. Speakers: Professor Laura Lundy (Queen’s University Belfast), Professor Anne Barlow (University of Exeter) & Dr Jan Ewing (University of Cambridge) When parents separate, children have the right to a voice in the decision-making per their article 12, UNCRC rights. However, evidence shows that this right is rarely upheld in England and Wales. Professor Lundy has developed the ‘Lundy Model of Child Participation’ (‘the Lundy Model’), a core set of rights-based principles to ensure young people can participate meaningfully in decision-making. The model is core to the Irish National Framework on Child and Youth Participation. It has been adopted internationally, by the European Commission, World Health Organisation, World Vision and UNICEF. Professor Lundy presents the Lundy Model and Professor Barlow and Dr Ewing presents the findings of empirical research from the Wellcome Trust Centre-funded, ‘HeaRT Project’ to consider the extent to which child-inclusive mediation as currently practised in England and Wales is compliant with their article 12 rights and the mental health and well-being benefits to young people when they are given space, voice, audience and influence per the Lundy Model in child-inclusive mediation. For more about CFL see: https://www.family.law.cam.ac.uk/ This entry provides an audio source for iTunes.

Speaker: José Barroso, former President of the European CommissionBiography: José Manuel Durão Barroso served twelve years in the Government of Portugal including as Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Minister. He was President of the European Commission during two mandates (2004/2014).His academic appointments include visiting professor at Georgetown University and visiting professor at Princeton University. He is currently a visiting professor at the Catholic University of Portugal and at the European University Institute, School of Transnational Governance, Florence. José Manuel Barroso studied Law (University of Lisbon) Political Science and International Affairs (University of Geneva).He is currently Chair of the Board of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and Chairman of International Advisors, Goldman Sachs.For more information see:https://www.cels.law.cam.ac.uk/weekly-seminar-series