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Rule of Law & Access to Justice: where do we go from here? – Pro Bono Week Committee & LexisNexis
November 6, 2020 @ 4:30 pm - 6:00 pm
Rule of Law and Access to Justice: where do we go from here?
Does the law need a rebrand?
There can be few times in the modern history of the UK where the Rule of Law has been at the forefront of public attention and discussion – from the Internal Market Bill to the independent panel on Judicial Review, from the backlog in the court system to comments on the role lawyers play in the immigration and criminal justice system. There is no lack of challenge to the Rule of Law. But there is also significant comment on these challenges.
As important as that commentary is, it often leaves a hugely important question unanswered: where do we go from here?
It is easy to get agreement among lawyers that the Rule of Law is fundamental, but is that true outside of the profession? If we are to protect the Rule of Law (and drive an environment where upholding the Rule of Law is seen as non-negotiable), the public at large need to feel the same way.
The panel will give a brief “state of the union” of the Rule of Law in the UK. From there, we will turn to consider what can be done to begin to deliver this. Does the law, the Rule of Law, and justice need rebranding? What, or who might get the public to value the fundamental importance of the Rule of Law and the important access to justice that gives them?
Panellists are:
- Iain Anderson (Executive Chairman, Cicero Group)
- David Greene (President of the Law Society of England & Wales),
- Baroness Hale of Richmond (former President of the UK Supreme Court),
- Baroness Helena Kennedy QC (Director of the IBA Human Rights Institute) and
- Matthew Ryder QC (barrister and former Deputy Mayor of London (social integration, social mobility and community engagement)).
This event is jointly led by the Pro Bono Week Committee and LexisNexis and is timed to coincide with the finish of Pro Bono Week. It is part of LexisNexis’s central objective of advancing the Rule of Law around the world – further information can be found here. For further information about the events in Pro Bono Week, please click here.
Our thanks to Augusta Ventures for kindly hosting this webinar and for their support of the National Pro Bono Centre and Pro Bono Week.