Lord Hamilton and Sir Stephen Sedley QC to speak on freedom of expression

Two distinguished legal figures from either side of the border are to be the speakers at a special event to mark Human Rights Day and European Lawyers Day being staged by the Faculty of Advocates and JUSTICE Scotland.

Lord Hamilton, the former Lord President, and Sir Stephen Sedley QC, who served as a judge in the Court of Appeal of England and Wales for more than a decade, will examine “Freedom of Expression” at the event on Thursday, 10 December.

Sir Stephen will present a paper, and Lord Hamilton will respond, followed by a general question and answer and discussion session.

Freedom of expression has been identified by the Council of European Bars and law societies as the topic for this year’s European Lawyers Day.

James Wolffe QC, Dean of Faculty, said: “The right to free expression underpins our free and democratic political system and is essential to academic and cultural freedom.

“On a day when we celebrate our profession’s commitment to fundamental rights, I look forward to hearing Sir Stephen Sedley and Lord Hamilton speaking about this particular topic.”

Lord Hamilton was admitted to Faculty in 1968, and appointed a Senator in 1995. His elevation to the Inner House in 2002 was followed, in 2005, by his appointment as Lord President and Lord Justice General, holding the posts until 2012.

Currently, he is a justice of appeal in Botswana’s Court of Appeal, its Supreme Court, and is a member of the Supplementary Panel of the UK Supreme Court.

Sir Stephen Sedley was called to the English Bar in 1964, and was a judge of the Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court from 1992 until 1999, when he was made a Lord Justice of Appeal in the Court of Appeal. He retired in 2011. He also sat ad hoc as a judge of the European Court of Human Rights and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. He has been president of the British Institute of Human Rights since 1999.

The event is free will take place in the Mackenzie Building, and for full details and to register, click here.