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Ninth Conference on the Future of Adversarial and Inquisitorial Systems

Jackie Hodgson, CJC Director, and CJC members Divya Sukumar and Sharda Ramdewor will take part in the Ninth Conference on the Future of Adversarial and Inquisitorial Systems. The theme of this year's conference is: 'Rights and Remedies in Criminal Procedure: Examining the Nature of the Relationship'. The Conference cycle on the Future of Adversarial and Inquisitorial Systems is a collaboration between the University of Warwick (UK), the University of North Carolina (USA), the University of Bologna-Ravenna (Italy) and the University of Basel (Switzerland).

Sharda and Divya will both present their research during the pre-conference for young scholars. Sharda will talk about 'Using Body Worn Video as evidence to combat disproportionate stop and searches/frisks' and Divya will present a paper entitled ' Strategic Disclosure of Evidence in Police Interviews: Implications for Suspects and their Lawyers'.

Jackie will act as a moderator for the pre-conference for young scholars and take part in the main conference. She will sit on a panel on 'Comparative Approaches to Rights and Remedies in a Time of Austerity'. In this panel, the different approaches of adversarial and inquisitorial procedural traditions to the guaranteeing of rights, and how the rise of managerialism and reduced budgets has impacted these guarantees in theory and in practice will be considered.

A. Rights are protected in different ways. In a party-based adversarial procedural model, (positive) fair trial rights are an integral part of equality of arms for the defense. Inquisitorially rooted models have relied historically on the more neutral ideology of judicial officers responsible for investigation and prosecution, and this has created tensions with the recent strengthening of positive rights through EU directives (such as those implementing the so-called roadmap) and ECtHR decisions such as Salduz v Turkey. Some jurisdictions, such as France, regard the imposition of the right to counsel at the first stages of the investigation as rooted in the Anglo-Saxon tradition and so inappropriate for French criminal justice.

B. The constant push for cheaper and speedier processes of criminal justice undercuts the protection of rights in both procedural models – from the resourcing of legal aid; to the time available to prepare the defense; to the ability of public prosecutors to oversee case preparation and the disposal of cases through alternatives to trial.


ESRC Festival of Social Science - Prisoner wellbeing and the experience of punishment

The CJC is delighted to have been awarded funding by the ESRC to host an event as part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science on Saturday 14 November 2015.

The CJC multi-format event aims to bring together different perspectives on the experience of punishment, in order to raise awareness of, promote social science research on and generate debate on prisoner wellbeing and its consequences to criminal justice policy and practice. The full-day event will encourage an interactive open debate between academics and non-academics through drawing on a range of perspectives on the topic, from that of those responsible for formulating and implementing prison policy, and that of social scientists researching punishment and criminal justice, to that of those with first-hand, lived experiences of punishment within prisons. Interactive sessions will include: screening and discussion of the film ‘Herman’s House’ (a movie about the communication between an architect and a life prisoner in the US); a workshop run by the Empty Cages Collective about the conditions and experience of imprisonment in England and Wales; and an exhibition of prisoners’ creative self-expression (letters, photography, paintings, etc.) followed by discussion.

Tue 23 Jun 2015, 07:46 | Tags: CJC Events, Empirical research

Public Lecture - The Future of International Criminal Justice (Judge Howard Morrison)

Last week, we were incredibly privileged to have one of the most influential people in international criminal law at the moment, Judge Howard Morrison CBE QC, not only give a public lecture on 'The Future of International Criminal Justice' but also generously partake in a question and answer session with this year's International Criminal Law students.

A lot of the discussions were based around future developments such as environmental crimes being labelled as crimes against humanity, transnational corporations becoming accountable under the jurisdiction of the ICC, and the potential of tribunals being established in areas such as Israel and Syria. However, what was abundantly clear throughout was that despite the potential for many changes for the ICC and international criminal justice in the future, Judge Morrison's unwavering devotion to the rule of law, the principle of no impunity and the fundamental necessity of adhering to the fair trial procedure shall always remain intact.

His lasting message was that while the ICC cannot solve the world's problems, it should at the very least make sure that what it can do must be done properly, without pandering to power politics or convenience. That is what true international criminal justice should constitute, whether in the past, present, or future.

If you have missed it, a recording of his public lecture is available at: https://lecturecapture.warwick.ac.uk/ess/echo/presentation/0eeab87c-d7e1-40d4-aa9c-f2c430993823

Mon 17 Nov 2014, 08:05 | Tags: CJC Events, International criminal law

Warwick-Monash Conference on Legal Aid Cuts

The University of Warwick will be holding a conference on 19 March 2014 for the partnership project with Monash University: Access to Justice: A Comparative Analysis of cuts to the civil and criminal Legal Aid systems in England, Wales and Victoria.

The conference will include academics, researchers and practitioners and will look at the impact of civil and criminal legal aid cuts, focusing on:

  • The changing face of the legal profession
  • The lawyer-client relationship and
  • The broader social consequences of the cuts.

Colleagues from Monash University will also be attending and providing a comparative perspective on recent legal aid reforms. A second conference will be hosted by Monash University in July 2014.

Tue 05 Nov 2013, 09:44 | Tags: CJC Events, Comparative research, Public engagement, Visitors

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