Posted on: 21 February 2011
The third annual Trinity College Law student colloquium took place recently titled ‘Rethinking Law’. The event, which was chaired by the Honourable Mr Justice Gerard Hogan, provided a unique forum for law students at both undergraduate and postgraduate level to present their research, speak on legal topics and to engage in discourse on original and innovative approaches to law.
The colloquium featured 10 panels covering topics such as ‘Medicine, Ethics and the Law’ and ‘Judges and Jurors’. Fresh perspectives were also offered in areas such as Criminal Law, Jurisprudence, Human Rights Law and Company Law. Over 120 people attended the colloquium which featured 35 speakers from Ireland, the UK and further afield. This year saw a record number of overseas applications, highlighting the growing reputation of the colloquium internationally.
L-R: Mark Coen, Mr Justice Gerard Hogan and Dr Neville Cox at the Law Colloquium at TCD.
During the plenary address, Mr Justice Hogan commended the organising committee and colloquium speakers for their hard work. He reflected on the huge volume of case-law now coming from the Irish, English, Strasbourg and Luxembourg courts, and the difficulties this posed for the doctrine of precedent. He emphasised clarity and brevity in legal writing. He also noted the value of academic critiques of court decisions but added that the process of deciding cases was not an easy one. The judge’s speech received a warm response from the delegates.
The event was jointly sponsored by law firms Allen & Overy and William Fry.
