Portcullis House, 1 Victoria Embankment, London SW1A 2JR

STATUTE LAW SOCIETY CONFERENCE 2025

Legislation and the Constitution: Renton 50 Years On

Thursday 5th June

PRE-CONFERENCE LECTURE BY

Jeremy Waldron, followed by drinks reception and optional dinner.

Friday 6th June

KEYNOTE SPEECH BY

Lord Sales, Justice of the Supreme Court, and President of the Statute Law Society.

05/06/25 Pre-Conference Lecture 6:00pm:
'"To Write it in the Books of Law": Reflections on the Dignity of Legislation.' By Jeremy Waldron
The Statute Law Society is delighted to announce that the conference proceedings will begin on Thursday, 5 June 2025 at 6 pm in Portcullis House at the Houses of Parliament with a Statute Law Society Distinguished Lecture to be given by Professor Jeremy Waldron.

Professor Waldron is a University Professor of Law at the NYU School of Law and was formerly the Chichele Professor of Social and Political Theory at Oxford University.

The quotation is from Lyndon Johnson's great speech to Congress on November 27, 1963 in the aftermath of President Kennedy's assassination. He was referring to the Civil Rights Bill of which he said: "We have talked long enough in this country about equal rights. We have talked for one hundred years or more. It is time now to write the next chapter, and to write it in the books of law." The lecture will be about the resonance of that phrase of LBJ's in our characterization of important legislation.

Attendance is free for those who are registered to attend the Conference and also for members of the Statute Law Society. Others are welcome to attend the lecture by purchasing a ticket for £10. Spaces at both the lecture and conference are limited.

06/06/25 Morning Session:
The Changing Landscape of Legislation
Speakers will include Professor Chris McCrudden. Professor of Human Rights and Equality Law, Queen’s University Belfast and William W Cook, Global Professor of Law, University of Michigan Law School; Dylan Hughes, First Legislative Counsel for the Welsh Government; Robin Ellison, Visiting Professor in Pensions Law and Economics, Bayes Business School, City, University of London.

06/06/25 Afternoon Session:
Speakers will include David Goddard, New Zealand Court of Appeal; Dr Jacinta Dharmananda, Senior Lecturer at the University of Western Australia.

To be followed by an address by Lord Burrows, Justice of the Supreme Court.

Cost

For those who book after 28 February 2025, the cost will be, for those attending in person, £150 for individual members of the SLS and members of institutions which have joined the SLS, and £120 for students and those who are retired (over 65). The cost for non-members to attend in person will be £225. These fees include attendance on Friday 6th June, and also the lecture and a reception at the Houses of Parliament on Thursday 5th June , tea, coffee or juice at breaks on Friday and a light lunch on Friday. Dinner on Thursday will be extra for those who wish to attend. The cost for members who are not able to attend in person will be slightly lower and will not include attendance at the lecture on Thursday. Booking for those attending in person will be confirmed once payment has been made in full.

For those who wish to attend on Zoom we will ask for payment at a slightly later stage.

We understand that some people may wish to join the Society in order to take advantage of the lower rates for members. We therefore ask anyone who was not a member on 30 October 2024 to pay two years’ subscription before they book.

Booking Form

If you wish to attend the conference in person please complete and return the booking form and any additional information required below to statutelawsociety@gmail.com. The applicable fee should be paid using the payment buttons below. If you wish to pay by an alternative method please contact the SLS’s Secretary, Amy O’Dell, at the above email address.

BOOKING FORM