Aileen McHarg, Professor of Public Law and Human Rights at Durham Law School, discusses the paths to independence for Scotland following the First Minister's statement, including a new 'plan C' - the next UK General Election.

On Wednesday 8 December 2021, Dr Jessie Blackbourn and Dr Elizabeth O’Loughlin as Convenors of the Public Law Section of the Society of Legal Scholars, and Professor Aileen McHarg as Co-Chair of the British-Irish Chapter of ICON-S, hosted an online workshop on ‘Getting Published in Public Law’.

Dr Hannah Bows has been appointed as a specialist adviser for the Women and Equalities Committee. She will be advising and supporting on their Preventing Violence Against Women and Girls inquiry for the next year.

Durham Law School has been awarded the Athena Swan Bronze Award for commitment to the advancement of gender equality: representation, progression and success for all.

Dr Hannah Bows was interviewed on ITV Tonight on 5 May 2022, a programme which explored coercive control and included older victims, an oft-forgotten group.

Professor Michael Bohlander was recently featured in the International Justice in the News newsletter sent out by the The International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life of Brandeis University. The newsletter featured Professor Bohlander's work in the new research field 'The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) and Human Law'.

The International Gaming: Laws and Regulations around Games in the Digital Era conference intends to bring in and curate talks from researchers and law experts in China, the UK/Europe, and beyond, with a focus on research into the laws and regulations involved with international gaming. We hope to bring together researchers from different regions to build a better understanding of the opportunities and barriers to academic and industry collaboration.

The Law and Global Justice Centre collaborated with the student-led Justice Society to organise a parliamentary style debate in February 2022. Six debates took place at the semi-finals with other 40 students participating. The motion was 'The unequal protection afforded to peoples seeking asylum from climate devastation is in breach of international human rights law.' Students were mentored by Dr Jane M Rooney and Dr Petra Minnerop in devising arguments for and against this motion

This practice-facing, decolonisation-minded and best-practice sharing project will create a valuable resource of criminal judgments, drafted by experts on criminal law and procedure from a number of jurisdictions. A comprehensive factual case scenario will form the basis of the judgments, which will be based on the law and practice of each jurisdiction, written in English, but in the style of the relevant court in each jurisdiction.

An event organised by Centre for Environmental and Energy Economics (CE3), Durham University Business School (DUBS) and Durham Energy Institute (DEI) will take place at the Durham University Business School on the 6th of June. The workshop will discuss the climate policy after COP 26 and IPCC AR6: the role of international cooperation.

New duties for doctors to tackle toxic cultures are among proposals put forward for public consultation by the General Medical Council (GMC).

Two academics at Durham Law School, Professor Aileen McHarg and Dr Eleni Frantziou, have recently submitted written evidence to the House of Commons European Scrutiny Committee for its Inquiry into Retained EU Law. In their evidence, Prof McHarg and Dr Frantziou highlight the multifaceted character of retained EU law and its implications for the UK constitutional order, including the devolved administrations. They advise against any wholesale repeal or amendment of retained EU law.