Past Events
Seminar Series: Michaelmas Term 2009
Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Communication and Governance
Mondays, Seminar Room D, Manor Road Building, 4.30 - 6.00 pm
Week 7 23 November
Dr. Des Freedman, Department of Media and Communications, Goldsmiths College, University of London
Silences in Media Governance
CSLS Seminar for Week 7 has been chaged to:
Freedom of Expression, Incitement and Regulation: From Bosnia to Baghdad
Simon Haselock
Simon Haselock was Temporary Media Commissioner in Kosovo and Director of Public Information for the UN Mission in Kosovo. He later served as Head of the Media Development and Regulatory Advisory Team in Iraq. Haselock is currently Director of Albany Associates and is working with the African Union on communication projects in Darfur and Somalia
Week 8 30 November
Dr. Lawrence McNamara, Faculty of Law, University of Reading
Media Freedom and The Right to Know: The Effects of Counter-Terrorism Laws and Cultures
Co-Convenors: Dr Nicole Stremlau and Dr Yik Chan Chin, Programme in Comparative Media Law and Policy
Wine and light refreshments will be available in the Centre following each seminar
~ All are welcome, please email melanie.tritz@csls.ox.ac.uk for further information ~
Charter 88 and the Constitutional Reform Movement: Twenty Years On
Launch of Special Issue of Parliamentary Affairs
Wednesday 9th December 2009, Portcullis House, Westminster, 6 - 7.30pm
The launch of a special issue of Parliamentary Affairs based on papers presented at CSLS' conference on Charter 88 and the Constitutional Reform Movement last July will take place at Portcullis House, Westminster on 9 December 2009 from 6pm. All are invited to join special issue editor Dr. David Erdos (Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, University of Oxford), Unlock Democracy, and Oxford Journals for a free evening of lively discussion and debate on the past, present, and future of UK constitutional reform. Confirmed members of the panel include Baroness Helena Kennedy (who will act as chair), Peter Facey, Director of Unlock Democracy and Dr. Tony Wright MP, Chairman of the Public Administration Select Committee. The panel will address three overarching questions which are of as much interest now as twenty years ago when Charter 88 was first launched:
- What have been the central strengths and achievements of the constitutional reform movement?
- Where might it have taken a wrong turning, either strategically or in terms of philosophy?
- Where do we go from here in order to achieve democratic and constitutional renewal?
Those seeking further information or who wish to book a place are welcome to email David Erdos directly at david.erdos@csls.ox.ac.uk. Further information on the issue itself is available at http://pa.oxfordjournals.org/current.dtl and http://www.oxfordjournals.org/our_journals/parlij/specialissue.html.
Summer 2009
International Conference on Litigation Costs and Funding
Centre for Socio-Legal Studies & Institute of European and Comparative Law
University of Oxford
July 6 & 7, 2009
How much does litigation cost? How can claimants fund claims? Who funds claims? Who ends up paying, and how much?These are questions of fundamental importance for civil justice systems.This conference aims to find the answers for over 30 jurisdictions – and to compare them, to see which countries are most and least efficient and attractive.The results of a comparative study of 33 jurisdictions will be presented, in which leading practitioners and scholars have participated.
Trinity Term 2009
The Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, Seminar Series, Trinity Term 2009
Convenor: Dr Fernanda Pirie, CSLS
Seminars held on a Monday in Seminar Room D, Manor Road Building, Manor Road, Oxford, 4.30-6.00pm
Wine and light refreshments will be available in the Centre following each seminar
Week 3 Dr. Chris Hodges, Head of the CMS Research Programme on Civil Justice Systems
11th May “Issues in civil justice and collective redress: developing answers”
Week 5 Dr. Magdalena Tulibacka, Research Officer in European Civil Liability Systems
25th May “Europeanization of civil procedures: in search of a coherent approach
Week 6 Professor Denis Galligan, Professor of Socio-Legal Studies
1st June “From legal theory to Socio-Legal Studies and back again”
Week 7 Dr. Nicole Stremlau, Research Fellow/Co-ordinator of PCMLP
8th June “Media and governance in Somaliland"
Week 8 Dr. Marina Kurkchiyan, Foundation for Law, Justice and Society Research Fellow
15th June '’Authority of law: Contrasting Contexts and Interpretations of Law in Bulgaria, England and Poland’’
Understanding the law from a global perspective
William Twining, Quain Professor of Jurisprudence Emeritus, University College, London
Special Workshop
Thursday the 4th of June, 2009, 2:00-5:30pm, Manor Road Building, Seminar room A
Aspects of Professor Twining‘s recent book discussed by Professor John Gardner, Professor Denis Galligan and Dr. Fernanda Pirie.
Hilary Term 2009
Seminar Series - Human Data and Investigation in a Regulatory Age
Convenor: Dr David Erdos, CSL (david.erdos@csls.ox.ac.uk)
Week 1 Professor Frank Furedi, Department of Sociology, University of Kent at Canterbury
19th January “If it moves – Regulate! Society’s uneasy relationship with the informal”
Week 2 Dr Rebecca Wong, School of Law, Nottingham Trent University
26th January "Social networking: the application of the Data Protection Framework"
Week 3 Professor Robert Dingwall, Director, Institute for Science and Society, University of Nottingham
2nd February "Motherhood and Apple Pie? Questioning Ethical Regulation in the Social Sciences and Humanities"
Week 4 Renate Gertz, School of Law, University of Glasgow
9th February “Quo vadis, FOI?
Week 5 Antony White, QC, Matrix Chambers
16th February “Data Protection, Freedom of Expression and the Media”
Week 6 Professor Gavin Phillipson, Department of Law, University of Durham
23rd February “Media Freedom and Privacy under the Human Rights Act”
Week 7 Professor Charles Warlow, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh
2nd March “Proportionality - regulate the banks, keep off the backs of clinical researchers”
Theory and Method in Socio-Legal Research - Hilary Term 2009
Hilary |
|||
1 |
HT Mon 19 Jan, 10am-12pm Seminar Room E |
"Psychology and the Law" |
Michelle Cowley |
| 1 | HT Mon 19 Jan, 2pm |
Introduction to Research Methods |
Marina Kurkchiyan |
1 |
HT Wed 21 Jan, 2pm-5pm Seminar Room C |
Managing time for a DPhil project |
Margarida Dolan |
2 |
HT Mon 26 Jan, 2pm Seminar Room D |
An Introduction to using quantitative data in Socio-Legal research |
Michelle Cowley |
2 |
HT Wed 28 Jan, 10am 12pm IT Training Room in the Social Sciences Library |
OPTIONAL Quantitative Methods mini-course |
Michelle Cowley/Mila Versteeg |
| 2 | HT Wed 28 Jan, 2pm Seminar Room C |
Dr Jeff King | Dr Jeff King |
| 3 | HT Mon 2 Feb, 10am-12pm IT Training Room in the Social Sciences Library |
OPTIONAL session on using quantitative analysis in socio-legal research | Michelle Cowley/Mila Versteeg |
3 |
HT Mon 2 Feb, 2pm Seminar Room D |
Participant Observation |
Fernanda Pirie |
| 3 | HT Wed 4 Feb, 2pm Seminar Room D |
Rescheduled for later date TBD |
Marina Kurkchiyan |
4 |
HT Mon 9 Feb, 2pm Seminar Room D |
Rescheduled session from Michaelmas term |
Chris Decker |
? |
TBD Seminar Room D |
OPTIONAL Combining Qualitative and Quantitative Data |
Marina Kurkchiyan/David Erdos |
6 |
HT Mon 23 Feb, 2pm Seminar Room D |
Analysing Qualitative Data |
Bettina Lange |
7 |
HT Mon 2 March, 2pm Seminar Room D |
An Introduction to Research Ethics, including CUREC procedures |
Marina Kurkchiyan/David Erdos |
8 |
HT Mon 9 March 2pm Seminar Room D |
Sharing Experience of Fieldwork |
Marina Kurkchiyan |
Hilary Term 2009
Wk 1:An introduction to psychology’s science of the mind approach to behaviour in socio-legal contexts (Dr Michelle Cowley) - rescheduled from Michaelmas term
The aim of this seminar is to examine how scientific psychological knowledge can be applied to empirical investigations of social behaviour in legal contexts. The aim of applying psychological knowledge to legal behaviour is two-fold. First, psychology provides a range of theoretical frameworks, known broadly as the cognitive sciences, which can enlighten the law with regards to how the mind works, and how the link between mind and behaviour works in socio-legal contexts. Second, the quantitative empirical methods employed by psychologists are starting to provide new empirical strategies to address hitherto unsolved socio-legal problems. In the class we will discuss contemporary cognitive frameworks of thinking and memory (e.g., Johnson-Laird, 2006; Loftus, 2003), how these frameworks can predict and explain legal behaviour and decision making, and how we can empirically investigate such behaviour.
For example, psychologists have found that people’s thinking and memory can be biased, prejudiced and inaccurate, not only in their deliberations in legal contexts, but in everyday logical reasoning. Theories of how the mind works, known as cognitive theories, and empirical analyses of how these processes are affected by legal information are starting to enable surgically precise evidence-based law and legal policy evaluation.
Reading:
Cowley, M., & Colyer, J. B. Asymmetries in prior conviction reasoning. Truth suppression effects in child protection contexts, accepted pending revision. Psychology, Crime, & Law.
Johnson-Laird, P. N. (2006). How we reason. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Alison, A., Smith, M. D., & Morgan, K. (2003). Interpreting the accuracy of offender profiles. Psychology, Crime, & Law, 9(2), pp. 185-195.
Bartol, C. R., & Bartol, A. M. (2006). Current perspectives in forensic psychology and criminal justice. USA: Sage Publications. Chapter 1.
Devine, D. J., Clayton, L. D., Dunford, B. B., Seying, R., Pryce, J. (2000). Jury decision making: 45 years of empirical research on deliberating groups. Psychology, Public Policy, & Law, 7(3), pp. 622-727.
Kassin, S. M., Tubb, V. A., Hosch, H. M., & Memon, A. (2001). On the ‘general acceptance’ of eye-witness testimony research: A new survey of the experts. American Psychologist, 56(5), pp. 405-416.
Loftus, E. F. (1975). Leading questions and the eye-witness report. Cognitive Psychology, 7, pp. 550-572.
Thagard, P.(2003). Why wasn’t O. J convicted? Emotional coherence in legal inference. Cognition and Emotion, 17(3), pp. 361-383.
Further reading
Alison, L., West, A., & Goodwill, A.(2004). The academic and the practitioner: Pragmatists’ views of offender profiling. Psychology, Public Policy, & Law, 10(1/2), pp. 71-101.
Alison, L., Bennell, C., Mokros, A., & Ormerod, D. (2002). The personality paradox in offender profiling. Psychology, Public Policy, & Law, 8(1), pp. 115-135.
Loftus, E. F. (2003). Our changeable memories: Legal and practical implications. Nature Reviews: Neuroscience, 4, pp. 231-234.
Penington, N, & Hastie, R. (1990). Practical implications of psychological research on juror and jury decision making. Personality and social psychology bulletin, 16(1), pp. 90-105.
Thagard, P. (2006). Hot thought: Mechanisms and applications of emotional cognition. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
OPTIONAL quantitative methods mini-course
Mini-course on how to use quantitative methods in socio-legal research (Dr Michelle Cowley & Ms Mila Versteeg)
The aim of this mini-course in quantitative methods is to provide an introduction to the use of quantitative data, and the sessions are designed to provide specific training on the use of quantitative methods in socio-legal research contexts.
Session 1 will provide an overview of the use of quantitative data in socio-legal contexts, balancing the advantages and disadvantages of their use with their appropriateness for the research question at hand. Introductions to and socio-legal examples of (i) survey research, (ii) data-base analytic methods, (iii) randomized controlled trials/ the experimental method, and (iv) issues around the quantification of qualitative data will be provided.
Session 2 (optional) will provide the opportunity to practically engage with the coding and analysis of a quantitative data set. The data sets will be provided beforehand and students will be shown how to code and categorise the data in preparation for input into a statistical software file (an introduction to SPSS will be given). Instructions and feedback support will be provided concurrent with the production of the required statistical tests, and students will be shown how to interpret the statistical print-out appropriately.
Session 3 (optional) will focus on the construction of visual presentations of quantitative data specific to the analysis that took place in the previous session. In the first half of the class students will be given instructions and feedback support while they work on their visuals in powerpoint and/or excel. In the second half of the class students will be required to discuss the implications of the results.
*Optional assessment and feedback opportunity
A ‘baby class conference’ will take place the following week in which students can create poster style presentations of their results. Template poster formats will be provided and feedback will be given. The posters will be displayed on poster boards in the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies and there will be a small prize for the best presentation.
Charter 88 and the constitutional reform movement
Twenty years on - A Conference
Centre for Socio-Legal Studies
University of Oxford (4-5 July 2008)
Sponsored by the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust Ltd. & the Research Support Fund of the University of Oxford Faculty of Law
Conference organizer: Dr. David Erdos (david.erdos@csls.ox.ac.uk)
Conference administrator: Paul Honey (paul.honey@csls.ox.ac.uk)
Conference Venue: Manor Road Building, University of Oxford
Conference Dinner: Mansfield College, University of Oxford
Conference Accommodation: St. Catherine’s College, University of Oxford
Keynote Speakers: Baroness Helena Kennedy QC & Will Hutton
A more details and a full programme, please see the conference micro-site.
Courts and the Making of Public Policy & The Social Contract Revisited
5.30 pm, 11 June
Rhodes House, Oxford (all welcome)
Lecture: 'Transformative Constitutionalism and Socio-Economic Rights'
Chief Justice Pius Langa, Chief Justice of South Africa will deliver this lecture, which will address the relationship between the entrenchment and enforceability of socio-economic rights in South Africa and the fact that the Constitution is best understood as a manifesto for positive transformation towards a truly equal society.
For further information please email info@fljs.org or click here
A Symposium on Methodological Issues in Socio-Legal Studies 'How to Take Law Seriously'
Monday 9 June 2008, 4 - 6:30 pm
Manor Road Building, Seminar Room C
The Symposium will use Professor Denis Galligan's book 'Law in Modern Society' as the starting point of the debate.
Convenor: Marina Kurkchiyan, CSLS, Oxford University
With: Denis Galligan, CSLS, Oxford University, Reza Banakar, Westminster University, Richard Nobles, Queen Mary College London, William Twining, University College London.
All welcome!
Email: Admin@csls.ox.ac.uk
Trinity Term 2008
Seminar Series - Social Foundations of Public Law: Constitutions
D. J. Galligan
Professor of Socio-Legal Studies
This series of seminars is part of a new programme of research, discussion, and publications on the social foundations of public law. Here the focus is on constitutions and constitutionalism. The seminars are open to anyone, whether faculty, graduates, or undergraduates, who has an interest in constitutions and constitutionalism. The object of the seminars is to examine the social basis of constitutions by studying both classic texts and contemporary writings. The readings are drawn from a variety of sources, including legal, social, scientific, and historical. The two main themes to be considered in the current series are; 1. Understanding constitutions in their social context 2. Examining the place and role of the people in constitutions.
For part one of the reading list click here
For part two of the reading list click here
The seminars take place on Thursday weeks 2,4,5 and 7 at 4pm to 5:30pm in Seminar Room E of the Manor Road Building.
Seminar Series - New Directions in Law and Society
Seminars to be held on Mondays in Seminar Room D, Manor Road Building, Manor Road, Oxford, 4.30 – 6.00 pm. Light refreshments will be available following the seminar.
Click here for the full Trinity Term 2008 programme
Centre for Socio-legal Studies Discussion Group
Trinity 2008 Convenor - Justine Rogers
Please click here for the Trinity Term 2008 term card
The globalization of class actions An International Conference co-sponsored by Stanford Law School and Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, University of Oxford |
The conference brought together jurists, lawyers and legal scholars from around the world (around 35 legal systems will be represented) to discuss how class, representative, and group litigation is evolving in different countries and its national and international economic, political and social consequences. Discussions were based on national reports prepared prior to the conference. |
Programme and Registration |
| Seminar Series: Trinity Term 2006 | Seminars to be held in Seminar Room E, Manor Road Building, Manor Road, Oxford, 4.30pm-6.00pm. | Download/View Flyer |
| Seminar Series: Hilary Term 2007 | Seminars to be held in Seminar Room D, Manor Road Building, Manor Road, Oxford. | Download/View Flyer |
| Socio-Legal Discussion Group | Thursdays 1-2pm, Seminar Room C, Manor Road Building, Manor Road, Oxford. | Download/View Flyer |
| Seminar Series: Michaelmas Term 2006 | Seminars to be held in Seminar Room D, Manor Road Building, Manor Road, Oxford. | Download/View Flyer |
| Socio-Legal Discussion Group | Seminar Room D, Manor Road Building, Manor Road, Oxford. | Download/View Flyer |
| Seminar Series: Hilary Term 2006 | Seminars to be held in the Manor Road Building, Manor Road, Oxford, 4.30pm-6.00pm. Commences 30th Jan 2006 | Download/View Flyer |
| Does the litigation system in England and Wales deliver access to justice and value for money? | Commences 9th Dec 2005. | Download/View Flyer |
| Law and Society Association Applications sought For 2005 Summer Institute |
Commences 29th July 2005. Applications for this event are now closed. |
Download/View Flyer |
| Product Liability | 5-7 pm Thursday 12th May 2005 | |
| Legal Culture Bringing the Theoretical and Empirical Closer Together |
Commences 19th January 2005 for 8 weeks | Download/View Flyer |
| LAW, Justice and Society Seminar Insecurity and the Loss of Trust: Challenges to Liberty, Democracy, Markets, and the Rule of Law |
Monday 12th July 2004 - Saturday 17th July 2004 | |
| Regulation of Biotechnology: Dr D. Galligan |
2004 |
