The Putney Debates 2019 were held on 13-14 March at St Mary's Church, Putney, in association with the University of Oxford Law Faculty, to address the constitutional implications of the EU Referendum result for our judiciary.
Chaired by renowned legal commentator Joshua Rozenberg, the Debaters examine the impact of the ‘Enemies of the People’ controversy and threats to the independence of the judiciary posed by populist movements in the UK and further afield.
Justice Robert E Sharpe sets out the terms of the opening session, arguing that judicial review should not be seen as ‘politics by other means’.
Catherine Barnard, Cambridge Professor in EU Law and Senior Fellow in the ESRC’s UK in a Changing Europe project, explodes myths about the much-criticized European Court of Justice.
Linda Mulcahy, Director of the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, asks the audience to re-evaluate how we frame the question of judicial independence, emphasizing the need for accountability and transparency to increase public confidence in the justice system.
Session I: What Is Judicial Independence and Why Is It Important?
4.00–6.00pm, Wednesday 13th March
Chair: Joshua Rozenberg, renowned legal commentator
Panellists:
Robert J Sharpe, Justice of the Court of Appeal for Ontario
Catherine Barnard, Professor in European Union Law and Employment Law, Cambridge
Linda Mulcahy, Director, Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, Oxford
John W Adams, Adjunct Professor in Political Science, Rutgers University
Mark Knights, Professor of History, University of Warwick
Denis Galligan, Oxford Socio-Legal Professor and Putney Debates convenor
Commentators:
Professor Sir Richard Sorabji CBE, philosopher and historian of Ancient philosophy
John Howell, financial market, regulatory, and risk analyst
Ivo Gruev, MSt, MJur (Oxon), Convenor, Oxford Transitional Justice Research
