UCL Laws Symposium

The Eweida Decision

with 

Professor Mark Hill QC (Cardiff University)
Dr Ronan McCrea (UCL)
Professor Aileen McColgan (King's College London)
Professor Christopher McCrudden (Queen's University Belfast)

Chaired by
The Rt Hon Lord Justice Elias

on Tuesday 12 March 2013 from 6 - 8pm
at the UCL Faculty of Laws

About this event:
UCL Laws will hold a symposium on the recent landmark decision of the European Court of Human Rights in Eweida and Others v United Kingdom.

This decision heralded significant changes in the law on freedom of religion in the workplace and its relationship to other rights. It is likely to have a major importance for the development of European and domestic law on anti-discrimination and on workplace regulation of religious clothing and conduct.

The symposium brings together four speakers all of whom are both academics and barristers and all of whom acted for parties or interveners in this case. It will take the form of a presentation by each speaker on the judgement and its importance. This will be followed by a general discussion with the audience.

CPD points are available for this event.

About the Speakers: 
Professor Mark Hill QC is an honorary professor of law at Cardiff University and a barrister practising at Francis Taylor Building. He is president of the European Consortium for Church-State Research and acted for the Bishop of Chester and Premier Christian Radio which intervened in the litigation. He is the editor of Religion and Discrimination Law in the European Union (ECCSR, 2012).

Professor Aileen McColgan is a professor at the Dickson Poon School of Law at King's College London and a barrister practising at Matrix Chambers in London. She acted for Liberty which intervened in this litigation favour of the right to wear religious symbols at work but against the recognition of a conscience exemption from anti-discrimination laws. She is the author of Discrimination: Text, Cases and Materials (Hart, 2005).

Professor Christopher McCrudden FBA is a professor at Queen's University Belfast and the University of Michigan and a barrister practising at Blackstone's Chambers. He acted for Lillian Ladele, a civil registrar disciplined for her refusal to register same-sex civil partnerships whose case was decided along with with that of Nadia Eweida.He is the author of Buying Social Justice: Equality, Government Procurement, and Legal Change (OUP, 2007).

Dr. Ronan McCrea is a lecturer in the Faculty of Laws at University College London and visiting professor in the Central European University in Budapest. He is former référendaire in the chambers of Advocate General Poiares-Maduro in the Court of Justice of the European Union. He acted for the National Secular Society in its intervention in the litigation. He is the author of Religion and the Public Order of the European Union (OUP, 2010).