Conversations on Law & War

Launch of Conversations on Law and War: Innovative Collaboration with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

On 28 April, The Dickson Poon School of Law hosted the first in a series of six Thought Leadership Forums entitled ‘Conversations on Law & War’. The series is a result of an innovative collaboration between the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Law School.

The first seminar considered‘Modern Trends in Self-Defence under International Law’. The seminar was opened by the Dean, Professor David Caron and featured three panellists: Ms Cathy Adams (Legal Director, FCO), Dr Tom Ruys (Professor, University of Ghent), and Mr Charlie Edwards (Director of National Security and Resilience Royal United Services Institute).

The seminar was chaired by Sir Daniel Bethlehem KCMG QC, former FCO Legal Adviser and current Consulting Senior Fellow for Law and Strategy at The International Institute for Strategic Studies, who encouraged debate on issues such as the evolving notion of imminence, the role of evidence and the intelligence services, the impact of threats from non-state actors, and the concept of a State being ‘unable or unwilling’ to repress a terrorist threat.The audience included current and former FCO officials, representatives of the Ministry of Defence, leading academics from universities in London, and eminent members of the Bar.

The next seminar will be on ‘The role of the United Nations in conflict prevention and resolution’. 

Participation is on an invitation-only basis, but papers will be published online. Further information can be found on the Conversations on Law & War web pages.

For any questions, please contact Dr Philippa Webb.

Image used has been edited from image licensed under creative commons.