Speaker: Professor Andrew Christie, University of MelbourneBiography: Professor Andrew Christie was the foundation appointment to the Chair of Intellectual Property at the University of Melbourne in 2002.He holds BSc and LLB (Hons) degrees from the University of Melbourne, a LLM from the University of London, and a PhD from the University of Cambridge (Emmanuel College). Admitted to legal practice in Australia and the United Kingdom, he has worked in the intellectual property departments of law firms in Melbourne and London. He is a former Fulbright Senior Scholar, and has held research and teaching appointments at the University of Cambridge, Duke University, the National University of Singapore, and the University of Toronto.Awarded 12 Australian Research Council grants and instrumental in winning other research funding in excess of $11 million, he has authored more than 120 publications, and delivered by invitation more than 180 public addresses in 20 countries, across all areas of intellectual property law. He has served on all of the Australian government’s advisory committees on intellectual property – the Copyright Law Review Committee, the Advisory Council on Intellectual Property, and the Plant Breeder’s Rights Advisory Committee – and has been an expert advisor to World Intellectual Property Organization on a number of occasions. He currently chairs the Trans-Tasman IP Attorneys Board, the regulator of the Australian and New Zealand patent attorney profession.Abstract: With more than 18 million patents for inventions in force across 140 jurisdictions, patents are a significant area of the law. However, the traditional justifications for having a patent system are incomplete, and do not take full account of developments in economic thinking that recognise the primary purpose of economics is to enhance human wellbeing. The primary purpose of patents should be likewise. There is sparse academic and policy literature on the relevance of wellbeing economics to patent policy, and what exists leaves unanswered many questions about how the patent system can be used to achieve this policy objective. This presentation answers those questions, by tracing the evolution of wellbeing economics, identifying the doctrinal levers available to implement patent policy, and providing practical examples of the application of those levers to ensure the patent system incentivises innovations that advance wellbeing.For more information see: https://www.cipil.law.cam.ac.uk/seminars-and-events/cipil-seminars
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International Organizations between Mission and Market
International organizations law has always revolved around the relationship between the organization and its member states. This has proven to be of some use, but leaves important gaps unaddressed. What, e.g., about purely international affairs (think judicial review, think relations between organs)? And it ignores the existence of a vast external world. By concentrating solely on the relations with member states, it proves difficult, perhaps impossible, to hold international organizations to account for their acts affecting third parties, and equally difficult to make sense of relations between international organizations inter se. By shifting the perspective to relations with the private sector, perhaps it might be possible to come to a better, more comprehensive understanding of international organizations than is currently provided by both law and theory.Jan Klabbers was educated in international law and political science at the University of Amsterdam, where he also defended his doctoral thesis. In 1996 he was appointed professor of international law at the University of Helsinki, a position he recently left to take up the Whewell Chair in Cambridge. His research focuses mostly on the law of treaties and the law of international organizations – today’s talk taps into his current, ERC-sponsored PRIVIGO project.Chair: Prof Surabhi Ranganathan, Centre Deputy DirectorThis lecture was given on 10 October 2025 and part of the Friday Lunchtime Lecture series at the Lauterpacht Centre.
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The future on trial: where next for human rights litigation?: Cambridge Women in Law
On 26 September 2025 Cambridge Women in Law (CWIL) hosted the Right Honourable Lady Arden of Heswall DBE as she chaired a compelling discussion with four exceptional legal minds shaping the future of human rights law, Nicola Greaney KC, Irena Sabic KC, Katherine Apps KC and Dr Kirsty Hughes, Associate Professor of Human Rights Law. The event took place as part of the Cambridge Alumni Festival, and was generously hosted by Murray Edwards College, Cambridge.CWIL is an exciting social network of alumnae at the Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge, which features a diverse range of women from all sectors.In this session, you’ll hear personal reflections on how each panellist carved out a path in human rights practice, and gain insights into:The current intersection of human rights, legislation and common law in the UK’s Constitutional frameworkNew frontiers for Human Rights litigation including private law and international human rights in a post Brexit UKHuman Rights and GeopoliticsFor more information and to sign up to the CWIL mailing list to receive information about future news and events, see https://www.law.cam.ac.uk/alumni-developmentalumni-events/cambridge-women-law-cwil
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The future of the European Union after the Lisbon Treaty: The 2009 Alcuin Lecture
On Tuesday 17th November the Rt. Hon. Professor Shirley Williams delivered the 2009 Alcuin lecture at the Law Faculty, discussing the future of the European Union after the Lisbon Treaty.Shirley Williams, Baroness Williams of Crosby, was one of the 'Gang of Four' moderate Labour politicians who in 1981 founded the Social Democratic Party (SDP), which merged with the Liberal Party in 1988 to form the Liberal Democrats.Baroness Williams was first elected as an MP in the 1964 General Election to represent the Labour Party in the constituency of Hitchin, Hertfordshire. She rapidly rose to a junior ministerial position and subsequently served as Shadow Home Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection, Secretary of State for Education, and Paymaster General until she lost her seat in the general election of 1979.In 1981 she resigned from the Labour Party to form the SDP, along with Roy Jenkins, David Owen and Bill Rodgers. Later that year she won the by-election for Crosby in Merseyside to become the first elected SDP MP. After losing her seat in 1983 she became a familiar face as a broadcaster on In conversation with Shirley Williams and has appeared on the BBC's Question Time more than any other panellist.n 1988, Williams moved to the USA as Professor of Elective Politics at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government until 2001. She helped draft constitutions in Russia, Ukraine and South Africa, served as a UN Special Representative to the former Yugoslavia, and has been President of Chatham House, the Royal Institute for International Affairs. With Amartya Sen, she is a director of the US-based Nuclear Threat Initiative, which seeks to reduce the risk of use of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons; and in 2007 was appointed by the Prime Minister as an independent advisor on nuclear proliferation.The Alcuin lectures are named after the 8th century scholar Alcuin of York, who was a key advisor to the Emperor Charlemagne and a central figure in the Carolingian Renaissance. The lectures were established in 1999 with a benefaction from Lord Brittan, himself a former European Commissioner. The theme for the lecture must be some aspect of the relationship between Britain and the European Institutions. Previous speakers have included Lord Patten, Lord Hannay and Dr Carl Bildt.
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Beyond jury reform - what else does Leveson recommend?: Jonathan Rogers
Former President of the Queen's Bench Division, Sir Brian Leveson, was appointed by the government to carry out an independent review into the criminal courts. Specifically, the review considered 2 key themes, which are outlined in the Terms of Reference: 1) Reform: how the criminal courts could be reformed to ensure cases are dealt with proportionately, in light of the current pressures on the Crown Court, and 1) Efficiency: how they could operate as efficiently as possible. On 9 July Part 1 of the report was published, dealing with reform measures. Here, Sir Leveson proposed a number of changes to reduce the pressure on the criminal justice system. What attracted the most media attention was the proposal to reduce access to trial by jury. However, there were other very interesting proposals which received less coverage and scrutiny.In this short video Dr Jonathan Rogers explores some of the other changes proposed, and considers their likely effects.Jonathan Rogers is Associate Professor in Criminal Justice at the University of Cambridge, and a Fellow of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. He co-founded the Criminal Law Reform Now Network in 2017.For more information about Dr Rogers, you can also refer to his staff profile.Law in Focus is a collection of short videos featuring academics from the University of Cambridge Faculty of Law, addressing legal issues in current affairs and the news. These issues are examples of the many which challenge researchers and students studying undergraduate and postgraduate law at the Faculty.
About Public Lectures from the Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge
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