The Future of Welsh Law

The annual Centre for Welsh Legal Affairs public lecture will be given by Aberystwyth University Honorary Fellow Sir David Lloyd Jones, Chair of the Law Commission of England and Wales on Thursday 23rd April at 6.30pm in the Llanbadarn Centre Elystan Morgan Building.

The implementation of Part 4, Government of Wales Act 2006 means that, for the first time in over 450 years, it is meaningful to speak of Welsh law as a living system of law. However, this development has brought with it many new challenges, in particular in relation to the form and accessibility of the law produced by the National Assembly and the Welsh Government.

The Law Commission of England and Wales has recently commenced a project which will consider possible ways forward.

In this lecture, the Commission’s Chairman since August 2012 Sir David Lloyd Jones, will consider a range of issues concerning how to make legislation which is of better quality and more accessible, including the formation of policy, the formulation of legislation, consolidation, codification and the use of the internet. He will also consider issues relating to legislation in the Welsh language.

Sir David was educated at Downing College, Cambridge and was called to the bar in 1975 (Middle Temple). From 1975-1991 he was a Fellow of Downing College.

In 1999 he was appointed Queen’s Counsel after serving two years as Junior Crown Counsel (Common Law).

He became a High Court judge in 2005, and served as a Presiding Judge on the Wales Circuit and Chair of the Lord Chancellor’s Standing Committee on the Welsh Language from 2008 to 2011.

In recognition of his contribution to the development of Legal Wales and advancement of Welsh within the legal system, Sir David was given an Honorary Fellowship of Aberystwyth University during Graduation in 2012.

Speaking in advance of the event, Dr Catrin Fflur Huws, Director of the Centre for Welsh Legal Affairs said: “The Centre for Welsh Legal Affairs is delighted to welcome Sir David to Aberystwyth for this lecture. There are so many aspects of the law in Wales that merit attention in the form of new legislation and legislative reform. With more Welsh devolution, it is very timely for these issues to be debated”

The lecture will start at 6.30 in the T1 Lecture Theatre in the Elystan Morgan Building, at Aberystwyth University’s Llanbadarn Centre.  A complimentary drinks reception will be held in the foyer of the Elystan Morgan building from 6.00pm.

Centre for Welsh Legal Affairs

The Centre for Welsh Legal Affairs was launched in January 1999 to consolidate and provide a focus for the Department of Law and Criminology’s expertise and work on the law as it applies within Wales and on general legal developments of relevance to Wales. 

A key aim of the Centre is to explore whether there is a distinct Welsh perspective on general legal questions within the common legal system of England and Wales, and to ensure that Welsh legal developments are placed in the wider context of developments at the UK, European and International levels.