Professor Urges Academics to Help Create Welsh Legislation

Aberystwyth University Professor Urges Academics to Help Create Welsh Legislation

The head of the oldest law school in Wales says universities have a key role to play in policy development in the devolved administrations.

Prof. John Williams, Head of the Law and Criminology Department at Aberystwyth University, made his comments ahead of a special event for alumni, politicians and representatives of the legal profession to be held in Cardiff Bay on Tuesday 9 March 2010.

Prof. Williams said the establishment of the National Assembly for Wales had created a new legislative environment in Wales and an increased demand for lawyers with an understanding of the evolving constitutional settlement.

“The Law Department at Aberystwyth has always had a contribution to make to policy development - at national, UK, European and international level. We also have a proud tradition of providing well-trained graduates for the legal profession. The devolution of powers from Westminster since 1999 has given added impetus to this role, as we move farther and farther away from a legal system based on a ‘for-Wales-see- England’ premise.

“We recognise further that the use of Welsh in the legal system is becoming increasingly important. My colleague Dr Catrin Huws at Aberystwyth University is responsible for developing Welsh-medium teaching within the Department and she will talk at the event which the Department is hosting at the Millennium Centre on the 9th of March about the key challenge of producing Welsh-speaking graduates.”

The Law and Criminology Department at Aberystwyth University is already making an important contribution to policy making in Cardiff Bay.

Prof. Williams is currently working on a project for the Older People’s Commissioner for Wales, looking at the law on protection from abuse for older people.

“Wales was the first country in the world to appoint an Older People’s Commissioner but there is interest now from the devolved governments in Northern Ireland and Scotland. The government of New Zealand is also looking with interest at the appointment,” said Prof. Williams. “This shows how we can operate in Wales for the good of the Welsh people whilst also making a contribution on a wider, international scale.”

The Criminology Research Group, led by Professor Alan Clarke, specialises in policy-related studies within Wales, with particular emphasis on issues of community safety.  Current research into domestic violence, funded by the Welsh Assembly Government and the Home Office, focuses on the role played by substance misuse and examines how different agencies, both statutory and voluntary, respond to the needs of victims and perpetrators. In his presentation, Prof. Clarke will stress the importance of policy-makers, practitioners and researchers working together to produce evidence-based policies.

The keynote speaker at the event will be Nicholas Cooke QC, who graduated from Aberystwyth University in 1975 and who is currently the Recorder of Cardiff.

A number of the Department’s alumni have also been invited including First Minister Carwyn Jones AM; Nicholas Bourne AM, leader of the Welsh Conservatives; former Attorney General Lord John Morris and former Home Office Minister and Circuit Judge Lord Elystan Morgan.

“This event will be a chance to showcase and to celebrate the work of the Department which will be celebrating its 110th birthday next year,” said Prof. John Williams.

Established in 1901, the Law & Criminology Department at Aberystwyth University now has more than 800 undergraduate and postgraduate students, including more than 100 students from Malaysia which has had close links with the Department since the 1940s.