St Mary's Centre of Law and Culture host first in a series of public lectures

The first in the 2015-16 public lectures series for the Centre for Law and Culture (CLC) took place at St Mary’s University, Twickenham on 1^st December 2015 and was presented by Dr Alison Bisset of the University of Reading. This year’s theme explores Developments in International Criminal law and Cross-border Crime. Dr Bisset’s lecture, Transitional Justice and the Prioritisation of Prosecution outlined the relationship between truth commissions and international criminal justice since the establishment of the International Criminal Court. Dr Bisset argued that the legal framework for prosecuting massive violations of human rights had reduced the effectiveness of truth commissions and other state initiatives for truth and reconciliation, encouraging those states to defer national responses to prosecution at the International Criminal Court. Co-director of CLC and organiser of this year’s public lecture series, Mark Mackarel said, "Finding ways of effectively responding to crimes against international law, organised crime and terrorism are significant modern challenges for the international community. St Mary’s is increasingly engaging with these issues through research in the Centre for Law and Culture and the Centre for the Study of Modern Slavery and through the teaching programmes in law and criminology. Dr Bisset’s lecture highlights how our understanding is evolving as contemporary international law is applied in practice". Further details of the Centre for Law and Culture’s Public Lecture Series can be found at: http://www.stmarys.ac.uk/law-and-culture/conferences.htm The next lecture will be presented by Prof. Roger O’Keefe of University College London on 4^th February 2016.