Author: John Cairns

The following may interest readers of this blog:

Old Edinburgh Club grants for local history

The OEC is delighted to announce of the second round of Jean Guild Grants programme which support history projects and research which expand what we know about the city and bring our history to life.

This is open to local history and heritage organisations, schools and colleges and to individual researchers who may be independent or in the education sector.

Further details can be found at: https://oldedinburghclub.org.uk/projects/jean-guild-grants/

We are looking for proposals to be submitted by 10 January 2025, and are holding a briefing session for potential applicants on Tuesday, 19 November, 7.30-8.30 pm at the Friends Meeting House, 7 Victoria Terrace EH1 2JL. Anyone interested in attending should please let us know by emailing grants@oldedinburghclub.org.uk.

On 5 Nov. 2024, Dr Luisa Brunori, noted scholar of the history of commercial law in the Atlantic World will talk on “The Identity of Partners and the Anonymity of Capital in Transatlantic Trade during the Early Modern Period”.

Dr Brunori directed the project “Histoire de l’économie sans travail”, dedicated to the history of financial law, and now directs the PHEDRA network on the history of European commercial law. See PHEDRA

See further her entry at the École normale supéurieure

The first London Legal History Seminar for 2024-2025 will take place in the Ante Room of the Dickson Poon School of Law, King’s College, London, 5.45-7.15. Those intending to attend should contact Professor Mark Lunney to ensure access to the building: mark.lunney@kcl.ac.uk

Dr Tristan Taylor of the University of New England (Australia) will present a paper entitled: “Princeps legibus solutus est a non? Cultures of Legality in the Roman Empire”.

This is the abstract of Dr Taylor’s presentation:

The nature of the position of the Roman emperor presents a paradox for the application of the concept of the ‘rule of law’ to imperial Rome. On the one hand, the emperor made and stood above the law, and was also expected to ameliorate the harshness of the law’s strict application: the antithesis of most notions of the protean concept of the rule of law; on the other, the creation of the principate was seen as a restoration of legal order. This paper argues that one way to understand this paradox is to explore the constraints on the emperor’s legal absolutism imposed by ‘cultures of legality’ in the Roman world: expectations of how law makers and administrators (including the emperor) ought to behave shared by imperial subjects, law makers, administrators and emperors in the multi-legal world of the Roman empire. These ‘cultures’ developed in a discursive process between subject and law makers and administrators in various legal processes, evidenced in expressions of ideals by subject, administrator and emperor. Although there are multiple examples where these cultures provided only an erratic constraint on emperors, law makers and administrators, nonetheless, it was generally agreed by subject and sovereign alike that emperors ought to observe the laws, although technically exempt from them.

The Open university is organising what looks to be a most interesting conference under the above title on Friday, 29 November 2024. The programme is as follows:

10:00 Keynote

Erika Rackley & Sharon Thompson, ‘Finding feminist legal history … in space’

10:45 Panel 1A – fiction

• Rebecca Probert, ‘The 1925 property legislation and inheritance plots in the Golden Age of English detective fiction’

• Nishant Gokhale, ‘Travels & Travails in Early 19th Century Company India: William Browne Hockley & His Fiction’

Panel 1B – summer holidays

• Andrea Loux Jarman, ‘What I Learned on my Summer Holiday: dilemmas in researching the role of customs in the exercise of soft power’

• Simon Lavis, ‘Foot-casts in the Sand or I Know What You Dug Up Last Summer’

11:30 Break

11:45 Panel 2A – space, land and water

• Marjan Ajevski, ‘Surprising heritage: what is heritage in outer space?’

• Ellie Chapple, John Picton and John Tribe, ‘The Slavery Antecedents to Modern Charitable Foundations: The Port Sunlight Village’

• Rebecca Bruekers, ‘International disputes and local archives: the case of the Meuse river’

Panel 2B – unexpected archives (1)

• Elizabeth Garner, ‘Putting “The Law” Back into the Irish Poor Law: what Legal History can tell us about the Irish Workhouse System’

• Michael Makey, ‘Minutes and memoranda: Regulation interpretation’

• Stephanie Dropuljic, ‘Discovery in the archival materials: considering the case of Margaret Ramsay (1662)’

12:45 Lunch

13:30 Panel 3A – objects and places

• Francis Boorman, ‘Places of Arbitration, or Legal History Goes to the Pub’

• Brett Crumley, ‘Chantries and Brass: Unexpected Archives of Legal Charity’

• Reem A Moustafa, ‘Sir John Soane’s Sarchophagus’

Panel 3B – press stories, legal stories

• Shu Wan, ‘The Trial of The Muted Lover and Its Aftermath, 1927-1943’

• Jacqueline Smart, ‘The Inquest on Emma Goule – the story of “a very respectable man … accidentally armed with 2 loaded pistols”!’

• Neil Graffin, ‘The wreck of San José and its claimants’

14:30 Break

14:45 Panel 4A – surprise and serendipity

• Helen Rutherford, ‘Biographical legal history and eBay serendipity. ‘I have arrived in good condition’: an articled clerk to his mother 1830’

• John M Regan, ‘Discovering Republican Martial-Law during the Irish Civil War 1922-3’

• Carol Howells, ‘Curiosity and Landscape: A tale of coffee, Crown, sheep, cannonballs, and transportation’

Panel 4B – legal professions

• Katherine Milliken, ‘Lawyers in expected and unexpected places: foregrounding the English legal profession in social and political histories of the 1970s’

• Patricia Leighton, ‘’The difference empiricism can make to understanding major issues in Law: The case of examinations for solicitors from 1836’

• Caroline Derry, ‘Pathé News, the barrister housewife, and Malawian independence’

15:45 Break

16:00 Panel 5A – unexpected archives (2)

• David Magalhães, ‘Portuguese Legal History in boxes of sweets and an eighteenth century sexist judicial decision’

• Morag Peers, ‘Scottish Passport Records’

• Gwynedd Parry, ‘Law and Order in the Welsh Language … in Argentina (1865-1885)’

Panel 5B – unexpected law

• Jane Frecknall-Hughes, ‘The legacy of taxation law(s)’

• Jackie Gulland, ‘“I am satisfied that she is naturally an industrious and hardworking woman” Moral reasoning in social security legal cases 1911-1948’

• Simon Best, ‘Revealing Legal Histories of Overriding Interests’

17:00 End

Register here.

Editions du Collège de France have just published the interesting and important volume Jacques Cujas, la fabrique d’un « grand juriste », edited by Alexandra Gotteley, Dario Mantovani, and Xavier Prévost.

Cujas is renowned as a great Humanist jurist, an editor of classical legal texts, a skilled and subtle philologist, as well as a brilliant lawyer. This book explores the construction of this lasting image of the man, through reflecting on the reaction to his works, the influence of the man and his texts in differing parts of Europe, as well as the creative accounts of his life, the images made of him, or supposed to be of him, that all went into the elaboration of his position as a great jurist. He became a mythic figure, a touchstone of scholarly excellence and greatness.

The book is the product of a conference. As a participant in the conference at the Collège de France, and a contributor to the book, it is not appropriate for this blogger to attempt a review. But the work throws light on France, on European legal history, and also on how scholarly reputations are developed. It is worth noting that not long after Cujas’s death, his Scottish pupil, Alexander Scot, was already curating that reputation just as he curated his master’s first Opera omnia. Indeed, these tasks were no doubt made easier as Scot was married to the daughter of Jean Pillehotte, an important printer in Lyons. 

For details, see here

Workshop: “The History of Law and Labour in Scotland”,

19 June 2025, University of Strathclyde

Organised by Professor Rebecca Zahn (University of Strathclyde)

& Dr Alice Krzanich (University of Aberdeen)

CALL FOR PAPERS

Labour law history is an under-researched topic. The existing literature tends to focus on the UK more broadly or on English labour law specifically. Research on Scottish labour law history has been limited. Yet many important labour law cases originated in Scotland and Scotland historically developed a distinct regulatory approach to the work relationship. Scottish labour relations have historically differed from their English counterparts. A better understanding of Scotland’s distinctiveness would result in a more nuanced understanding of the forces that have shaped modern labour law.

Professor Zahn and Dr Krzanich will explore some of these themes during a 1-day workshop to be held at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow on 19 June 2025. They invite abstracts of up to 300 words for those who would like to present a short paper at the workshop. Researchers from any discipline (history, law, etc) are welcome to apply. Abstracts could cover:

• Historical law as it related to a specific trades or types of workers in Scotland.
• Historical law relating to trade unions, factory workers, etc in Scotland.
• The development of the contract of service/employment in Scotland.
• Discussion of significant Scottish cases from employment law history.

Any time period (medieval, early modern, 19^th century, 20^th century) will be considered.

Please send your abstracts by 5 pm on 31 October 2024 to both organisers: rebecca.zahn@strath.ac.uk & alice.krzanich@abdn.ac.uk.

This workshop is being generously funded by the Edinburgh Legal Education Trust; the Clark Foundation for Legal Education; Strathclyde Law School; and Aberdeen Law School.

Next year is the bicentenary of the Civil Code of Louisiana of 1825. A whole series of events are planned. Attached below is the flyer of the Louisiana Supreme Court Historical Society. A great year is planned. 

A fellowship to support study of legal texts in the agreeable surroundings of Williamsburg and the College of William and Mary is available.

Photo Wikimedia Commons

The William & Mary Law School and the Omohundro Institute of Early American History & Culture (OI) are pleased to offer a one-month visiting fellowship for scholars—from advanced graduate students to senior scholars—with strong interests in early American legal history. Fellows must make use of some of the resources included in the collection of rare books donated to the Wolf Law Library at W&M by Sid Lapidus as part of the exhibition “British and Colonial Antecedents of American Liberties” (October 1, 2019 through March 15, 2020).  

In addition to access to the rare book collection and proximity to a number of other Virginia research institutions—including the St. George Tucker collection and other items in Special Collections at W&M’s Swem Library, the Rockefeller Library at Colonial Williamsburg, the Library of Virginia, and the Virginia Museum of History and Culture—the fellowship provides the opportunity to experience the OI’s editorial expertise and intellectual community of early Americanists and the archive expertise of the Wolf Law Library staff. 

Fellowships carry a stipend of $2,500. Fellows are expected to make their own travel and lodging arrangements for a research period in Williamsburg that lasts between one and four weeks as the scholar deems necessary. While fellows are not required to use their fellowship funds during the summer months, they are encouraged to do so if they intend to stay in Williamsburg for a prolonged period. Modest housing on the campus of W&M is available during the months of June and July at below-market rates.

See further on the website of the Omohundro Institute

Colleagues at Helsinki are organising a conference on Public legal education:

CALL FOR PAPERS (deadline 30 November 2024)

This conference focuses on public legal education in a historical perspective. It aims to discuss the various ways in which legal information has been disseminated to groups of laypersons or underprivileged people in order to enhance their legal literacy. Such groups can include e.g. women and children, workers, people with disabilities, immigrants and refugees.

In the wake of industrialisation and the growth of the working class, many countries implemented legislation regarding workers’ protection in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This in turn caused the need to educate workers on their rights. The early 20th century also witnessed the growth of women’s rights regarding e.g. education, occupation, property and marriage – all of which women needed information on. Throughout history, there have been waves of immigration around the world for various reasons. Those leaving their homes and moving to another country have also needed knowledge on their rights and the laws they need to follow. Moreover, besides underprivileged groups, educating laypersons in general on legal matters has also been part of building liberal, democratic nation states in which citizens are aware of the legal system and know how to navigate it. This kind of public legal education can take various forms. Legal knowledge has been distributed e.g. through handbooks, magazine articles, popular lectures and courses.

The conference aims to bring together historical research on the topic from different countries or regions to form a comparative understanding on the reasons for such activities, the forms they take and the consequences these practices had for each group of people and even society as a whole.

Papers could discuss e.g.:

• the motives for distributing legal knowledge to laypersons and underprivileged groups
• the different actors involved (providers and recipients of public legal education)
• whether the activities are initiated from within the specific group or from the outside
• what kind of legal information was seen as relevant for each group
• the role of professional lawyers in these activities
• the role of various interest groups in promoting these activities (associations, political parties etc.)
• the role of the state in these activities
• the different media used to disseminate legal education (courses, lectures, handbooks, magazines, radio and tv programmes etc.)
• the role of publishers or media outlets
• public legal education as part of developing a civil society
• how has the increasing legal awareness impacted each group
• the topic from a broader comparative perspective
• a longue durée view on the phenomenon

Keynote presentations will be given by:

Dr. Kate Bradley (University of Kent)

Dr. Elsa Trolle Önnerfors (Lund University)

Prof. Felice Batlan (Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology).

Deadline for paper proposals with abstracts (max. 400 words) and a short description of the presenter is 30 November 2024.

For further information, as well as sending paper proposals, please contact Marianne Vasara-Aaltonen (marianne.vasara-aaltonen@helsinki.fi), University Lecturer in Legal History at the University of Helsinki.

See also: https://blogs.helsinki.fi/learningthelaw/

The Helsinki Legal History Series will be taking place again this autumn. The events are open to all and will be held at the University of Helsinki, organized by the Eurostorie and Cocolaw research units. The sessions will be streamed live, allowing participants from around the world to join.

The series this Fall is called Identities and Legal History, and more information here. 

Seminars:

Emily Prifogle (University of Michigan) 24.9, 3PM-4:30pm (UTC+3, Helsinki time)
“Making Rural America: A Legal History”

Anne Orford (University of Melbourne) 8.10, 3PM-4:30pm (UTC+3, Helsinki time)
“The Promises and Perils of Interdisciplinary Encounters”

Luisa Brunori (CNRS) 5.11., 3PM-4:30pm (UTC+3, Helsinki time)
“The Identity of Partners and the Anonymity of Capital in Transatlantic Trade during the Early Modern Period”

Pedro Cardim (Universidade Nova de Lisboa) 10.12. 3PM-4:30pm (UTC+3, Helsinki time)
“Corporations and Jurisdictional Culture: Exploring the Political Identity of Early Modern Iberian Monarchies.”