by Professor John Coggon, University of Bristol Law School The Tobacco and Vapes Bill’s introduction to, and now passage through, Parliament has reignited debates on fundamentals of political authority and public health ethics; debates about the meaning and reach of fundamental freedoms, the scope and limits of the state’s protective functions, and ultimately the boundaries of legitimate government intervention. Amongst its provisions, particular interest has been sparked by the bill’s creation of an offence of selling tobacco products, herbal smoking products, and cigarette papers to persons ..read more

by Professor Foluke Adebisi, University of Bristol Law School In 2021, I, Suhraiya Jivraj and Ntina Tzouvala undertook a project to curate pedagogical perspectives on teaching legacies of empire in law schools across different continents. The result was an edited collection with a specific focus on post- and decolonial thought as well as on anti-racist methods in pedagogy. Decolonisation, Anti-Racism, and Legal Pedagogy: Strategies, Successes, and Challenges. Taylor & Francis, 2023. With contributions from diverse jurisdictions, including India, South Africa, Australia, and Canada, the vo ..read more

by Yana Simutina, Visiting Professor, University of Bristol Law School (Photo: UNDP in Ukraine/Internews) The digitalisaton and emergence of the gig economy has led to significant changes in employment and labour relations around the world. As businesses seek more flexible and cost-effective solutions for hiring workers, policymakers are considering adapting the regulatory framework to the challenges of new forms work. Ukraine, a country undergoing economic and social transformation, has experienced growth in the digital sector over the last decade (especially before the full-scale Russian inv ..read more

By Alexia Kaplan, LLM Student, University of Bristol Law School, Friends of the Earth International COP 28, the latest United Nations Climate Conference, came to an end in December 2023. It began with an agreement to launch the loss and damage fund, which was kick-started by the UAE’s $100 million pledge. A further 15 countries followed suit, making pledges of varying amounts, and by 2 December 2023, a cumulative total of $655.9 million had been pledged to the loss and damage fund. The fund has been heralded by many as the biggest success of the entire conference and a historic agreement – bei ..read more

by Temitope Tunbi Onifade, University of Bristol Law School                                                    Vanuatu’s proposal for ‘an International Climate Fund to finance measures to counter the adverse consequences of climate change, and a separate International Insurance Pool to provide financial insurance against the consequences of sea level rise’ put the iss ..read more

By Dr Colin Nolden, University of Bristol Law School With carbon emissions of around 25tCO2 per capita (global average around 4.5tCO2eq per capita) and energy demand of around 150MWh per capita (global average around 20MWh per capita), both among the 5 highest in the world, the UAE is on a per capita basis one of the largest contributors to climate change. And the host of COP28, the 28th Conference of the Parties, the main decision-making body of the UNFCCC. This makes uncomfortable reading, especially given the lack of progress in tackling human-made climate change. Then again, it probably d ..read more

by Dr Alice Venn, University of Bristol Law School COP28 represented a crucial juncture for international climate law in permitting some initial conclusions to be drawn surrounding the efficacy of the innovative mixed regulatory approach adopted in the Paris Agreement. The legally binding nature of the Paris Agreement provisions have previously been the subject of debate in climate law and policy literature, both in terms of the language of the provisions, many of which are not worded to create clear and concrete obligations for the States Parties, and for the use of soft law to accommodate a ..read more

by Professor Margherita Pieraccini and Professor Elen Stokes, Centre Co-directors Another year, another Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. This blog series captures the views of three academic members of the Centre for Environmental Law and Sustainability and an LLM student with expertise and interests in climate and energy law.  They reflect here on selected aspects/outcomes of COP28. In her blog, Alice Venn discusses the place of equity in the Paris Agreement first Global Stocktake, highlighting the references made to equity an ..read more

by Professor Gwen Seabourne, University of Bristol Law School The common law of England, in the medieval centuries and long afterwards, was man-made law: created by and in the interests of free men, drawing on and reinforcing ideas of women as inferior. Its assumption of the superiority of men was intensified during marriage, with the wife’s identity defined in relation to her husband, her legal personality subordinated to his in important respects. Studying the documentation left behind by those making, administering and using the common law in medieval England provides ample confirmation of ..read more

by Hilary Woodward, Honorary Senior Research Fellow, University of Bristol School of Law Research shows that pension wealth in the UK is very unevenly distributed. In about half of couples one partner holds 90% of the pension wealth, and median pension wealth for men aged 65 to 69 averages £212,000 compared with £35,000 for women. On divorce, one of the options available to couples is to share their pension(s) through a Pension Sharing Order (PSO). Despite the inequalities in pension accumulation, and the fact that the option of pension sharing has been available for more than 20 years, the m ..read more