CUHK LAW annouces the first Legal Thinkers’ Seminar “Sir Neil MacCormick”, to be held on 29 July 2020, 12:30 – 1:30pm. It will be delivered by Prof. Scott Veitch, Paul KC Chung Professor in Jurisprudence, Faculty of Law, The University of Hong Kong.   

Legal Thinkers’ Seminar provides a venue for colleagues from the CUHK and other universities to discuss legal thinkers who have been influential for their scholarship. It focuses on central figures in legal theory and methodology. 

Abstract:
Professor Sir Neil MacCormick (1941-2009) was one of the world’s leading jurists. After studying philosophy and literature at the University of Glasgow, he went to Oxford to read jurisprudence under the guidance of HLA Hart. From 1972 until shortly before his death he was Regius Professor of Public Law and the Law of Nature and Nations at the University of Edinburgh. MacCormick established his formidable academic reputation through prolific contributions in the areas of legal, political, and social philosophy. His early work on legal positivism and formalism led to a major reworking of the themes of legality, constitutionalism, and the post-sovereign state. This was synthesized in four volumes published under the series title ‘Law, State, and Practical Reason’. In addition to his academic work, MacCormick was also a leading contributor to civic and political life, culminating in a period as a Member of the European Parliament representing Scotland for the Scottish National Party.

This seminar will introduce some of the major ideas of MacCormick’s scholarly work. It will also discuss his legacy to the tradition of the “democratic intellect”, one in which pluralism, open enquiry, and reasoned debate were paramount virtues.

About the Speaker:
Prof. Scott Veitch
Prof. Veitch writes and teaches in the areas of legal, social and political theory. Educated in Scotland he has worked at universities in Australia and the United Kingdom, and was formerly Professor of Jurisprudence at the University of Glasgow. He has held visiting academic positions in South Africa, New Zealand, Belgium, France and the Basque country. Prof. Veitch’s area of research is jurisprudence broadly defined, and his work draws on historical, philosophical and sociological insights into law and legal institutions. More specifically it has dealt with the politics of domestic and international law; critical aspects of legal reasoning; the role of law in processes of transition and its bearing on reconciliation and memory; and the relations between legal concepts and political economy.

The Law Society of Hong Kong has awarded this seminar 1 Continuing Professional Development (CPD) point.