

LawPod
Queen's University - School of Law
LawPod is a weekly podcast based in the Law School at Queen’s University Belfast. We provide a platform to explore law and legal research in an engaging and scholarly way.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Mar 30, 2021 • 1h 34min
Defamation law reform in Northern Ireland
Dr Mark Hanna talks with Professors Andrew Scott (LSE), Daithí MacSithigh (QUB), and Gavin Phillipson (Bristol) about the various aspects of potential defamation law reform in Northern Ireland today. In the podcast the participants discuss, amongst other things, the legislative competence of the devolved Assembly to reform the law in this area, the wider implications of online communication for Defamation law reform today, the statutory protection and development of the ‘public interest defence’, and the section 1 requirement of ‘serious harm’, and what that now means for both parties in Defamation actions.
The participants’ profiles can be found below: Andrew Scott: https://www.lse.ac.uk/law/people/academic-staff/andrew-scott
Daithí MacSithigh: https://pure.qub.ac.uk/en/persons/daith%C3%AD-mac-s%C3%ADthigh
Gavin Phillipson: https://www.bristol.ac.uk/law/centre-for-brexit/brexit-team/professor-gavin-phillipson/
Mark Hanna: https://pure.qub.ac.uk/en/persons/mark-hanna
For a copy of the ‘Scott Report’ on the subject of Defamation law reform in Northern Ireland in 2016, see:
http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/67385/1/Scott_Reform%20of%20defamation%20law_2016.pdf
If you have any questions or comments about the podcast, please get in touch atmark.hanna@qub.ac.uk

Mar 23, 2021 • 9min
LawPod Stories – A Case of Ginger Beer
This episode outlines the facts surrounding Donoghue v Stevenson [1932], a landmark case that lays the foundation of the modern law of negligence.
Introducing the first in a new series - Lawpod Stories - a more narrative look at key legal cases. This episode outlines the facts surrounding Donoghue v Stevenson [1932], a landmark case that lays the foundation of the modern law of negligence.
Script by Dylan Knutsen
Voices: Dylan Knutsen, Lucy Bill and Emer Smyth.

Mar 16, 2021 • 37min
LawPod Retrospective: 100 Episodes
In this episode, the LawPod team reflect on our first 100 episodes. LawPod's current Director, Dr Lauren Dempster interviews its former Director, Dr Rachel Killean, and Producer Richard Summerville about why and how they created LawPod, and the challenges and rewards of podcasting. The Team discuss some of their favourite episodes, how LawPod has adapted in the age of COVID-19, and where it might go in the future. And, we have reflections from two of our student LawPodders on their podcasting experience.
The episodes we discuss in this episode are:
Episode 2 - 16 Days of Activism: Legal and Policy Responses to Domestic Violence
Episode 5 - Digital Punishment Through Online Criminal Records
Episode 7 - 16 Days of Activism: Activism, International Justice and Sexual and Gender Based ViolenceEpisode 8 - Activism, Research and Human Rights
Student Focus - Episode 12 - Women in Law : Axiom Managed Solutions
Episode 16 - Moazzam Begg & Muhammad Rabbani in conversation with Dr Kevin Hearty
Episode 41 - Interview with George Monbiot
Episode 47 - Brexit: Justice and Security
Episode 61 - Global Norms in a Divided World: Discussion with Professor Hans Lindahl
Episode 62 - Law in Action: Modern Voices of Eco Activism
Episode 75 - NI: The Constitutional Conversation
Episode 97 - Being Black in Northern Ireland: BLM Protests, Institutional Racism and Social Media
Episode 98 - Legal Lexicon - Parliamentary Sovereignty
Episode 99 - The Shadow Pandemic: Domestic Abuse and COVID-19
Episode 77 - Contact tracing apps and Data Privacy
Episode 100 - COVID-19 and the Laws of Death and Burial
The Transitional Justice Series
Criminology Matters series

Mar 8, 2021 • 40min
International Women’s Day Series – Angela Godfrey Goldstein
Dr Alice Panepinto interviews peace activist Angela Godfrey-Goldstein about her life, career and work with Jahalin Solidarity which advocates against tranfer and forced displacement of Bedouin and other Palestinians living under occupation.
Angela Godfrey-Goldstein is Director of Jahalin Solidarity, a Palestinian organisation she set up to support Jahalin Bedouin with capacity raising and advocacy, especially with regard to their forcible displacement, and to advocate against the Israeli Occupation. She was for many years Action Advocacy Officer with ICAHD – the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, and Advocacy Officer for Grassroots Jerusalem, having previously been an environmental activist in Sinai, Egypt, where she lived for four years with Bedouin. Together with Eid abu Khamis Jahalin, she was a Rebuilding Alliance “Peacemaker” awardee in 2018. A chapter she wrote about her work for the past 20 years with Bedouin was published in 2018 by Veritas in the best-selling book “Defending Hope Dispatches From The Front Lines In Palestine And Israel”.
https://www.iwgia.org/en/palestine/3638-iw-2020-palestine.html
https://www.jahalin.org

Mar 5, 2021 • 22min
International Women’s Day Series – Gemma McKeown
In the second of three episodes developed in partnership with the QUB School of Law Athena Swan Committee for International Women's Day 2021, Dr Eithne Dowds interviews Gemma McKeown about her career and work as a solicitor with CAJ.

Mar 2, 2021 • 29min
International Women’s Day Series – Anne-Marie McAlinden
In this episode Dr Rachel Killean interviews Prof. Anne-Marie McAlinden about her research and life as an academic.
In the first of three episodes developed in partnership with the QUB School of Law Athena Swan Committee for International Women's Day 2021, Dr Rachel Killean interviews Prof. Anne-Marie McAlinden about her research and life as an academic. This episode is part of our International Women’s Day series, and highlights the important work carried out by women in different legal and activist spheres. Prof Anne-Marie is a world leading expert on ‘harmful’ sexual behaviours amongst young people. Her recent projects include ‘grooming’ and the sexual abuse of children; desistance from sexual offending; sexual exploitation and abuse by children and young people; and apologies and the past where one of the case studies is institutional child abuse. More information on Anne-Marie’s work is available here.

Feb 16, 2021 • 32min
COVID-19 and the Laws of Death and Burial
In this episode, PhD candidate Paula Shilliday talks to Professor Heather Conway about the intersections between the COVID-19 pandemic and the laws of death and burial. Prof Conway outlines the ways in which COVID-19 and related restrictions have impacted upon the socially and culturally significant act of the funeral, and the implications of this - in particular in terms of the potential risk to emotional wellbeing and mental health.
You can read Heather Conway's post for The Conversation on this issue here and you can access a longer piece by Heather on the NI specifics for (2020) 2 Folio: Northern Ireland Conveyancing and Property Law Journal 16-21 here.

Feb 9, 2021 • 29min
The Shadow Pandemic: Domestic Abuse and COVID-19
This episode explores Dr. Ronagh McQuigg’s research into the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the victims and survivors of domestic abuse.
Ronagh shares her reflections on the effect of lockdown and social distancing measures implemented due to the Covid-19 pandemic on rates of domestic violence. She points to the numerous ways in which the pandemic has exacerbated the situation for victims and survivors of domestic abuse and made it more difficult to reach women in crisis. Dr. McQuigg also discusses the ways in which human rights frameworks can be used to mitigate against domestic abuse.
Further reading:
Dr McQuigg's original QPol blog , McQuigg (2018) 'Is it time for a UN Treaty on Violence Against Women?' , McQuigg (2014) on human rights law, the courts, and domestic violence.

Feb 2, 2021 • 24min
Legal Lexicon: Parliamentary Sovereignty
This episode explores the concept of parliamentary sovereignty with Professor Aileen McHarg. It is a wide-ranging conversation which touches on foundational elements of parliamentary sovereignty, judicial interpretation, devolution, Brexit and democracy. It is an engaging and enlightening look at a key legal concept which underpins constitutional law in the United Kingdom and has been at the forefront of political discourse in the debate over Brexit.
Further reading on parliamentary sovereignty by Professor McHarg:
A. McHarg, (2018) “Constitutional Change and Territorial Consent: The Miller Case and the Sewel Convention” in The UK Constitution after Miller (eds) M. Elliott, J. Williams and A. L. Young. Hart Publishing.
A. McHarg and C. McCorkindale "Continuity and Condusion: Towards Clarity? The Supreme Court and the Scottish Continuity Bill" (blogpost, UKCLA)
A. McHarg (2006) “What is devolved legislation?” Public Law.
The academic work mentioned by Professor McHarg in the episode can be found here:
Public Law for Everyone - Professor Mark Elliott (Professor of Public Law, Chair of the Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge)
J. Goldsworthy, (2001) The Sovereignty of Parliament: History and Philosophy. Oxford University Press.
M. Gordon, (2015) Parliamentary Sovereignty in the UK Constitution: Process, Politics and Democracy. Hart Publishing.
Oxford Putney Debates 2020 - Keynote lecture on parliamentary sovereignty by Prof Mike Gordon (Constitutional Law, University of Liverpool)
AL. Young, (2009) Parliamentary Sovereignty and the Human Rights Act. Hart Publishing.

Jan 26, 2021 • 57min
Being Black in Northern Ireland: BLM Protests, Institutional Racism and Social Media
In this podcast we discuss with guests Tura Arutura, Cassie Logan (both activists for BLM) and Sinead Marmion (from Phoenix Law) the PSNI's approach to the BLM protests in Belfast last June. Our guests discuss their experiences of institutional racism in Northern Ireland and how social media plays a key role in educating others about the reality of being black in Northern Ireland. This episode also discusses the importance of representation in the legal field and how the law can be changed to protect minorities in Northern Ireland.


