Welcome to UKAEL
Upcoming Events:
EU Law in Practice: A Discussion with EU Law Professionals – UKAEL Student Evening at Hogan Lovells Cadwalader on 16 November 2026, 6-8pm
We invite students, trainee solicitors and pupil barristers to an evening of short talks on practising EU Law. This is an informal occasion to meet EU Law professionals and fellow EU Law students. The presentations will address the practice of EU Law post Brexit in different sectors of the professional world. Speakers will cover typical work scenarios and career patterns in their field and will answer any questions. The meeting will be followed by a reception hosted by Hogan Lovells Cadwalader International LLP.
The International Law Firm: Christopher Hutton, Hogan Lovells Cadwalader International
The Government Legal Department: TBC
Academia: Prof Oana Stefan, King’s College London
The Bar: Anneli Howard KC, Monckton Chambers
The EU Institutions: Lucie Vétillard, Council Legal Service
Chair: Prof Philippa Watson, Essex Court Chambers, Secretary UKAEL
UKAEL Young Researchers Workshop at City St George’s on 23 November 2026, from 1-7pm.
The Workshop will offer an opportunity for UK-based early-career researchers (MPhil and PhD candidates and postdoctoral researchers) to discuss their work with leading EU law scholars and practitioners, and to network with other academics working in related fields. Submissions should relate to any aspect of European Union law.
The Workshop will begin with a short masterclass by Prof. Paul Craig on best practices for crafting a doctoral thesis. The authors of the selected papers will then be invited to present their work. After each presentation, a panel of EU law experts will provide their feedback. Finally, Prof. Panos Koutrakos will deliver another short masterclass on best practices for publishing scholarly articles.
UKAEL Annual Lecture at King’s College London on 17 December 2026, 5.30pm
Dr Síofra O’Leary: “A Tale of Two Cities: Reflections on the Relationship between the Luxembourg and Strasbourg Courts”
In recent years, Europe’s two supranational courts, in Strasbourg and Luxembourg, have both been involved in the defence of democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law, each within the limits of their own jurisdiction. This lecture reflects on the evolving relationship between these two courts when it comes to the protection of human rights, structuring the assessment along the lines of the key features of the EU and its legal order as identified by the CJEU in Opinion 2/13 on accession to the ECHR. It highlights how the two European courts have developed their case law and managed their interactions to date and emphasises the need for both courts to ensure the effectiveness and operationality of Europe’s increasingly complex multi-level system for the protection of human rights with a view to better serving national decision-makers, courts and litigants.
Síofra O’Leary is a Fellow of the Remarque Institute, New York University, and a Former Judge and President of the European Court of Human Rights (2015 – 2024). She previously worked for many years at the Court of Justice of the European Union. A graduate of University College Dublin and the European University Institute, she has authored several books and articles on EU and ECHR law and holds academic positions at the College of Europe and UCD. She is an Honorary Bencher of the King’s Inn, Lincoln’s Inn and the Inn of Court, an Honorary Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge and is the recipient of the Ulysses Medal (UCD) and Honorary Doctorates from the University of Edinburgh and Trinity College Dublin.
UKAEL Blog
Despite the UK’s departure from the EU, this is a critical time to discuss and reflect on EU law developments. We invite authors to submit posts on any issues related to EU law as well as European law more broadly, including the law of the ECHR. If you wish to contribute a blog post, please contact us by submitting a MS Word file of up to 1000 words, including a short indicative title, at ukaelblogs@gmail.com. We hope that the Blog will become a strong and accessible resource for EU law matters, attracting students, academics and practitioners and bringing new faces to UKAEL and its regular events. Please visit https://ukael.org/blog/ and subscribe.
