The James Wood Bequest Fund and the James Wood Lectures
The James Wood Bequest Fund is a charitable trust created under the Will of the late James Wood of Wallhouse, Torphichen, from the residue of his estate. The first donations were made in 1935.
The James Wood Lecture was proposed by the Trustees in 1986 as a special five-year annual donation to the University of Glasgow Stair Building Appeal contributing initially £1500 per annum. The first Lecture was given the next year by The Rt Hon Lord Fraser of Tullybelton and the Lecture has been given annually since. The Lecture is arranged by the School of Law at the University.
The 2013 lecture topic and speaker is yet to be announced. We will update this page and our forthcoming events page as soon as we have the details.
All James Wood Lectures to date include:
| Date | Speaker | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 25th October 2012 | Professor Hector MacQueen | "Private Law, National Identity and the Case of Scotland?" |
| 28th October 2011 | Baroness Brenda Hale | “Is It Still A Man's World, Women,Children, Citizenship and Migration” |
| 22nd October 2010 | Sir David Edward KCMG PC QC | “Nationalism, Constitutionalism and the European Union” |
| 7th October 2009 | Rt Hon Des Browne, MP | |
| 28th November 2008 | Lord Mance, Lord of Appeal in Ordinary | "Opting into Community law and interpreting Convention rights: is the UK more or less committed?" |
| 15th October 2007 |
Her Excellency, The Rt Hon. Lady Rosalyn Higgins, DBE, QC |
"Recent developments at the International Court of Justice: the UN’s court in a changing world" |
| 6th March 2006 | The Rt Hon Colin Boyd QC |
"Ministers and the Law" |
| 20th April 2005 |
The Rt Hon Lord Maclennan of Rogart |
"Executive Power in our Constitutional Orders." |
| 9th March 2004 |
Professor James Boyle, William Neal Reynolds Professor of Law at Duke University, North Carolina |
"The Ancient Rights of Cyberspace?: Enclosing the Commons of the Mind" |
| 6th March 2003 | Mrs Elish Angiolini QC, Solicitor General | "The Role of the Scottish Law Officer" |
| 21th February 2002 | Mr Michael Christie, University of Aberdeen | "The coherence of Scots Criminal Law" |
| 14th March 2001 | The Hon Lord Gill, Chairman of the Scottish Law Commission | "Law reform in the Twenty-First century-Why? How? What?" |
| 3rd February 2000 | Professor Kenny Miller, University of Strathclyde | "The contribution of Scots Law to the Development of Modern Employment Law" |
| 19th February 1999 | Professor David Johnston, Regius Professor of Civil Law, University of Cambridge | "Legal Change: Survival of the fittest?" |
| 26 February 1998 | The Lord President the Rt Hon Lord Hope of Craighead | "Taking the Case to London- is it all over?" |
| 18th February 1997 | The Hon Lord Dervaird | "The Privitisation of Civil Dispute resolution- but is it Private?" |
| 7th March 1996 | Matthew Clark QC | "Scots or European Lawyers: Quid Sum?" |
| 23rd February 1995 | Sir William Kerr Fraser, Principal of the Universityo of Glasgow | "The Legislative Process" |
| 24th February 1994 | Mr J Anthony Weir, Trinity College, Cambridge | "Proverbial Law" |
| 25th February 1993 | The Hon Lord Clyde, Senator of the College of Justice and Chairman of the Orkney Inquiry | "Orkney Revisited: the Process of Inquiry" |
| 27th February 1992 | Professor WA Wilson, Lord President Reid, professor of Law, University of Edinburgh | "Studying Statutes" |
| 28th February 1991 | Mr Francis David Jacobs QC, Advocate General for the European Court of Justice | "The Role of the European Court in the Development of European Law" |
| 28th February 1990 | Professor David Walker, Regius Professor of Law | "The Province of Jurists Determined" |
| 1st March 1989 | Dr Eric Clive, Scottish Law Commission | "Family Law Reform, Past, Present and Future" |
| 24th February 1988 | The Hon Lord Hunter | "Law Reform: The Scottish Law Commission" |
| 25th February 1987 | The Rt Hon Lord Fraser of Tullybelton | "Law Reform:The Judicial Contribution" |