University of Edinburgh School of Law
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The University of Edinburgh School of Law, founded 1707, is a school within the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, dedicated to research and teaching in law. It is located in Old College, on South Bridge, which stands on the original site of the University. The School is located near George Square and the central University campus, not far from Edinburgh Castle and the Royal Mile, and also finds itself at the heart of the Scottish legal system, with Parliament House, home to the High Court of Justiciary, and the Court of Session nearby.
[edit] History
In 1707, Queen Anne established the Chair of Public Law and the Law of Nature and Nations in the University of Edinburgh, to which Charles Erskine (or Areskine) was appointed: this was the formal start of the Faculty of Law. By 1722 the University had four Professors of Law, and classes - in Civil Law, Scots Law and History - were usually given in their respective homes or offices. Numbers grew with the expansion of the legal profession in the nineteenth century, and by 1830 there were over 200 students attending the Scots Law class alone. Scholarship amongst the academics at Edinburgh continued to grow in reputation, with the work of Muirhead, Lorimer and Rankine achieving international renown.
The Faculty of Law had moved to Old College, built in 1789, and in 1862 the new degree of LL.B. (Bachelor of Laws) was introduced, following the Universities (Scotland) Act 1858. The degree was only open to graduates, usually those who had studied for the M.A.(Arts) at a Scottish University or the B.A. at Oxford or Cambridge. Students of the LL.B. had to attend courses and be examined in Civil Law, Conveyancing, Public Law, Constitutional Law and History, and Medical Jurisprudence; Edinburgh was the only University to offer this degree for some time. In 1909 the first women were enrolled on the Law course. By 1966, the LL.B. had become a full-time undergraduate course, although many would continue to study for an Arts degree beforehand. In 1981, Edinburgh first offered the Diploma in Legal Practice, for LL.B. students wishing to enter the legal profession.
Today, the School of Law is associated both with traditional Scots law and with innovation across a wide range of subjects. The School retains a reputation for scholarship in topics such as Roman Law but is also known as a centre for research in topics such as open source software and the ethics of biotechnology. In 2007 the School celebrates its Tercentary year, to be marked by a series of lectures by world-renowned legal experts.
[edit] Academics
Throughout its history the School (or Faculty) of Law has accommodated some of the finest legal scholars in Europe. James Muirhead's work on Roman Law garnered international praise, Professor Erskine's Principles (1754) became a standard text in Scots Law, as did those of Professor George Joseph Bell. Current members of academic staff at the School include the writer Alexander McCall Smith, former European Court of First Instance Judge Sir David Edward QC, Law Commissioners Professor George Gretton and Professor Gerry Maher, Professor Robert Black QC (expert on the Scots law of evidence and closely involved with the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial), Professor Kenneth Reid, Professor J. Kenyon Mason, Professor Hector MacQueen, and Professor Sir Neil MacCormick (renowned legal theorist, and former Member of the European Parliament). Academics associated with the School also include former staff and students such as Professor Peter Goodrich, Professor David Garland, Professor David Nelken and Professor Alison Young.
