Edinburgh Law School Legal Studies Research Paper Series - October 2023
Mon 16 October 2023
The latest in the Legal Studies Research Paper Series (Vol. 11, No. 4: October 10, 2023) from Edinburgh Law School is now available.
View the full Edinburgh Law School Legal Studies Research Paper Series on SSRN
Recognition in England of Change of Gender in Scotland: A Note on Private International Law Aspects
Eric Clive, University of Edinburgh - School of Law
This paper challenges the view of the Secretary of State for Scotland, in his order blocking Royal Assent to the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill, that having a dual system for the issuing of gender recognition certificates in Scotland and England would have adverse effects in various areas of United Kingdom law. It argues that this view ignores a general principle of private international law – that a personal status validly acquired in one country will be recognised in others. It points out that there have been dual systems in the law of persons within the United Kingdom for centuries and that, because of that common law principle, this has not given rise to adverse effects. There is no reason to suppose that the principle is dead or incapable of being applied to the personal status of gender.
Victims, Perpetrators, and Bystanders: Atrocity and its Aftermath in the Films of Jasmila Žbanić
Andy Aydın-Aitchison, University of Edinburgh - School of Law
Following cultural and visual criminologists, who explore cinematic representations of victimhood, gender, witnessing, and memory, I excavate the ‘implicit criminologies’ in four films by Bosnian director Jasmila Žbanić: Grbavica (2006); Na putu [On the path] (2010); Za one koji ne mogu da govore [For those who can tell no tales] (2013); and Quo Vadis, Aida? (2020). In criminological terms, Žbanić’s work is strongest as an example of cinematic victimology, but also poses important questions around perpetration and bystanders. By noting the films’ potential to encapsulate universal and particular elements and by casting cinematic knowledge as a collective project, I question the need to hold one film or one director to an overly rigid ethical standard of inclusivity.
The Enhanced Role for the Scottish Courts Under a Reformed Trust Law
Daniel James Carr, University of Edinburgh Law School
This paper analyses the proposed reform of trusts law in Scotland, with a particular focus on how the proposed legislation will bestow greater powers on the courts in Scotland. The paper explains how this marks a departure from the historic approach in Scotland, and considers the detail of the proposed new powers, noting that the increased discretionary powers of the courts might herald a significant change in the nature of the trust jurisdiction in Scotland.