In Haney v Secretary of State for Justice, the Supreme Court recognised the existence of a duty on the state to provide a reasonable opportunity for life prisoners to rehabilitate themselves. A good many cases have followed in Scotland and England, with the boundaries of the duty being considered in the Supreme Court in Brown v Scottish Ministers in 2017. However progression is only one area in which civil law claims have been used to protect the rights of those in prison, and there is now a rich case-law in Scotland as well as England. This conference aims to provide a comprehensive review of recent developments. We hope that this event will be of interest both to public law practitioners, and to practitioners working mainly in criminal law whose clients may contact them with concerns which might be addressed by civil law remedies.

Conference Programme:

Morning session

9:30am – 10:00am Registration, Coffee & Welcome from Chair Gavin Dewar, Advocate.

10:00am – 10:40am Kenneth Campbell QC – “Conditions and Progression: where has the law got to?”

10:40am – 11:15am Gordon Bruce, Former Deputy Governor, HMP Shotts – “The Prison View”

11:15am – 11:40am Coffee

11:40am – 12:15pm David Strang, HMP Inspectorate – “Inspectorate Perspective”

12:15pm – 12:30pm Question & Answer on the morning session

Lunch: 12:30pm – 1:30pm

Afternoon Session

1:30pm – 2:10pm Simon Crabb, Advocate – “International perspectives on the right to rehabilitation”

2:10pm – 2:50pm Paul Harvey, Advocate – “Thirty Five Years of Raymond v Honey: The English Experience”

2:50pm – 3:10pm Coffee

3:10pm – 3:45pm James Smith, Solicitor, McGreevey & Co. – “The Prison Lawyer’s Perspective”

3:45pm – 4:00pm Question & Answer on the afternoon session and Summing Up

4:00pm- 5:30pm Drinks Reception