Queen’s University Belfast, together with the Irish Legal History Society, was privileged to host the 25th British Legal History Conference in Belfast in July 2022. Due to the pandemic, the conference had been postponed from 2021.
Since the success of the sixteenth conference held in Dublin in 2003 and the publication of the conference papers entitled ‘Adventures and the Law’, it was a burning ambition of the late Sir Anthony Hart to persuade the organising committee to allow Belfast to host the conference. This was achieved, and in 2018 a small organising committee was formed with Sir Anthony as chair.
Sir Anthony had attended quite a number of previous conferences, and his tactful diplomacy and commanding presence encouraged cooperation and indeed enthusiasm from a range of people and organisations, which ensured a well-organised event. Queen’s agreed to provide the facilities for lectures, accommodation and entertainment.
Tragedy struck when Sir Anthony died suddenly on Tuesday, 9 July 2019. The legal history community was shocked and saddened at the loss of such a titan in legal history. The society was fortunate to have Emeritus Professor Norma Dawson take over as chair of the committee. Professor Dawson’s tireless energy and management skills helped to formulate not only a programme of excellent speakers but a number of extra-curricular events such as a visit to Belfast City Hall and an excellent evening in Parliament Buildings, Stormont, generously sponsored by one of Ireland’s leading law firms, Carson McDowell. The conference culminated in a gala event at Queen’s which included a reception in the Graduate School building followed by dinner in the Great Hall.
Lady Hart was a constant source of tangible and moral support for the conference. This enabled us to establish the Sir Anthony Hart Memorial Prize competition for the best paper presented at the conference by a doctoral student, and to award prizes for those placed first and runner-up. Prizes were awarded to Ashley Hannay (University of Manchester) in first place, and to Stephanie Dropuljic (University of Exeter) in second place. We are delighted that both papers are published in this volume.
This publication is a testament to the high calibre of papers delivered at a deeply enriching conference. Our appreciation and thanks are extended to the editors – Professor David Capper, Dr Conor McCormick and Professor Norma Dawson – for their excellent work.
Open access