Heraclitus once said that “the only thing that is constant is change”, a truth we find to be self-evident in our dynamic modern society. I sincerely doubt that 5-10 years ago many of us could have forseen the events of the past few years; the royal family gained a member (and subsequently lost 2), Game of Thrones ended disastrously and, of course, the United Kingdom voted 52-48 to exit the European Union. The latter has become something of a sleeper political zeitgeist for this generation, the ever-looming “Brexit” dominating our news cycles, accompanied by troves of misinformation, misconstruing and mudslinging on both sides characteristic of this post-truth age.  

Alumni and QC James Flynn’s lecture on Thursday 27 February was a refreshing break from the norm, however. Entitled ‘After the Break: United Kingdom law, EU law and Brexit the lecture took a close look at the nature of Britain’s entanglement with the European legal system. Important issues such as Parliamentary sovereignty and legal supremacy were touched upon, leading up to a wider discussion about the alien future of our nation’s trade relations within and without Europe as a result of regulatory and political differences. While covering his topic of expertise in depth, Flynn did not lack accessibility, and opened up the floor to a number of inquisitorial and insightful questions which showed the audience were easily following. Afterwards, the students were treated to drinks and hors d’oeuvres, over which we could have an enlightening 1 on 1 discussion with the speaker, further expanding our understanding. Overall, not just as an aspiring legal student, but as someone interested in the world around me, I found the night invaluable. 

Written by Joseph
Year 12