Hong Kong, 13 August 2021: Former UK Director of Public Prosecutions Lord Ken Macdonald QC will present the HKU-Boase Cohen & Collins Criminal Law Lecture next month. Recognised as one of the country’s leading criminal, regulatory and international lawyers, Lord Macdonald will address an audience comprising senior figures from the legal profession and law students in one of the most eagerly awaited events of the legal and academic calendar.
His talk, on the subject of “Free Speech in Universities”, will take place online at 4:00pm on Friday 17 September. The webinar is open to all members of the public, please click here to register. It will be the fourth Criminal Law Lecture jointly organised by the University of Hong Kong and BC&C since the series was launched in 2017.
Regarding his lecture topic, Lord Macdonald commented: “Many people fear that free speech protections are weakening in British and North American universities. But what is the role of free speech in an academic institution? And is it really true that a combination of British government anti-terrorist programmes and a censorious transatlantic ‘woke culture’ is undermining the free exchange of ideas in our universities, encouraging self-censorship amongst professors and students, and putting academic freedom itself at risk?”
Professor Fu Hualing, Dean of HKU’s Faculty of Law, described Lord Macdonald as “one of the UK’s true legal heavyweights” and added: “He has a stellar reputation throughout the legal profession and his talk is certain to be of immense interest to our students and the wider community.”
A founder member of Matrix Chambers in London, Lord Macdonald has conducted and overseen inquiries and investigations for the UK government, the European Commission and many overseas governments and state authorities. Described by authoritative legal directory Chambers & Partners as a “Senior Statesman of the Criminal Bar” and “premier league … completely fantastic”, he was knighted in 2007 for services to the law and appointed to the House of Lords in 2010.
His core practice areas include business and corporate crime and associated extraditions, money laundering, sanctions and export control violations, market offences, financial regulation, licensing and international commercial and other arbitrations. Aside from governments and state authorities, his recent clients have included heads of state and senior political figures, banks and financial institutions, international media organisations and major corporations.
Lord Macdonald’s experience as Director of Public Prosecutions from 2003 to 2008 – the first prominent defence lawyer to be appointed to the post – has helped give him unrivalled insight into the sensitive issues of criminal risk and associated prosecutorial responses. As well, he was Warden of Wadham College at the University of Oxford for nine years until stepping down recently.
The inaugural Criminal Law Lecture in 2017 featured Clare Montgomery QC giving a fascinating insight into “Joint Enterprise”, the three-decade-old legal principle that allows someone to be convicted of murder even if they did not strike the fatal blow. In the second lecture, Edward Fitzgerald QC spoke on the topic of “Criminal Appeals and New Evidence” and in 2019 celebrated barrister, author and broadcaster Geoffrey Robertson QC enthralled a large audience with his talk entitled “International Criminal Law: Can it be Enforced?”
BC&C Senior Partner Colin Cohen commented: “Our vision for the Criminal Law Lecture has always been to attract world class speakers, galvanise the legal profession and create an event that transcends academia. This forthcoming address by Lord Macdonald fulfils all these objectives.
“Our first three speakers visited Hong Kong and delivered the lectures in person at HKU. Given the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, we have taken the decision to hold this edition online with Lord Macdonald speaking from London. We are grateful to him for sharing his considerable expertise and we are looking forward to a fascinating talk.”
