This is a past event
The School of Law is delighted to be hosting a one-day conference that will bring together interdisciplinary partners to comment on an issue of recurring importance to Scotland and Scottish society: land reform.
This conference is the second part of a two-day programme (beginning with a free public lecture on 25 August 2016 on land reform and the environment) that will bring together leading researchers and commentators working in law, history and policy to analyse the past, present and future of Scottish land reform. The recent Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016 contains many provisions that will have an impact on Scotland’s (legal) landscape, but many questions remain.
Some questions are practical. What impact will the new legislation have on Scottish landowners, tenants, communities and indeed society? How can people prepare for, and participate in, the implementation of it? Are there any other regulatory challenges people need to be aware of?
Others questions might be classed as more theoretical. Has the right balance been struck between various stakeholders? How might that balancing exercise be properly assessed? What can we learn from historical, comparative or human rights perspectives when making that assessment?
Other questions relate to the future. Should the Scottish Government react to further calls for reform? If so, how?
Current participants include:
- Robert Sutherland, Alasdair Sutherland and Roddy MacLeod, advocates at Terra Firma Chambers
- Hamish Lean, a partner at Stronachs LLP who was appointed a member of the Scottish Government's Agricultural Holdings Legislation Review Group in 2013
- Rob Mc Morran and Nick Prince, from Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC)
- Annie McKee, from the James Hutton Institute
- Eilidh Ross MacLellan, solicitor at Anderson, Shaw & Gilbert
- Catherine Bury, Senior Associate at Ledingham Chalmers
- Bob Reid, Director of Planning at Halliday Fraser Munro
- Peter Peacock, from Community Land Scotland
- Sarah-Jane Laing, from Scottish Land & Estates
- Ewen Cameron, Sir William Fraser Professor of Scottish History and Palaeography at the University of Edinburgh
- Roddy Paisley, Professor of Scots Law at the University of Aberdeen
- Tina Hunter, co-Director of the Aberdeen University Centre for Energy Law
- Malcolm Rudd, a recent graduate of the School of Law at the University of Aberdeen
The event is being organised by Malcolm Combe, with aspects of the programme being coordinated by Jayne Glass (from The Centre for Mountain Studies, Perth College, University of the Highlands and Islands) and Ewen Cameron.
After the event, there will be a wine reception which has been kindly sponsored by Terra Firma Chambers.
Please click here to view a full programme for the day and a flyer can be viewed here.
Who should attend?
Legal practitioners, land managers, farmers, renewable energy organisations, national park boards, Members of the Scottish Parliament, local and central government officers, academics, researchers, planners, environmental and community groups, and those interested in the economic and cultural development of Scotland.
Lunch and refreshments will be provided over the course of the day.
How to book: An online booking facility can be found here. The delegate fee for the day is £50, with subsidised places available for students and other unwaged individuals. Fee waivers may also be available in certain circumstances.
- Venue
- King's College Conference Centre
