LSBU hosts annual Weeks lecture
London South Bank University's (LSBU) Weeks Centre for Social Policy Research hosted a lecture from Professor Alan Norrie, Head of Law at the University of Warwick, last week.Norrie's lecture, titled 'How Does Law Proceed? Psychology, Gender and Politics in the New Loss of Control Defence', provided an introduction to the issues surrounding the old common law defence of provocation, and the moral, philosophical and gender issues it raised- particularly the way the old law enforced stereotypical notions of male and female reactions to provocation.
His talk also explored the way that the new statutory defence, created under s.54 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, addresses the shortcomings of the previous common law, particularly in terms of how jealousy and loss of control could be used as part of a defence argument.
The Weeks Centre for Social Policy Research is named after Professor Jeffrey Weeks, to recognise his research leadership both within LSBU's faculty and his internationally acclaimed sociological work on the social organisation of sexuality. Every year, a research lecture is held by the Centre on a topic of interest to those within the Arts and Human Sciences faculty.
Professor Mike Molan, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Human Sciences at LSBU, said, "Professor Norrie gave a very well-received and absorbing lecture, exploring the challenges inherent in this area of law reform- as evidenced by the very engaged nature of the Q & A session that ensued, including contributions from, amongst others, Professor Jeremy Horder, a Law Commissioner for England and Wales from 2005-2010 who led the Law Commission reform projects resulting in the development of the new loss of control defence in 2009."
More about the Weeks Centre for Social Policy Research.