On 1 May 2008, over 100 delegates attended a conference looking at the future for equality and human rights law in Scotland. The conference was organised jointly by the Commission with the Employment Law Association in Scotland and the Scottish Discrimination Law Association and attracted a panel of expert speakers, who each in turn considered recent developments in the law, the resulting challenges and the prospects for the future in Scotland.
Speakers
The speakers who attended were:
- The Hon Mr Justice Patrick Elias, President of the EAT
- Shona Simon, Vice President of Employment Tribunals (Scotland)
- John Wadham, Legal Group Director, EHRC
Professor Alan Miller, Chair of the Scottish Commission for
Human Rights
- Barry Clarke, Chairman of ELA
- Dr Jane Mair, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, Glasgow
University
- Nicola Hosfield, Government Equalities Office, (Discrimination Law Review)
John Wadham said:
“I was really pleased to be invited to this conference, particularly so that I could emphasise that the Commission is committed to its role in all three countries. Getting together the three key organisations in Scotland concerned with discrimination law was a very important step in the development of the Commission. We were able to attract a number of important speakers who made significant contributions setting out the current state of play in the law and procedure as well proposals for the future – including, of course, the Single Equality Bill. I think it was very important to have Alan Miller speaking not only because he was inspirational but also so that both he and Morag could demonstrate their commitment to ensuring that both Commissions will work closely together. I was also impressed by the technical content of the contributions – for instance, the very interesting arguments over the significance (or otherwise) of the EU Charter of Rights. I wanted to have a debate with the speaker about this and followed her out of the building, still talking – the sign of good conference”.
Comments from delegates:
“The quality of speaker and content was excellent and range of topics commendable. I have attended a number of public sector related conferences and the quality of presentation hasn’t been as good as this”.
“Congratulations on what was an excellent conference”
“Moving and inspiring.”
“A great mix of speakers delivering a very interesting and informative event with no dull or irrelevant parts to the day”.
Media coverage
The conference was covered by the Scotsman which highlighted Shona Simon’s contribution, in particular the impact of equal pay claims on the Tribunal service. The Scottish Daily Mail also mentioned Shona’s comments.