Courts and Constitutions: Judicial Review 250 Years After Independence, Statute Law Society Lecture at UCL Faculty of Laws, London [Hybrid; October 14, 2026]

Courts and Constitutions: Interpretation and Judicial Review 250 Years After the Declaration of Independence is a Statute Law Society event hosted by UCL Laws. It takes place on Wednesday, 14 October 2026, from 18:00 to 19:15 (UK time) in the Moot Court at UCL Laws, Bentham House, London, and is also open to online participants.

The American Declaration of Independence in 1776 began the long experiment of a federal USA governed by a codified Constitution, a path that has been continuously contested and has diverged sharply from constitutional developments in the UK. Marking the 250th anniversary of the USA and the publication of David Feldman’s Key Ideas in Constitutional Law, the speakers will discuss recent developments in US constitutional law:

• freedom of speech and federalism in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, 606 US 461 (2025)
• citizenship rights in Trump v. Barbara, 609 US ___ (2026)

They will consider what these judgments reveal about the nature of US constitutional law, interpretation and the intensity of judicial review in federalism and constitutional rights, compared with possibly analogous developments in the UK.

• Professor David Feldman KC (Hon), FBA, Emeritus Rouse Ball Professor of English Law, University of Cambridge; Honorary Professor, University of Manchester; Academic Associate, 39 Essex Chambers
• Denis Edwards, Barrister of Middle Temple and Advocate; member of Temple Tax Chambers, Normanton Chambers and, in Scotland, 1 Six; Vice-Chair of the Statute Law Society

The event is organised by the Statute Law Society, a charity that promotes knowledge and understanding of legislation and the legislative process, and hosted by the Faculty of Laws, University College London (UCL). It is also listed on the events calendar of the Society of Legal Scholars.

The event is hybrid: tickets are sold for both in-person and online attendance. The session runs from 18:00 to 19:15 UK time (BST), which is 10:30 pm to 11:45 pm IST on 14 October 2026.

Online and in-person tickets cost £8. The lecture is free of charge for individual and institutional members of the Statute Law Society and for UCL staff and students.

Pre-booking is essential. Book an online or in-person ticket through the Eventbrite page linked from the UCL Laws event page. Ticket sales close at the start of the event (18:00 UK time, 10:30 pm IST, on 14 October 2026).