Conferences

There are several conferences coming up which are of interest to LAGLA members. If you hear about others, please let us know.

Five Years of Civil Partnership:  Time for an equal choice of marriage or civil partnership for all couples?

Tuesday 21 December 2010, 10 am to 1 pm – free - no booking required – just turn up

A news conference and debate in the Great Hall, King’s College, Strand, London WC2R 2LS will mark the launch of legal action by the Equal Love campaign, on the 5th anniversary of the first civil partnership ceremonies in England and Wales. The Equal Love campaign seeks an end to the twin bans on marriage for same-sex couples, and civil partnership for different-sex couples. The debate will be chaired by Lord Lester of Herne Hill QC, whose private member’s bill inspired the Civil Partnership Act 2004. Speakers, including Prof. Robert Wintemute of King’s and Prof. Anne Barlow of the University of Exeter, will address the implications of the campaign’s proposals from the perspectives of human rights law and family law, and of religious institutions that do and do not wish to marry same-sex couples.

LGBT rights in the Commonwealth: historical legacies and contemporary reforms

17 January 2011 – Senate House, University of London - £15

The legacy of colonial legislation on the contemporary rights of lesbians, gay, bisexual and transgender people (LGBT) in Commonwealth countries requires further examination and a strengthened advocacy response.  Recent years have witnessed increased advocacy by civil society in Commonwealth states and vis-à-vis Commonwealth institutions on this issue. There is very little systematic cooperation across research and civil society actors to share information and identify possible solutions for redressing current rights violations and the ongoing hostility towards LGBT rights defenders and members of the LGBT community.

This meeting will bring together academics and practitioners to examine the legal, political and civil society issues that influence LGBT rights and especially decriminalisation of homosexuality in the Commonwealth. The outputs will contribute to strengthening advocacy strategies for the 2011 Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting.

More details and registration are here: http://commonwealth.sas.ac.uk/events/conferences/lgbt.html

Legal Recognition of Same-Sex Relationships in Europe

National, cross-border and European perspectives

ACADEMY OF EUROPEAN LAW – Trier, Germany, 11-12 April 2011 - 25% discount for lawyers in private practice (€270-400)

Since 1989, when Denmark became the first country to introduce registered partnerships, the legal recognition of same-sex relationships has been on the political agenda in many countries. By now, half of the Member States of the EU have introduced legislation on the formalisation of same-sex relationships.

The conference will discuss the difficulties, same-sex couples might face if they live abroad or want to get divorced in another country as not only the substantive law of the Member States but also their private international law approaches differ to a large extent. The legal aspects of parenthood and surrogate motherhood will also be on the agenda.

Furthermore, different issues of European and international law will be addressed: they include rights granted under the European Convention of Human Rights, the question of non-discrimination, including employment conditions and pension rights, and family reunification.
Please click here for further information

If you come across talks, seminars or conferences that may be of interest to members, please let us know.

The Coalition Agreement published today has the following on Equality for LGBT people:

• We will stop the deportation of asylum seekers who have had to leave particular countries because their sexual orientation or gender identification puts them at proven risk of imprisonment, torture or execution.
• We will use our relationships with other countries to push for unequivocal support for gay rights and for UK civil partnerships to be recognised internationally.

Coalition Agreement, p.18, can be downloaded here (slowly it seems).

Portugal joins a handful of other countries (the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, South Africa, Canada, Norway, Argentina, Columbia (?), Sweden and some US states) in introducing same-sex marriage.

Read the full story here.

Since moving to website-only membership administration and free membership, we have increased our membership by 50% with 45 new members in the last month.

We welcome all new members and hope to see old and new members at future events. If you want to get involved more, please contact a member of the committee.

This is not a LAGLA event, but we are happy to announce it here, not least because it is a good course and the delegates' fees are very reasonable with an extremely low student fee (£30). Book early for lower fees.

Many members of LAGLA may be aware that over half the countries in the world outlaw homosexuality and seven nations still impose the death penalty for consenting sexual acts between men.  In some African countries legislation is being introduced to increase penalties for homosexuality. The UK does consider applications for asylum on the basis of sexual orientation, but also has a policy that people can go home and be discreet.  A recent piece of research commissioned by Refugee Support found that LGBT asylum seekers face severe difficulties in this country as they are often isolated from the community organisations and faith groups that provide support to asylum seekers and that they often experience homophobic harassment in government accommodation. 

At the University of Greenwich, we are organising the conference, LGBTI Asylum Seekers and Refugees: a Case of Double Jeopardy, to promote research into this little known area, and to act as a forum of knowledge transfer between academics, private practitioners, the voluntary sector and public service providers.  We also aim to develop an agenda for reform and make a long-term impact on social policy and international human rights.  We are working closely with a number of groups to ensure that the conference is more than just an academic talking shop and to make sure that the voices of asylum seekers and refugees are heard.  We have applied to the Bar Council and Law Society for CPD accreditation.  The conference will be held at the University of Greenwich on 6^th and 7^th July, full details of booking available at http://www.lgbtiasr-doublejeopardy.org/Conference/ABOUT.html

The Legal Services Commission would like someone from LAGLA to participate in this workshop. If you are interested, please register with them and let us know. Of course you cannot speak on behalf of LAGLA as a whole at the workshop, although that is, it seems, not their aim.

Our members directory – visible only to other members – is a great way to make sure you find those again you have talked to at the last do etc. Remember, to be included you will need to:

• choose a profile name (which should really be your full name unless you want to stay anonymous – only this will be shown);
• tick the box to show your profile (see below);
• preferably upload a photograph (so others can recognise you.

Here is how to do it:

• Click “View Profile” on the top right;
• Click “My directory profile” then the “Edit profile” button and then “Privacy”
• You can now tick the box so that your profile is shown at all other members. You can also you can change individual settings. 

Individual profiles will never be shown on the public part of our website (other than for Committee members), but please note that since membership is free, anyone can sign up.