This thesis is concerned with the special protection afforded religion in United Kingdom (UK) anti-discrimination law. Initial discussions centre on the historical and normative bases for religious liberty in the UK. These debates assess the evolution of domestic legal protection of religion and critique prevailing principles (in particular, the idea of human dignity) underpinning the variety of that protection. Attention is then focused on religious exceptions in UK anti-discrimination law and the practical extent to which they assist religious interests. It is clear that such special measures are aimed at religion as a collective; they do not enhance protection at the individual level. This deficit becomes more acute when considering the limiting effects of recent UK jurisprudence, specifically claims involving religion and discrimination across employment and the provision of goods and services. A particularly problematic trend exhibited in the case law is the courts’ approach to determining justification and proportionality in indirect discrimination. Accordingly, an argument is made for additional special protection. A duty of reasonable accommodation is proposed as a separate claim route in UK anti-discrimination law for religious individuals wishing to be excused from a rule. This is advocated in the field employment, it being noted that the field of goods and services poses challenges for the introduction of such a duty. Comparative analyses with Canada and the United States (US) expose two different models of reasonable accommodation. These are applied to high-profile UK cases featuring religion and indirect discrimination in employment, revealing how reasonable accommodation might have assessed those claims differently. It is submitted that the Canadian model provides a more sophisticated proportionality analysis than its US counterpart. This approach affords a more factually nuanced analysis in balancing the religious claim with a competing legitimate aim. It is contended that such a duty also coheres with both the theory of human dignity and the notion of equality as it features in the conceptual framework of anti-discrimination law.

This dissertation examines the symbiotic relationship between intellectual property (“IP”) law and cultural heritage law, with an emphasis on intangible cultural heritage (“ICH”). These two fields of law have historically operated in relative isolation from each other, but the overlap of subject matter and practical effect of implementation is evident; the actual creative and traditional practices by individuals and communities are the subject matter of both fields. The central thrust of the research is to locate the effects of these two legal fields and to inform policy, research, and legislation when this previously under-considered effect and influence exists. This is accomplished through case studies of ICH and statutory intervention in three countries with diverse ICH: tartan in Scotland; cultural tourism and branding in Ireland, and the Welsh language and eisteddfodau in Wales. These countries were selected as they 1) are geographically proximate, 2) have shared cultural history, 3) are or were recently in a union legal structure with partially devolved governance powers, and 4) are ‘knowledge-based’ economies with strong IP laws. This selection facilitates the dissertation’s original contributions to research, which include highlighting the influence of ICH on IP law and how IP shapes ICH. This interaction challenges the domestic and international differential legal treatment between developed, Global North countries as IP- and knowledge-producing and developing and Global South countries as ICH- and culture-producing. Theoretical patterns emerged from the case studies: namely, first- and second-wave adoption, which is complementary to Hobsbawm and Ranger’s invented traditions; and ‘tangification’, which identifies the process through which ICH becomes IP in a modern legal framework and highlights the risks to ICH integrity as well as the over-extension of IP law. Each of these contributions support the assertion that properly managing risk to and safeguarding ICH, which provides social and economic benefits, can also help to ensure that IP law is functioning in a manner reflecting its jurisprudential underpinnings, facilitating longevity and enforceability of the law.

Assisted Reproductive Technology has, in the last 40 years, raised numerous ethical questions. One of these ethical questions has been whether or not children born as a result of Assisted Reproductive Technology treatments may be harmed as a consequence of being brought into existence in this way. Harm caused to children is quite rightly a serious concern for society and society expects the State to intervene to protect children from parents who pose a significant risk to their children. Towards this end section 13(5) of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 requires licensed infertility treatment clinics to ‘take into account the welfare of the child who may be born as a result of treatment’ when considering whether or not to provide a woman with treatment services. This thesis will argue that section 13(5) of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 should be amended as it is acts as nothing more than an arbitrary and unjustified infringement on an individual’s right to reproductive liberty; is an ineffectual means of promoting the welfare of the child who may be born as a result of treatment; is philosophically incoherent; and is inconsistent with the law as applied in so-called ‘wrongful life’ cases. The argument that section 13(5) of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 should be amended will be grounded upon the contention that an individual’s right to reproductive liberty should be accorded particular respect. This thesis will argue for a right to reproductive liberty which encompasses a negative right of the individual to be free from unjustified interference by the State when making reproductive choices. The pervasive influence of the child welfare principle as applied in the context of decisions directly impacting upon them has, it will be argued, played a significant part in the inclusion and retention of section 13(5) within the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990. This thesis will examine the way in which the child welfare principle as applied to children has grown in influence and how an unquestioning adherence to this worthy principle has led to an incongruous version of it being applied at the pre-conception stage. While the State have a solid mandate to protect the welfare of children this thesis will argue that that mandate cannot realistically be extended to apply to future children, when to refuse an individual access to Assisted Reproductive Technology has the effect of preventing the child whose welfare is to be taken into account from being brought into existence in the first place.

This thesis examines the extent to which the criminal law is a suitable tool for the regulation of the sexual behaviour of ‘older children’ and identifies the most appropriate approach for that involvement to take. The research takes place in the context of the current approach in Scotland, whereby all consensual sexual intercourse and oro-genital sexual activity between two ‘older children’, defined as those aged 13 to 15, is criminalised under section 37 of the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009. The nature of this legislation is described in detail in Part One of the thesis, and then contextualised against the relatively widespread occurrence of these activities amongst older children and the very limited number of prosecutions under the provision in practice. The question of whether, on balance, the current approach is appropriate is addressed over Parts Two and Three of the thesis. In making this assessment, the thesis integrates relevant public health research and aspects of research into adolescent psychology and neurological development, with the principles that should normatively inform criminalisation decisions and doctrinal legal discussions. Overall, it is argued that, while there are good public policy reasons to encourage older children to delay engaging in sexual intercourse and oro-genital sexual activity, the current blanket approach taken by the criminal law in Scotland is overly broad. Part Four of the thesis makes an extensive comparative analysis of the legal approaches taken to consensual adolescent sexual intercourse in other common law jurisdictions, to identify possible approaches that Scotland might follow in preference to the current law. These approaches are drawn upon to advocate a more refined approach in the substantive law in Scotland that criminalises consensual sexual intercourse and oro-genital sexual activity involving older children only where there is a substantial age difference between the participants or where there is otherwise evidence of exploitation. The thesis argues that the refined approach would safeguard adolescents against exploitation without automatically criminalising significant numbers of adolescents for their consensual sexual behaviour.

It is an axiom of the conflict of laws that one state will not enforce the revenue, penal, or ‘other public’ laws of another. This thesis shall criticise this position, arguing that these exclusionary principles should be replaced with a general principle of enforceability, subject to the control of public policy. It shall begin by sketching the general landscape of the exclusion of foreign law in Anglo-Scots international private law. Thereafter, a detailed account shall be given – for each of the revenue, penal, and ‘other public’ law rules – of the historical development of those exclusions, and their present scope of operation. This exposition provides a foundation for a critical examination of those rules.

Cases that reach the Supreme Court are ‘hard cases’ where the result is not clearly dictated by statute or precedent. To reach a decision in these cases, a judge must exercise discretion and the non-legal factors that influence discretion have been the subject of extensive debate. Theoretical and empirical studies examining the influences on judicial discretion have focused on demographic characteristics and facets of the judicial personality including political ideology and attitudes. Personal values are related to these factors and have been demonstrated to play a role in decision making. This thesis demonstrates a relationship between personal values and judicial decision making in the Supreme Court. This thesis translates theories and techniques used in psychological research to examine the role of personal values in judicial decision making. A novel method of assessment of value expression in judgments was developed. This method revealed a different pattern of values expressed in the majority and minority judgments of cases that divided the Supreme Court, demonstrating a relationship between values and judicial decisions (value: decision paradigm). This was confirmed by an empirical study of legal academics. Drawing on this novel method, a series of Supreme Court cases were analysed to develop a theory of discretion, division, uncertainty, and values, suggesting that the influence of values is mediated through largely subconscious instinctive responses in cases where the outcome is perceived as uncertain. The role of values has significant implications in the debates surrounding judicial diversity, which have centred on overt characteristics, how the judiciary are seen. The study of judicial values has revealed tacit diversity in the Supreme Court which is associated with judicial decision making. The value: decision paradigm provides a new framework to analyse judicial decision making, judicial division, and the exercise of judicial discretion and the subconscious influences on these processes.

Today slavery is illegal in every part of the world. It has been recognised as a crime against humanity and a violation of fundamental human rights. Nonetheless, the exploitation, marginalisation and degradation of human beings for material profit continue to flourish in 21st-century society. Sophisticated criminal networks and transnational illicit operations, coupled with weak governance and a high demand for slave labour, has allowed modern slavery to evolve and thrive underground, where vulnerable individuals are exploited for a multitude of purposes. Due to the complex nature of modern slavery, not only is a comprehensive approach needed to address its commonalities, but particular attention needs to also focus on the complexities and challenges unique to specific forms of exploitation. Further, due its transnational nature its regulation requires the involvement and co-operation of various actors in the international community. In particular, one area that has been subject to increasing concern is the role of corporate entities in joining the fight against slavery, by ensuring that their operations and supply chain networks are not tainted with exploitative labour and riddled with human rights abuses. The international community has recognised that while corporate entities have the capacity to promote positive effects such as economic development, job opportunities, and technological innovations, that their operations can also adversely affect vulnerable individuals and communities. Thus, through the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR), and various human rights initiatives, businesses have been facing pressure to use their global resources, and power to acknowledge their influence and impact on significant global issues such as human rights, modern slavery, forced labour and human trafficking. Separately, as States are the prime guarantors of international human rights, they have an obligation to establish and enforce effective measures to regulate modern slavery, including the conduct of those who violate human rights and engage in the exploitation of people. Concerning unethical business practices, States then have a responsibility to establish corporate liability for complicity in modern slavery and related issues. Against the backdrop of global contemporary forms of slavery, this thesis aims to understand the extent of corporate obligation to respect internationally recognised human rights in the regulation of modern slavery, and challenge the perceived role of firms in combatting slavery in their operations. Moreover, this study considers the role of the State in enforcing CSR in line with its international obligation to protect human rights and combat modern slavery by preventing and prohibiting the crime, protecting the victims and prosecuting the offenders. This thesis will then conclude with an exploration of domestic level operations in the United Kingdom and evaluate what key approaches mean in the support of victims, the prosecution of offenders, and the responsibility of UK businesses.

Judicial discretion is at the heart of a humane criminal justice system, but the latitude exercisable in the UK juvenile courts allowed constructive treatment at one end of the spectrum and penal custody the other. Official acknowledgement of the different culpability of adult and juvenile offenders really began in the middle of the 19th century, and Parliament finally made provision early in the 20th century for this ‘welfare principle’, that reform and welfare rather than punishment were to guide judicial discretion in the decisions and conduct of juvenile criminal courts. This thesis offers an explanation for the varying emphasis given to this principle in England/Wales and Scotland, concentrating on the last 40 years of the 20th century. The lack of implementation of earlier reforms was confronted in two major reports, chaired by Kilbrandon in Scotland and Longford in England and Wales. Although they came to similar conclusions about the causes and the remedies for juvenile delinquency, and their subsequent legislation shared the same general philosophy, the implementation took diametrically different routes in the two jurisdictions. It is argued that deep-seated cultural and historical differences played a significant role both in legislative reforms and their application, coupled in Scotland with a conjunction of agency and political pragmatism that produced radical reforms. Significant factors implicated in the failure of the English reforms were political ambivalence towards the legislation; judicial/magisterial resistance or lack of training, particularly on child development; the absence of accountability in the magistracy; and the influence exercised by the Magistrates' Association. The research draws on archival papers and research literature, supplemented by interviews with key people. It has sought to find the origin of some influential ideas and explain their acceptance or rejection by the lay justices, through their exercise of judicial discretion. As there were further Acts related to juvenile defendants in both jurisdictions in the 1990s, the research was concluded with a consideration of their implementation.

This thesis examines the relationship between the private enforcement of EU competition law and forum shopping with a particular focus on cross-border collective end-consumer redress. There is no coherent framework across the EU for these types of cases. This lack of uniformity has the potential to create recourse to different national courts. Lawyers may engage in forum shopping when filing lawsuits on behalf of the victims of mass torts. Such practices can provide Member States with incentives to amend their laws to attract collective proceedings and create competition between national judicial systems. However, forum shopping is not the only concern. There appears to be a paucity of cross-border collective claims. This is coupled with an apparent lack of motivation for end-consumers to seek a remedy, particularly if the only choice is to litigate outside their own legal regime. Addressing this situation is vital given that end-consumers regularly suffer harm in the form of higher prices, lower output, reduced quality and limited innovation as a result of antitrust infringements but they are rarely compensated due to legal and practical obstacles. To each end-consumer the harm may indeed be de minimis. However, the aggregate harm can amount to a considerable sum. In the absence of effective redress procedures, infringing undertakings retain the spoils of their unlawful conduct. Against this background, this thesis examines the extent to which the conflicts-of-laws rules encourage forum shopping and considers the appropriate forum and the appropriate procedural measures that need to be adopted in order to facilitate effective and equal access to justice for end-consumer victims of EU competition law violations.