Franco-British Lawyers Society Conference: Art, Dreyfus, Oscar Slater and miscarriages of justice

The event will start with the opening of an exhibition of sculptures by the fashion designer and sculptor Nicole Farhi, include a Gala Dinner in Parliament Hall, and end with a dramatic re-enactment of the Oscar Slater trial by Donald Findlay KC, in the same courtroom as the original trial.

There will be an exploration of the similarities between the Dreyfus Affair and the case of Oscar Slater, often referred to as the “Scottish Dreyfus”. The conference will also look at the procedures currently used in the UK and France to deal with miscarriages of justice, the Outreau case in France and the Post Office case in the UK.

Speakers from the UK will include Lord Pentland (Lord Justice General), Lady Arden (former Justice of the Supreme Court), Sir Bernard McCloskey (Northern Ireland Court of Appeal), Michael Walker (Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission), Andrew Tickell (Glasgow Caledonian University), Professor Lindsay Farmer (Glasgow University) and Dr Karine Varley (Strathclyde University).

Speakers from France will include André Valini (former MP and government minister, and president of the enquiry into the Outreau affair), Olivier Bray (Advocate General, Dijon Appeal Court), Lise Jaulin (Liaison Magistrate at the French Embassy) and Geraldine Keiflin (screenwriter)

Lord Ericht, the Scottish vice-president of the FBLS, said: “I encourage all Scottish lawyers with an interest in this important subject to come along to what will be an instructive and enjoyable conference.”

All are welcome to attend. Full details and a booking form are available here.