The Power of Apology: the Future of Apology in Civil & Criminal Justice

Wednesday 24th February 2016 6-7.40pm Strathclyde University

Sheriff WS Ireland (Chair)

Professor Prue Vines, University of New South Wales Law School, Australia

Mary Munro, senior visiting fellow, Centre for Law, Crime & Justice, Strathclyde Law School

The University of Strathclyde is to host an event on the issue of apologies in law following the passing of recent legislation.

Last month Holyrood passed the Apologies (Scotland) Bill which aims to promote a social and cultural change in attitudes to giving apologies.

An apology is defined in the bill as: “any statement made by or on behalf of a person which indicates that the person is sorry about, or regrets, an act, omission or outcome and includes any part of the statement which contains an undertaking to look at the circumstances giving rise to the act, omission or outcome with a view to preventing a recurrence.”

Dr Cyrus Tata, professor of law and criminal justice said: “Apologising for wrongs is a normal part of healthy social interaction. Yet does the legal system tend to obstruct apology? If so, what are the implications for all parties?

“Recent legislation in both the civil and criminal justice spheres has led to new interest in how apology can be facilitated. What will this new legislation mean and where should Scotland go from here?

“When legislators protect such apologies in an attempt to maintain normal social civility in the hope of preventing litigation we must ask whether the apology is affected by law in such a way as to merely become a cynical PR device.

“Apology is also used as a remedy in criminal law (e.g. Restorative Justice), but is this also a cynical PR exercise? Is there something of value in any apology, even in a court-ordered apology? What does and should the future hold for the role of apology in civil and criminal justice?”

Professor Vines is co-director of the private law research and policy group. She has also been visiting professor at Strathclyde University Law School since 2006. She is an expert on the role of apology in the justice system, as well as in tort and succession law. She has advised law reform commissions and governments in Australia, the UK, and New Zealand.

Her work on apology draws on a range of disciplinary perspectives, including psychology (in which she originally studied and worked), sociology and philosophy.

Mary Munro is a founder member of the RJ Forum Scotland and teaches RJ on the LLM / MSc in criminal justice & penal change at Strathclyde. She is also editor of Scottish Justice Matters. Before moving to Scotland in 1992 she was a probation officer having originally qualified and practised as a solicitor.

Register for the event here.