A lecture
series hosted by Northumbria University and delivered by one of the foremost
authorities on criminal and mental health law has attracted significant
interest among students, academics and the public.
Professor
Warren Brookbanks, from Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand, is in
residence at Northumbria Law School until March 2018. He is a recognised globally for his teaching in criminal law,
mental health law, criminal justice and non-adversarial justice. Professor
Brookbanks is also co-author of New Zealand’s leading criminal law publication Principles of Criminal Law – a highly
influential textbook referred to by legal academics and practitioners around
the world.
His first
lecture on January 10 on fitness to plead considered questions such as how the
courts can protect defendants who are unable to participate effectively in
their own trial, reflecting upon the approaches adopted across several
international jurisdictions. Another popular and highly topical lecture looked
at managing mental wellbeing in the legal profession. Causes for concern
addressed by Professor Brookbanks included work-related stress and anxiety. He
will develop the further in his next lecture on January 29, entitled Social
Media and Mental Health – a subject commanding significant attention at
present.
Professor
Brookbanks’s tenure at Northumbria follows a highly prized Leverhulme Trust
award for the support of research and education.
It is the first-time Northumbria has secured such an award for a visiting
professor, and reflects the growing reputation of Northumbria Law School’s Centre for Evidence and Criminal Justice, which
is hosting the lectures.
Associate
Professor Doctor Nicola Wake, who led the Leverhulme bid, said: “It is an
honour to be working with Professor Brookbanks, to host his lectures and to
collaborate with him on research. His writings on areas like fitness to plead
and mental health have informed law making and are what academics and
practitioners refer to for guidance. It is also a wonderful learning
opportunity for our students, academics, members of the law profession and the
public to hear his lectures on such topical themes.”
Professor
Brookbanks said: “It has been my great privilege to have had the opportunity to
collaborate with academic colleagues from Northumbria Law School. I am
impressed with the academic vitality of the Law School and the range of valuable
research projects being undertaken by
the staff I have had dealings with. I hope that the lecture series will feed
into this research and assist to enhance the well deserved reputation of
Northumbria Law School as a centre of academic excellence.”
For more
information on the remaining lecture series please visit: https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/about-us/academic-departments/northumbria-law-school/research/northumbria-centre-for-evidence-criminal-justice-studies/forthcoming-events/
Discover More: www.northumbria.ac.uk/law
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