Just in case you are interested

European Law in the United Kingdom
UKAEL Annual Lecture by Sir Jonathan Faull

Thursday 14 December 2017 at 6pm
Great Hall, King’s College London, Strand Campus
Followed by a Drinks Reception

Free to UKAEL members and students
Please contact kerstin.wachholz@kcl.ac.uk to book your place

European Law in the United Kingdom – Sir Jonathan Faull KCMG

“My purpose is not to lament, reminisce, engage in wishful thinking or consider paths not taken. It is rather to celebrate the British contribution to a work of great beauty, European Union law. The metaphor of architecture is often used to describe the structures of the EU and some of the designers and builders are in this room. The process will continue without us but will always have a major impact on life in this country, so our engagement is not at an end.  The study and practice of EU law will continue to be of great importance in and for this country. It may become a foreign law, but I think it will be less foreign than any other, including that of common law countries with which we share a rich legal tradition and many business, professional, academic and personal ties. Why do I say that with such confidence? Because EU law is the organising principle of our continent. It was our law for decades and its terminology and concepts are now embedded in many parts of our domestic law and will remain so for a long time, whatever repeals and amendments follow our departure from the EU.”

Sir Jonathan Faull has spent 38 years at the European Commission where he worked for many years in the Directorate General of Competition. From 1989 to 1992 he worked in the cabinet (private office) of the competition Commissioner (Leon Brittan). He was the Commission’s Spokesman and Director General of Press and Communication (1999-2003), Director General of Justice and Home Affairs (2003-2010), Director General of Internal Market and Services (2010-2015) and Director General of the Task Force on the British referendum on membership of the EU (2015-2016). He is Chair of European Public Affairs at the Brunswick Group and the author of many articles on European law and policy; co-editor of a leading work on European Competition Law; Visiting Professor, King’s College London and College of Europe, Bruges; Emeritus Professor, Vrije Universiteit Brussel; Member of the Advisory Boards of the Centre for European Reform and the Institut Jacques Delors Notre Europe.  He was knighted in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in June 2017.