Month: February 2025

BABEL project researchers work with University of Bristol students to raise awareness of mental capacity law

Posted on by foluke.adebisi

by Gus Harrison, Judy Laing, Sheelagh McGuinness, and Patty Miranda

Setting the stage: six years of the BABEL project

The Wellcome-funded BABEL project at the University of Bristol has, for the last six years or so, been exploring best interests decision making for adults and children in England and Wales. The collaborative project started towards the end of 2018 and involved several different work strands with researchers based in the Centre for Health, Law, and Society (CHLS) and the Centre for Ethics in Medicine.  The law work strand, based in the CHLS at the Law School, focused on best interests decision-making in law. The law research team – Judy Laing, Sheelagh McGuinness, and Aoife Finnerty—carried out empirical research with legal practitioners to find out their views about this branch of legal decision-making. The research findings are now being written up and will be published later this year, including in an edited book, to be published by Bristol University Press in 2026. (more…)

Why Helen Pitcher’s resignation as Chair of the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) is a red herring to distract attention away from the ‘real possibility test’

Posted on by foluke.adebisi

By Dr Michael Naughton, Reader in Sociology and Law (University of Bristol Law School and  School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies (SPAIS)).

Introduction

It is understandable that when we are wronged or we or a loved one experiences a grave injustice that we want someone to take responsibility for it and something to be done in response to try to put it right. Such responsibility would entail an apology that shows genuine remorse or regret that the wrong occurred, insight that the cause of the wrong is appropriately understood, assurances that such a wrong will not happen again and, if possible, redress for the harm that has been caused. (more…)