Visit at the UK Supreme Court

At the end of March 2024, students and researchers of the MCC Center for Constitutional Politics and the Public Law Center took part in a study trip to London organized by the MCC. At the invitation of former Attorney General for Northern Ireland, John Larkin, the group attended a hearing at the UK Supreme Court concerning a section of the Inquiries Act relating to abuse in hospitals. At the hearing, representatives from all sides presented their arguments and positions, while the judges asked them some very tough questions. The hearing and lunch afterwards with John Larkin gave the students a first-hand experience with the British courts and the English legal system. MCC students then visited the Churchill War Rooms, an interactive exhibition set up in the bunker system where the British High Command was based during the Second World War. Here we learned more about the life of the former Prime Minister and the British war efforts.

The next day the MCC visited the King's College. In his lecture, Paul James Cardwell gave an insight into the specifics of British constitutional law, current English human rights issues and the details of the much-discussed 'Rwanda deal' between the UK and Rwanda. The presentation of Alexander Türk, (Vice Dean of the King’s College)  covered the content of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement and many other legal implications of Brexit. During the break, students also had the opportunity to speak to students from King's College and were given a tour of the university campus. The presentations were followed by an informal discussion on Hungarian-British relations with Ambassador Ferenc Kumin at the Hungarian Embassy.

The study trip ended with a research seminar at the University of Surrey School of Law. Among other things, Conor Casey gave the MCC students a lecture on the natural law approach to constitutional law and in particular to the role of the courts.