The day dawned very early for YSJ Law School’s trip to London to meet Lady Hale at the Supreme Court on 12 March, 2019. A group of 27 first year students tumbled onto a coach at 5am, bound for London and a visit to the Supreme Court and the House of Commons.
Our first appointment was with York Central MP Rachael Maskell, for a question and answer session about the life of an MP and her work representing her constituents. Rachael then led us through to the Chamber of the House of Commons, passing many well-known faces en route. We were then able to sit in the public gallery and hear Geoffrey Cox, then Attorney-General, issue his legal opinion on the Irish backstop – if it were triggered, leaving it would require the agreement of both parties to the negotiations; there would be no unilateral way out of it for the UK, other than if there were an act of bad faith on the part of the other party.
Following lunch and a cloudburst to end all cloudbursts, we were treated to a tour of the Supreme Court, visiting the three court rooms and learning about the Privy Council. Our guide explained the origins of the four floral heraldic elements on the Supreme Court, which represent the jurisdictions in the United Kingdom: the rose for England, the leek for Wales, the thistle for Scotland and the flax flower for Northern Ireland. Lady Hale joined us at the end of a hearing to explain her role as President of the Supreme Court, to talk to us about the changing landscape of the judicial profession and significant advances made by female lawyers during her life time, and to answer questions.
At the end of a long and fascinating day, we headed back to York to reflect on what we had learned.
