Sir David Williams Professor of Public Law

Sir David Williams Professor of Public Law
Name	Sir David Williams Professor of Public Law
Established	2010
Founder	Sir David Williams
Department	Faculty of Law
University	University of Cambridge
Country	England

Sir David Williams Professor of Public Law is an endowed chair in public law at the University of Cambridge established to advance scholarship in constitutional and administrative law. The professorship links the legacy of Sir David Williams with teaching and research across the Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge, engaging with comparative jurisprudence and public policy debates in the United Kingdom, European Union, and Commonwealth jurisdictions. The chair interacts with legal institutions, tribunals, and international organizations to promote doctrinal and empirical work.

History and Establishment

The chair was created following a benefaction by Sir David Williams, a former Justice of the High Court of England and Wales and scholar with ties to the Inner Temple, the Royal Society and the British Academy. Its establishment drew on precedents such as the founding of other named chairs at the University of Oxford, Yale University, Harvard University, and the London School of Economics. Early discussions involved stakeholders from the Ministry of Justice (United Kingdom), the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, and the Council of Europe. The formal announcement was covered by national institutions including the Times (London), the Guardian, and legal periodicals like the Law Quarterly Review.

Purpose and Endowment

The endowment supports teaching, research, and public engagement in areas associated with public law: constitutional interpretation, administrative review, human rights, and public international law. Funding arrangements were structured with guidance from the Charity Commission for England and Wales, the University Grants Committee (United Kingdom), and philanthropic frameworks similar to those used by the Wellcome Trust and the Leverhulme Trust. The chair aims to foster collaborations with the European Court of Human Rights, the International Court of Justice, the United Nations Human Rights Council, and regional bodies such as the African Union and the Organization of American States.

Holders of the Chair

The inaugural holder brought experience from practice at the Bar of England and Wales, participation in inquiries before the House of Commons, and scholarship citing precedents from the House of Lords and decisions of the European Court of Justice. Subsequent holders have included academics who previously taught at the University of Oxford, University College London, the University of Toronto, and the Australian National University. These professors have engaged with commissions led by figures such as former Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales and collaborated with research centres including the Cambridge Centre for Public Law, the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, and the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law.

Notable Contributions and Influence

Research produced under the chair has influenced litigation before the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, submissions to the European Commission, and interventions at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Publications in journals like the Cambridge Law Journal, the Modern Law Review, and the International & Comparative Law Quarterly have shaped debates on constitutional change, devolution, and separation of powers. Holders have advised governments during constitutional reform in jurisdictions such as Scotland, Northern Ireland, Jamaica, and Kenya, and have testified to parliamentary committees chaired by members of the House of Commons Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission and the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee.

Selection Process and Responsibilities

Appointments follow procedures administered by the University of Cambridge and the Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge appointment committees, with oversight from external assessors drawn from institutions like the British Academy, the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and leading law faculties at the University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, Yale University, and the University of Melbourne. Candidates are evaluated on scholarship, teaching, and public engagement, and must demonstrate contributions comparable to holders of chairs at the London School of Economics, King's College London, and the European University Institute. Responsibilities include lecturing on courses tied to the Tripos system, supervising doctoral candidates linked to the Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies, and contributing to pro bono initiatives modeled on clinics at the Legal Services Commission.

Associated Events and Lectures

The chair sponsors a lecture series that has hosted speakers from the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, the European Court of Human Rights, the International Criminal Court, and scholars from the Hague Academy of International Law, the European University Institute, and the Brookings Institution. Annual symposia convene participants from the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, the Commonwealth Secretariat, NGOs such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, and academic partners including the University of Cambridge Centre for Political Thought and the Wolfson College, Cambridge fellowship network. These events often coincide with conferences at the British Institute of International and Comparative Law and workshops supported by the Economic and Social Research Council.

Category:Professorships Category:University of Cambridge