Climate Change and the Rule of Law - Seminar Series on Law & Climate Crisis

The second seminar of this year's Cambridge Seminar Series on Law and the Climate Crisis: Climate Change and the Rule of Law.

Seminar synopsis

In collaboration with the UK Environmental Law Association (UKELA) to mark the commencement of UKELA’s 40th anniversary celebrations in 2027, this seminar offers an exceptionally rare opportunity to hear from three of the world’s leading sitting judges of specialised environmental courts to discuss the evolving relationship between climate change and the rule of law, including implications relevant to commercial, public, property, tort and all other legal practitioners.

About the speakers

Mr Justice Richard Humphreys (Planning and Environment Court, Ireland) - Justice Richard Humphreys is an Irish High Court judge appointed in October 2015, with prior experience as a practising barrister and legal academic. A graduate of University College Dublin and the Honorable Society of King's Inns, he holds a PhD in law from Trinity College Dublin and has lectured in law at institutions including University College Dublin, University College Cork, and University of Galway. He is a Senior Associate Research Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, School of Advanced Study University of London.

Sir Keith Lindblom (Court of Appeal, England and Wales; UKELA) - Sir Keith Lindblom is a retired Lord Justice of Appeal. Over his 15-year full-time judicial career, from his appointment to the High Court (Queen’s Bench Division) in 2010 to his retirement from the Court of Appeal in 2025, he was appointed President of the Lands Chamber of the Upper Tribunal (2013), lead judge of the Planning Court (2014), Lord Justice of Appeal with particular responsibility for planning and environmental law (2015), President of the Administrative Appeals Chamber of the Upper Tribunal (2018), Vice-President of Tribunals (2018), Senior President of Tribunals (2020), and a member of the panel of judges sitting in the Privy Council (2021). He was appointed President of UKELA in 2021.

Mr Justice Tim Mould (Planning Court, England and Wales) - Justice Tim Mould was appointed Planning Liaison Judge in 2024, responsible for overseeing the specialist Planning Court, England and Wales. He was appointed as Deputy High Court Judge in 2018, and has been a Judge of the High Court (King's Bench Division) since 2024. At Landmark Chambers, Tim practised in planning, environmental, and local government law, particularly in major transport schemes, promoting railway bills and other projects in Parliament and at public inquiry. He also specialised in valuation, rating and land compensation cases. Between 1995 and 2006, Tim was on the Attorney General’s Panel and was standing counsel to the Inland Revenue on rating and valuation between 1997 and 2006.

Nina Pindham (Cornerstone Barristers) - Nina Pindham is a leading environmental and planning barrister with Cornerstone Barristers. Her experience includes several of the largest infrastructure projects in Europe, and three of the leading strategic climate litigation cases in the UK: Finch v Surrey County Council and Friends of the Earth’s successful challenges to the UK Government’s Carbon Budget Delivery Plan and Net Zero Strategy. Her work spans offshore and onshore wind energy, solar & nuclear energy development, strategic battery storage development, water infrastructure, data centres, rail (including HS2), minerals development, hazardous substances, waste, EIA, SEA, agriculture, water, air quality, climate and nature conservation issues. She has represented clients (including national governments) before the High Court, Court of Appeal, Supreme Court and the United Nations. Nina currently serves as Chair of UKELA, and was awarded the Global Leadership Award in Climate Law at COP27 for her work with an international coalition of bar associations seeking to build the capacity of the legal sector in relation to climate change.

Chief Justice Brian Preston (Land and Environment Court, New South Wales) - Justice Brian Preston is the Chief Judge of the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales. Prior to being appointed in November 2005, he was a senior counsel practising primarily in New South Wales in environmental, planning, administrative and property law. He is the author of Australia’s first book on environmental litigation and articles, book chapters and reviews on environmental, administrative and criminal law. Justice Preston is an Official Member of the Judicial Commission of NSW, Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law, Fellow of the Royal Society of NSW and Honorary Fellow of the Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand. He is a member of various international environmental law committees and advisory boards, including serving on the Governing Council and as Vice President for Oceania of the Global Judicial Institute on the Environment and as Chair of the Environmental Law Committee of the Law Association for Asia and the Pacific (LAWASIA).

Event venue & nearby stays

David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge, United Kingdom

Concerts, fests, parties, meetups — all the happenings, one place.

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