Lady Black of Derwent launches Inter Alia: Volume XI of the Durham Law Review

2 July 2026

On 9 June 2026, the Durham Law Review successfully launched its annual flagship journal, Inter Alia: Volume XI. The publication evening welcomed Lady Black of Derwent for a conversation with students from across Durham Law School and the wider University community. The event celebrated student-led academic discourse and critical engagement with the law.

This year, the Durham Law Review had the distinct honour of welcoming the Rt Hon Lady Black of Derwent, former Justice of the UK Supreme Court, Joint President of the Durham Law School Alumni Association and a Durham alumna, to speak with students and formally launch the journal.

The event consisted of a conversation between Lady Black and Amaan Ali Khan, President of the Durham Law Review, followed by an interactive Q&A session with students. Lady Black reflected on her early beginnings, starting with her motivation to pursue a career as a lawyer and her time at Durham. She also shared perspectives from her time on the bench, including on the process of judicial decision-making and the role of dissent. The conversation also explored the role of the independent judiciary and questions of diversity and representation at the Bar and on the bench.

Lady Black also formally launched the journal. The volume features scholarship not only on English law, but also on Indian legal history, the approach of courts in Hong Kong to human rights, and the challenges climate change poses for international law. From public law to financial law, the journal engages with a wide range of subjects. Inter Alia: Volume XI of the Durham Law Review is available to read online: https://durhamlawreview.org/interalia

Amaan Ali Khan, President of the Durham Law Review reflected,

The phrase, Inter Alia, means ‘among other things’. It is the name with which the Durham Law Review was founded in 1992. It is an ode to the legacy of the Review, which has for over three decades been a forum for legal debate and scholarship. It is also a reflection on the nature of the academic discourse contained in the volume—in that the excellent editorials, essays and case commentaries are all a small fraction in an expanse of thought and knowledge. Through this, we seek to recognise the importance of intellectual humility in scholarship.

Closing Speech Mark Graphic

Professor Volker Roeben, Dean of the Law School, commented:

I very much welcome the launch of Volume XI of Inter Alia. It shows a lot of hard work, research, thought and writing skills. Congratulations to all involved in the creation and publication of this volume. The Law School is pleased to support the publication of this volume. I would also like to add my thanks to Lady Black for being so generous with her time in launching this volume.

Amaan added:

The breadth of scholarship across jurisdictions and subject areas, together with the diversity of its authors, reflects the richness and diversity of the common law tradition in which the volume follows.

The Durham Law Review is grateful to Lady Black for kindly writing the foreword to the journal and for speaking with students at the publication evening. The Review also sincerely thanks Durham Law School for its generous support in enabling the publication of the volume. It further extends its gratitude to Professor Volker Roeben (Dean of Durham Law School) for his patronage, Professor Philip Bennett for his invaluable encouragement and advice, and Ms Jessica Banks for her unfailing coordination and support on behalf of the Law School.

The volume and success of the Review this year would not have been possible without the Executive Committee and Editorial Board, contributors and all those who submitted to the Review. The Review is very grateful for their time, efforts and enthusiasm for student-led academic discourse.