Watch Edinburgh Law School's most recent Alumni & Friends Discussion with Professor Stephen Tierney, Professor of Constitutional Theory, and Dr Elisenda Casanas Adam, Senior Lecturer in Public Law and Human Rights, that explores the issue of constitutional unsettlement in the United Kingdom. Including an introduction from Professor Jo Shaw, Salvesen Chair of European Institutions and Head of Edinburgh Law School.

It has been argued that the United Kingdom is in a state of constitutional unsettlement, where questions around EU participation, devolution, independence and human rights protection, among others, are subject to continuous debate with uncertain long-term consequences.

As part of this discussion, Professor Stephen Tierney reflected upon his work as Legal Adviser to the House of Lords Constitution Committee over the past seven years, during which he has advised upon numerous pieces of Brexit-related legislation and their impact upon devolution. Dr Elisenda Casanas Adam discusses her work on human rights reform and provides a view from Scotland.

About the speakers

Professor Tierney

Professor Stephen Tierney is Professor of Constitutional Theory at Edinburgh Law School. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, a member of the Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland and Legal Adviser to the House of Lords Constitution Committee.  

His research interests are in constitutional theory and United Kingdom and comparative constitutional law. He has published ten books, including three monographs with Oxford University Press: Constitutional Law and National Pluralism (2004), Constitutional Referendums: The Theory and Practice of Republican Deliberation (2012) and The Federal Contract: A Constitutional Theory of Federalism (2022).

Dr Elisenda Casanas Adam

Dr Elisenda Casanas Adam’s main research interests lie in the comparative analysis of public law, focusing on plurinational constitutionalism, referendums and self-determination, devolution and federalism, and judicial review and the protection of human rights in multi-level systems.