The 2024 Baron de Lancey Lecture - Medicine and the Rule of Law
Prof. Sir Jonathan Montgomery (University College London)
The Baron de Lancey Lecture is an annual public lecture hosted by the Centre for Law, Medicine and Life Sciences at the University of Cambridge's Faculty of Law. It provides distinguished lawyers with a forum to debate their views on contemporary topics in medical law with a Cambridge audience.
This year, Prof. Sir Jonathan Montgomery (University College London) delivered a lecture discussing “Medicine and the Rule of Law”. He challenged lawyers (including judges) to improve the way they respect the rule of law, to avoid doctors and medicine being ruled by lawyers, rather than by the Rule of Law. In doing so, he discussed high profile court cases on prescription of puberty blockers, cessation of treatment for severely ill infants, physician-assisted dying, communication with patients, and many other issues.
About the Speaker:
Prof. Sir Jonathan Montgomery is Professor of Health Care Law at University College London. He has made significant contributions to the field of Health Care Law and is widely considered to have redefined the subject area. He has been a leader in the UK in public bioethics and was awarded a knighthood in the 2019 New Year’s Honours for Services to Bioethics and Healthcare Law. Professor Montgomery is currently chair of Oxford University Hospitals NHSFT and co-chair of the Moral and Ethical Advisory Group within the Department of Health and Social Care. His previous chair roles include chair of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics (2012-17), chair of the Health Research Authority (2012-19) and national chair roles on the Advisory Committee on Clinical Excellence Awards (2005-14) and the Human Genetics Commission (2009-12).
The recording of the event is available online via the University SMS website and the Faculty of Law’s YouTube channel.
