Justice in a Crisis: Blackstone Lecture 2021

This year’s Blackstone Lecture, delivered by Pembroke Master the Rt Hon Sir Ernest Ryder and sponsored by Atkin Chambers, was held virtually via a YouTube livestream.

Pembroke’s Blackstone Lecture has taken place annually since 1976, providing audiences with the distilled thoughts of the most distinguished legal minds of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. This year’s speaker, Sir Ernest Ryder, is a former Lord Justice of Appeal and Senior President of UK Tribunals, as well as being Master of our College since July 2020.

The lecture, titled ‘Justice in a Crisis’ addressed the functioning of the judicial system in the context of an increasing legal backlog due to the coronavirus pandemic. Sir Ernest considered the role of the judiciary in its own reform and recovery, issues of increasingly difficult access to justice, and how the law has responded in previous major crises. After the lecture, Sir Ernest took time to answer questions from some of our viewers.

A full replay of this year’s Blackstone Lecture can be accessed on our YouTube channel, and a transcript of the talk can be found here on our website.