CONFERENCE AGENDA
Note: schedule of speakers may be subject to revision
June 1, 2025 | Sunday
14:00 - 17:00
Registration
17:00 - 19:00
Opening Reception
All attendees are invited to an opening reception on Sunday, June 1. The reception, featuring drinks and canapés, will be held from 17:00 to 19:00 in Parliament Hall, located within Parliament House, 11 Parliament Square, Edinburgh.
June 2, 2025 | Monday
9:00 - 9:30
Welcoming Remarks
The Right Hon. Lord Pentland, Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General
The Right Hon. Dorothy Bain KC, Lord Advocate
9:30 - 10:45
Session 1
Trevor Shaw, British Columbia Prosecution Service - The role of INTERPOL in the investigation of international human trafficking
Tommaso Trinchera, Bocconi University - Rethinking Extraterritorial Jurisdiction: The Case of Transnational Sex and Violence Crimes
Moderator: Nikos Harris, K.C., Peck & Company
10:45 - 11:05
Break
11:05 - 12:30
Session 2
Rachael Weir, Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service - Sex, Soft Power and Transnational Crime
Dr. Janine Benedet, K.C., University of British Columbia - Reforming Canada's Prostitution Laws: Liberty, Equality, Masculinity
Moderator: Tamara Levy, K.C., UBC Innocence Project
12:30 - 14:00
Lunch
14:00 - 15:00
Session 3
Cynthia Ojukwu, The De Montfort University - Online Gender-Based Violence and Artificial Intelligence
David McDonald, Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service - Altered images: Deepfakes, Child Abuse, and Filters- How artificial intelligence is amplifying sexual offending globally
Moderator: Raelene Sharp, K.C., Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions
15:00 - 15:20
Break
15:20 - 16:00
Session 4
Marie Comiskey, Public Prosecution Service of Canada - The Challenges of Prosecuting the Evasion of Sanction Globally - A Special Spotlight on Sanctions Applied Against Russia After Invading Ukraine
Moderator: Justice Michael Tammen, Supreme Court of British Columbia
16:00 - 16:30
Michael Hill Memorial Lecture featuring Richard Peck, K.C. on the Rule of Law
Evening
Reception
June 3, 2025 | Tuesday
9:00 - 9:15
Opening remarks
The Right Hon. Lord Beckett, Lord Justice Clerk
9:15 - 10:45
Session 5
Lisa Jean Helps & Stacey Repas, Helps Law Corporation - When Prosecution of Transnational Crime Means Betraying the Rule of Law: State Extradition and Mutual Legal Assistance in Undemocratic Situations
Adrine Asingwire, Office of the DPP-Uganda - Prosecution of Sex-related Offences, Violence, Fraud, and Transnational Crimes
Moderator: Sheriff Norman McFadyen, Judiciary of Scotland
10:45 - 11:05
Break
11:05 - 12:30
Session 6
Nicole Wright, Legal Reform Department of Jamaica - Gender-Based Violence In Jamaica
Dr. Muhamad Sayuti Hassan, Centre for International Law & Siyar (CILAS), Faculty of Law, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) - Rehabilitation and Restorative Sentencing for Sexual Offenders Against Child Victims in the Criminal Justice System
Makaela Blake, End Homelessness St. John's - The Indigenous Health Gap and Its Relation to the MMIWG Crisis, A Human Rights Disaster
Moderator: Judge Satinder Sidhu, Provincial Court of British Columbia
12:30 - 14:00
Lunch
14:00 - 15:00
Session 7
Prof Jonathan Clough, Monash University - A Missed Opportunity: Extending the ‘Failure to Prevent’ Model of Corporate Criminal Liability to Modern Slavery and Related Offences
Simon Thomson, British Columbia Prosecution Service - Trauma informed practice for prosecutors dealing with Intimate partner Violence
Moderator: TBA
15:00 - 15:20
Break
15:20 - 16:30
Session 8
Dr. Natalia Antolak-Saper, Monash University - Consent, Deceit, and Sexual Autonomy: A Comparative Inquiry into Fraud and Free and Voluntary Agreement in Sexual Offences
Tony Lenahan, K.C., Black Chambers – The Role of Defence Counsel in Sexual Assault Proceedings
Stuart Munro, The Law Society of Scotland - The rights of the complainant in sexual violence cases
Moderator: Judge Jeff Campbell, Provincial Court of British Columbia
Evening
Local Group Dinners
June 4, 2025 | Wednesday
9:00 - 10:45
Session 9
The Right Hon. Lord Matthews, Scottish Sentencing Council - The evidence available on sentencing modern slavery and associated offences involving human trafficking and prostitution
Kath Harper, K.C., Crown Office and the Procurator Fiscal Service - The Non-Prosecution of Victims of Exploitation
Keshia West, Ministry of Legal and Constitutional Affairs - Violating the Vulnerable: The Road to Rescue
Moderator: John Logue, Crown Office and the Procurator Fiscal Service
10:45 - 11:05
Break
11:05 - 12:15
Session 10
The Hon. Justice Patrick Healy, Quebec Court of Appeal
Professor Emeritus Neil Boyd, Simon Fraser University
Dr. Peter M. German K.C., President, International Centre for Criminal Law Reform & Criminal Justice Policy (ICCLR)
Responding Effectively to the Challenges of Organized Crime – The Unintended Consequences of Judgments
12:15 - 13:45
Lunch
13:45 - 15:00
Session 11
Prof. Michelle Gallant, University of Manitoba - Unexplained Wealth and Rights Tensions
Dr. Chudi Ojukwu, Legal Research Initiative of Nigeria - Corruption as a Financial Crime: A Restorative Justice Response (the Nigerian Perspective)
Dr. Dominik Zając, Jagiellonian University - Money as a jurisdictional link and combating international organised crime
Moderator: Prof. Roger Clark, Rutgers Law School
Evening
Closing Dinner
Conference attendees are invited to attend the Conference Dinner at the Kimpton Charlotte Square Hotel.
The cost of this dinner is included in the registration fee. Conference attendees may also bring a guest for an additional fee of $150 CAD, which can be arranged in cash only at the conference registration desk.
June 5, 2025 | Thursday
9:00 - 10:45
Session 12
The Hon. Lady Drummond, Judicial Institute for Scotland - Effective Judicial Intervention in Sexual Offence Trials
Lit Cheng Lee, The State Courts of Singapore - Evolving Judicial Roles: Active Case Management to Enhance Complainant Protection in Sexual Offence Trials
Helen Watts, K.C., Axiom Advocates - Scottish Human Trafficking and Exploitation Risk Orders
Moderator: Sheriff Nicola Patrick, The Sheriffdom of North Strathclyde
10:45 - 11:05
Break
11:05 - 12:30
Session 13
Paul Harvey, Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service - Sexual-history evidence: a question of balance
Lee Vandergust, British Columbia Prosecution Service - Sexual History Evidence in Focus: Navigating Challenges and Insights in Canadian Law.
Vishnu Kathuria, Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service & Laxmi Kathuria, National Health Service, Scotland - Is Scotland leading the way in legislating against domestic abuse and violence?
Moderator: Sheriff Adrian Cottam, Judicial Institute for Scotland
12:30 - 13:00
Closing