COLLEGE CO-SPONSORS
FORUM ON THE RULE OF LAW
AS PART OF ITS MISSION TO SUPPORT “THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE JUDICIARY . . . AND
RESPECT FOR THE RULE OF LAW,” THE COLLEGE HAS SPONSORED SEVERAL FORMAL LEGAL
EXCHANGES AMONG SENIOR JURISTS AND ATTORNEYS FROM THE UNITED STATES
AND THE UNITED KINGDOM. RECENT EXCHANGES OCCURRED IN 2015 (IN GREAT BRITAIN,
TO COINCIDE WITH THE CELEBRATION OF THE 800TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MAGNA CARTA)
AND IN 2016 (WHEN THE 2015 EXCHANGE GROUP GATHERED IN THE UNITED STATES
FOR A FOLLOW-UP FORMAL PROGRAM). SUPREME COURT JUSTICES AND OTHER JUDICIAL
OFFICERS FROM EACH COUNTRY (AS WELL AS COLLEGE FELLOWS) PARTICIPATED IN EACH
EXCHANGE, AND THE PARTICIPANTS JOINTLY PREPARED SUBSTANTIVE SCHOLARLY PAPERS
TO ASSIST IN GUIDING THEIR DISCUSSIONS.
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In September 2021 the College and the Association of Marshall Scholars co-sponsored a
virtual forum on the Rule of Law. Although the virtual format was necessarily less formal
than earlier exchanges, it was modeled on the format of earlier exchanges and included
members of the United States Supreme Court, other distinguished federal and state court
judges from the United States, members of the Supreme Courts of the United Kingdom
and Northern Ireland, the High Courts of England and Wales, College Fellows, current
and former Marshall Scholars, and an English barrister. The forum was so enthusiastically
received that, as the pandemic began to show signs of waning in parts of the world, the
College and the Association of Marshall Scholars were encouraged to continue it by cosponsoring
an in-person meeting – the “Forum on the Rule of Law: Legal Issues in a Post-
Pandemic Society” — which was held over a three-day period in early May 2022 at the
United States Supreme Court.
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