12 February 2026 - We enjoyed a fascinating evening exploring the differences between the laws of the UK and Spain and how these difference affect the general public in their day-to-day lives.

Hosted at Instituto Cervantes in Temple, the historic heart of London's law district, we heard from Professor Javier Garcia Oliva, Head of Law at the University of Manchester, lecturer at and a Teaching Fellow at University College London, and Reverend Dr Helen Hall, Associate Professor at the Nottingham Law School.

Professor Garcia Oliva discussed societal expectations, interpretations and enforcement of law, asking the audience to consider whether law simply sets out the limits of behaviour, or reflects the shared values of a country.

Reverend Dr Helen Hall delved into the subject of law reflecting differing attitudes towards family and community.

The evening provided interesting talking points around the legality of serving alcohol to drunk people, provision in wills for tortoises and how to deal with gossiping. We ended the evening with a lively Q&A session, with our final thoughts considering which aspects of each country's law we would like to borrow from the other.

You can view the entire talk here: https://www.youtube.com/live/OcpncijFApM

Javier and Helen are currently working on their third joint book, on Law and the Supernatural. Their previous book, 'Constitutional Culture, Independence and Rights: Insights from Quebec, Scotland and Catalonia', was published by University of Toronto Press in 2023.