Academic staff

Peter's main contribution to the undergraduate programme is his distance learning module Religion and Law in the 21st Century (U22179). He also supervises undergraduate dissertations, and teaches Equity and Trusts.

At master's level, his main contribution is to the LLM in Legal Practice. Peter was one of the validating team for the LLM, and has taught on it since its inception. He leads the distance learning skills module. He supervises a wide range of topics at this level, including topics with a religious element (such as Shariah projects), and work on any small jurisdiction with a common-law inheritance. He also teaches on the LLM in International Law programme, co-teaching Inequality, Diversity, and Human Rights with Professor Lucy Vickers.

At research degree level, Peter primarily supervises in the area of law and religion. Past projects have, for instance, included religious terrorism, the right to life under ECHR and Shariah law, the identity of Arab Muslim Women, sacred sites, and religion and crime. He also supervises on the law of small jurisdictions, for instance on the role of the Privy Council in the Commonwealth Caribbean. He particularly welcomes PhD applications in the area of the interaction between commercial and religious activity, definitional issues around religion and/or belief, and the constitutional law of the Crown Dependencies. 

Modules taught

LAW6010 Religion and Law in the 21st Century.

LAW6013 Equity and Trusts.

LAW7046 Inequality, Diversity and Human Rights.

LLM in Legal Practice Skills.

Supervision

Sarah Hayes, To what extent does public presence destabilise a local church’s autonomy over its precinct?, Ph.D. (2019).

Ahmed Almuqham, Freedom of parties in international commercial arbitration: An analytical and comparative study of Shariah, the Saudi Arbitration Law 2012 and the English Arbitration Act 1996, Ph.D. (2019).

Louisa Haviaras, Free movement of scientists within the European Research Area (ERA): An analysis of the Cypriot research market, Ph.D. (2019).

Alfred Fullah, The legacy of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, Ph.D. (2018).

Sonia Morano-Foadi, Citizenship, Migration and Fundamental rights: Challenges at the Crossroads of European Integration, PhD by Published Work (2017).

Nawaf Alyaseen, Islamic public policy and morality principles and their effect on trade mark protection in the light of the TRIPS agreement, PhD (2017).

Laurin Correa Carranza, The role of regional organisations in international copyright law, PhD (2015).

Felipe Romero Moreno, Amending the UK Digital Economy Act 2010 from a subscribers’ human rights perspectives, Phd (2015). 

Natasha Helim, “ Brunei: Building and Enshrining an Absolute Monarchy”, MPhil (2015).

Mohammad Almaharmeh, Judicial Jurisdiction and legal Conflicts on the Internet: An Analysis of Jordanian Cyber Jurisdiction Rules, PhD (2014).

Theodore Ngoy, The presumption of innocence before the International Criminal Court, LLM by Research (2011).

Wipiphat Swangphol, Religious grievance in modern terrorism: Trouble in Southeast Asia, a case study of Southern Thailand, LLM by Research (2011)

Javad Gohari, A legal study of the right to life under the ECHR and Islamic Law, PhD (2011)

Deema al-Saud, Living in two worlds: an investigation into the identity of Arab Muslim women in contemporary Great Britain., PhD (2010)

Philipp Schmidinger, The effectiveness of visiting mechanisms for the implementation of International Human Rights Law, PhD (2010)

Rajan Christumony, Sacred sites and international law: A case study of the Ayodhya dispute, PhD (2008).

Derek O’Brien, The protection of the fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Independence constitutions of the Commonwealth Caribbean: The role of the Privy Council and the impact of saving law clauses for pre-Independence laws, Ph.D. by Published Work (2006).

Andrea Blackhurst, When worlds collide: The interaction between English criminal law and religious belief, MPhil (1999).

Professor Peter Edge has two principal research interests.

Firstly, the law of small jurisdictions with a common law inheritance, particularly the Isle of Man. His doctoral work at Cambridge University concentrated on the public law of the Isle of Man, including both constitutional and criminal law, and his publications in the area seek to show how the study of Manx law can illuminate issues of broader scholarly concern (for instance, in a study of the Manx Tynwald aimed at informing reforms to the UK House of Lords).

Secondly, the interaction of law and religion within the English jurisdiction, but also in transnational law. He is a founder member of LARSN (the Law and Religion Scholars Network), and convenes the annual LARSN PhD Conference at Brookes. His current research focus is on the interaction of the commercial and the religious in law - Commercial Religion.

Peter is a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts, and an External Fellow at the University of Queensland Centre for Public, International and Comparative law.

Research grants and awards

Review of the interpretation and effectiveness of equality and human rights law relating to religion or belief, EHRC, 2014-2015 (with Vickers and Manfredi).

Embedding impact analysis: Learning from law, JISC, 2012 (with Vickers et al).

Small Jurisdictions Service, HEIF 4&5, 2011-2013 (with Cooper and O’Brien).

R3D: Religious Rights and Religious Discrimination, HEA Philosophy and Religious Studies Subject Centre, May 2010.

Taking due account of religion in sentencing, Reinvention Centre, February 2007.

Sociology of Rights: Human Rights in Islam between Universal and Communal Perspectives, British Academy Visiting Scholar (Recep Senturk), December 2004.

Religious difference and equality in comparative perspective, Visiting Fellowship Grant, Leverhulme Trust, September 2004.

Global migrations/domestic reactions: A comparative constitutional perspective, conference grant, Linnells, November 2001 (with Diana Woodhouse).

Religious representation in the legislature: The Lord Bishop in the Manx Tynwald, ESRC, 2001 (with Diana Woodhouse and Ros Stott). 

Library Support for the Study of World Religions at Oxford Brookes University, The Spalding Trust, 2000.

Legal Responses to Religious Difference, Research Leave Scheme, 1999; Arts and Humanities Research Board.

Books

• Edge P, Religion and Law: An Introduction, Ashgate Press (2006)
  Abstract Discussion of the way in which law engages with religious difference often takes place within the context of a single jurisdiction. Religion and Law: An Introduction, presents a comprehensive text for students, drawing on examples from across key Anglophone jurisdictions - the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, as well as international law, to explore a broad range of issues. Aimed at a non-legal readership, this book introduces the use of legal sources and focuses on factual situations as much as legal doctrine. Key issues arising from interaction of the religious individual and the State are discussed, as well as the religious organisation or community and the State. The interaction is explored through case studies of areas as diverse as the legal regulation of religious drug use, sacred spaces and sacred places, and claims of clergy misconduct. Taking a broad, non-jurisdictional approach to the key issues, in particular providing insights differing from the dominant US experiences and paradigms, this student-friendly textbook includes a clearly structured bibliography and clear guidance on how to approach relevant legal materials.
• Edge P, Legal Responses to Religious Difference, Brill (2001)
  Abstract Until recently English law has lacked any specific, generally applicable, guarantees of religious rights. Thus, bodies of law have developed in particular areas where religious interests arise but without a common legal frame. The Human Rights Act 1998, however, has brought the guarantees of the European Convention on Human Rights, most specifically the guarantees of religious rights, non-discrimination, and education rights, more fully into English law. As well as showing how one legal system has engaged with international obligations in respect of religious rights, this text provides a … read morevaluable source for comparative study of religious interests in national jurisdictions. It explores the particular response of the English legal system when faced with religious difference, and considers the extent to which the Human Rights Act may produce significant legal change. The text is aimed specifically at both the legal and non-legal reader, and concludes with a discussion of how to use English legal sources, and an extensive bibliography.
• Harvey G, Edge P, Law and religion in contemporary society: Communities, individualism and the State, Ashgate (2000)
  ISBN: 9780754613060
  Abstract The relationship between law and religion has traditionally been analysed according to two basic paradigms. One has focused on the relationship between religious communities and the State (the Church/State paradigm), while the other has concentrated on the relationship between the State and the individual (the liberal-individualist or civil liberties paradigm). This book enriches the analysis of law and religion in society by emphasising a third and complementary analytical dimension involving the relationship between religious communities and religious individuals. In particular, the contributors explore the various facets of the multiple tensions that exist in the legal relationships between religious organisations, State and adherents in the period leading up to the third Christian millennium. Against the background of the complex and sometimes contradictory responses of religious organisations and the State to the Human Rights Act, this interdisciplinary collection draws on contributions from leading scholars active in the field of religious rights and the interaction of law and religion based in the UK, USA, Canada, New Zealand and elsewhere, and makes a timely and significant contribution to international debates in a variety of academic disciplines. Contributors explore international concerns over religious liberty, focusing particularly on the boundaries of ethnicity and religious community, the status of the 'established' Churches in the UK, and the proper place for religious organisations under generally applicable legal regimes of non-discrimination. Themes discussed are closely related to wider interests within legal and socio-legal studies involving gender, discrimination, equality, community and the nature and limits of individualism and individual legal rights.
• Edge P, Manx public law, Isle of Man Law Society (1997)
  Abstract This text is intended as an introduction for those starting postgraduate study of Manx law, having completed an undergraduate programme containing a substantial proportion of English law. Thus, it should be useful for those undertaking independent research into Manx law as part of a higher degree and, a much larger constituency, articled clerks coming to grips with their new jurisdiction, having completed the academic stages of their legal education in England. Accordingly, the text assumes a certain level of basic knowledge about the English jurisdiction, and English traditions in law-making. The discussion of criminal law and procedure aims to be comparative, seeking to bring out those areas where Manx law and English law may differ, rather than detailing areas of similarity. This Part of the text, in particular, might well appear incomprehensible to those coming from other disciplines, including those with a general interest in Manx culture, rather than Manx law.

Journal articles

• Edge PW, 'Lisvane's Legacy? Constitutional reform in the Isle of Man'
  Legal Studies (2020)
  ISSN: 0261-3875 eISSN: 1748-121X
  
• Edge PW, 'The constitutional implications of the survival of the Diocese of Sodor and Man'
  Ecclesiastical Law Journal 21 (2) (2019) pp.179-195
  ISSN: 0956-618X eISSN: 1751-8539
  Abstract

  The Lord Bishop of Sodor and Man is an important member of the Legislative Council, the second chamber of the Manx Tynwald. The shape of Tynwald has changed considerably since the mid-nineteenth century, and there have been frequent reviews of the place of ecclesiastical officers in it. The most recent debates illuminate this form of religious representation, but in particular show the importance of ecclesiastical structures – and the contingent status of the Diocese of Sodor and Man – in the lord bishop retaining a vote, as well as a voice, in the principal organ of governance in the Isle of Man. This article argues that a more critical approach is needed in weighing the ecclesiastical structure argument against other constitutional arguments around the constitutional position of the lord bishop.
  

  Website 
• Edge PW, 'Oppositional religious speech: Understanding hate preaching.'
  Ecclesiastical Law Journal 20 (3) (2018) pp.278-289
  ISSN: 0956-618X eISSN: 1751-8539
  Abstract

  Hate preaching is capable of constituting both hate crime and hate speech, lies at the centre of many religions’ understanding of the manifestation of their religion, and frequently raises the contentious issue of regulation of the use of sacred scriptures. This brief article explores the regulation of hate preaching by criminal law, discussing the particular problems posed by oppositional religious speech, before concluding with suggestions for a number of ways to reduce these problems.
  

  Website 
• Edge P, 'Sovereign/Lord? The enduring legal importance of Revestment.'
  Isle of Man Studies (2017)
  
• Edge P, 'When democracy came to the Isle of Man: A critical celebration of 1867'
  Isle of Man Studies (2017)
  Abstract No abstract
• Edge PW, 'Judicial Crafting of a Ministerial Exception: the UK Experience'
  Oxford Journal of Law and Religion 4 (2) (2015) pp.244-259
  ISSN: 2047-0770 eISSN: 2047-0789
  Abstract

  The UK provides a marked contrast to the jurisdiction that dominates Anglophone discourse on law and religion—that of the USA. Not only does the UK continue to have at least one Established Church, but until the end of the 20th century there was no overarching guarantee of freedom of religion that could be used to frame discussion of the autonomy of religious organizations. This article treats the Human Rights Act 1998, which provided that frame through partial incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights, as a watershed. It begins with an analysis of the pre-1998 case law, which began to develop a ministerial exception through distinctive interpretation of normal employment law. The article concludes with an evaluation of the long arc of the law in the context of contested ideas of the proper sphere of state action in relation to relationships within a religious organization, and the role of judicial creativity in the legal–religious interface.

  Website 
• Edge P, 'Foreign lawyers practising national law: temporary counsel in small jurisdictions'
  International Journal of the Legal Profession 20 (3) (2014) pp.285-314
  ISSN: 0969-5958 eISSN: 1469-9257
  Abstract Temporary licensing of foreign counsel is not necessarily limited to small jurisdictions, but it is an important, and contested, part of the legal landscape in many small jurisdictions. Small jurisdictions, with small national Bars, face particular problems concerning capacity to practise national law. As this paper shows, small national Bars may simply be running at capacity, or beyond, when a case comes along, the small size meaning a relatively small spike of demand can exhaust spare capacity. Alternatively, perhaps particularly if the national legal profession is a unified one, individual legal practitioners may experience a similar problem of capacity, with none prepared to take on a case which will dominate their working life to the detriment of other cases and other clients. On a different point, dealing with conflicts of interest within a small professional community is an ongoing problem for small jurisdictions. Finally, a small Bar may be too small to support specialist counsel with particular expertise in a particular field of national law. This article explores the issue of temporary counsel in small jurisdictions through an in-depth case study of licensing in one small jurisdiction, that of the Isle of Man. The topic is approached through a range of methods. Doctrinal legal analysis, drawing particularly on relevant Manx statute, regulation and case-law, is supplemented by historical archival analysis; a detailed analysis of the 468 licences granted in the Isle of Man; and qualitative interviews with a selection of key actors. This study shows a pattern of acclimatisation to the licensing of foreign counsel in the Isle of Man since 1969, the juridification of the process of licensing since 1995, the development of an offshore Manx Bar, and the challenges the licensing system poses to the Manxness of Manx legal proceedings. Moving beyond the Isle of Man, the paper argues that the national Bar of a small jurisdiction has constitutional significance, and that the impact of a substantially employed licensing scheme can be important in determining the shape of this national Bar. It concludes with a call for a comparative study of temporary counsel in small jurisdictions, taking into account the transnational legal context; and for a fuller consideration of a possible offshore offshore Bar as contributing to a continued relationship between common law jurisdictions in a post-colonial context.Website 
• Edge P, 'Believer beware: the challenges of commercial religion'
  Legal Studies Early View (-) (2012) pp.1-25
  ISSN: 0261-3875 eISSN: 1748-121X
  Abstract In a wide range of circumstances religious activity and commercial activity may overlap, leading to what may fairly, albeit novelly, be categorised as commercial religion. This overlap is potentially problematic to law, raising as it does the possibility of inappropriate over-regulation of religious activity and religious claims and the possibility of inappropriate under-regulation of commercial activity and claims. One way to solve this problem is to create a binary divide between the commercial and the religious, so that any situation might be categorised as one or the other, and the appropriate legal framework and philosophies applied. This is the preferred route under the European Convention on Human Rights. Such a separation does not, however, address the complexity of regulating commercial religion in practice, as demonstrated by considering the regulation of commercial religion in UK consumer law. There are, however, strategies which may serve to reblend the commercial and religious elements.Website 
• Edge P, 'Determining religion in English courts'
  Oxford Journal of Law and Religion 1 (2) (2012) pp.402-423
  ISSN: 2047-0770
  Abstract When seeking to resolve legal claims concerning religious interests, the English courts will be called upon to determine the content of the religious interests being claimed. Facing this task with an increase in urgency at the start of the 21st century, the courts had a variety of strategies to draw upon in determining religion. Additionally, as the first cases on religious discrimination and religious rights have begun to be considered, a further strategy, based on a sociological approach to religious content, has begun to be deployed. This article evaluates the different strategies, and concludes by arguing for an emphasis on the beliefs of the individual claimant.Website 
• Edge P, Corrywright D, 'Including religion: reflections on legal, religious and social implications of the developing ceremonial law of marriage and civil partnership'
  Journal of Contemporary Religion 26 (1) (2011) pp.19-32
  ISSN: 1353-7903
  Abstract

  The introduction in the UK of the Civil Partnership Act (2004) and it's enactment (2005) seemed to herald a new plurality and inclusiveness in the ceremonial law and practices of marriage. However, the provisions of the Act maintain an historically exclusive demarcation between secular and religious elements. Neither the ceremony nor the approved premises may have any relation to religious content or usage. Consequently, three groups remain unable to participate in religious weddings: same-sex couples, members of small religious communities, and dissidents. The public act of a wedding for these groups is not only exclusive, we argue, but pays little heed to the private needs of participants nor the private ritual significance such acts necessarily include. Moreover, the exclusion of religious elements is both difficult to interpret and police. We examine the nature and limitations of the provisions and guidance on the Civil Partnership Act and argue that maintenance of a standardised secularism within public law, as in marriage law and the Civil Partnership Act, is anachronous in a modern plural state. This article challenges the division between public secular acts and private acts of ritual and personal significance. We suggest that private actors import religious elements and meanings into secular ceremonies and that guidance to registrars officiating in civil ceremonies does not provide absolute prohibitions to couples using religiously significant elements of ritual or practice. We conclude that the Act continues practices of unjustified differential treatment and that reform to a more inclusive legal framework is both possible and necessary.

  Website 
• Edge P, 'Hard law and soft power: counter-terrorism, the power of sacred places, and the establishment of an Anglican Islam'
  Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion 12 (2) (2010) pp.359-381
  ISSN: 0000-0989
  Abstract Following the terrorist attacks in London on July 7, 2005, commonly referred to as 7/7, the power of sacred places was problematized, and the United Kingdom (-œU.K.-) government considered formal legal regulation of sacred places, and in particular of the religious activities taking place therein. This hard law response to the power of sacred places was dropped following a negative consultation, where respondents stressed the impact on, to use United States (-œU.S.-) terminology, the free exercise of religion. Instead, the U.K. government has sought to exercise soft power to effect theological change in some Islamic communities - again to use U.S. terminology, moving from restricting free exercise to establishing religion. Although the latter strategy avoids a frank conflict with religious rights, it risks creating the establishment of religion through an Anglican Islam. Such an establishment would not be unconstitutional in U.K. terms, but does merit greater public discussion than has currently been the case, particularly since the form of establishment being adopted seems considerably more intrusive to the established religious community than the current establishment of the Church of England.
• Bakalis C, Edge P, 'Sentencing and the religious defendant: The constraints of the European Convention on Human Rights'
  European Human Rights Law Review 5 (2009) pp.659-669
  ISSN: 1361-1526
  Abstract

  The function of religion in the sentencing phase of a criminal trial has been comparatively neglected. The structure of the European Convention does not leave it open simply to ignore religion in sentencing--that route to neutrality in relation to religion has been closed. Instead, the developing jurisprudence under the Convention has created obligations in relation to both the manifestation of religion through offending, and the treatment of repeat, conscientious offenders. These obligations have the potential to give too much emphasis to the protection of religious conviction over other pressing state interests, in particular the rights and interests of others, and need to be read narrowly.

• Bakalis C, Edge P, 'Taking due account of religion in sentencing'
  Legal Studies 29 (3) (2009) pp.421-437
  ISSN: 0261-3875 eISSN: 1748-121X
  Abstract

  This paper explores the relationship between religion and sentencing. It considers what problems may arise when a judge fails to take proper account of a defendant's religious beliefs at the sentencing stage, or takes improper account. It highlights the need for more guidance to be given to judges in order to ensure greater consistency and fairness in sentencing outcomes.

  Website 
• Edge P, 'The development of the Lord Bishop's role in the Manx Tynwald'
  Journal of Ecclesiastical History 57 (3) (2006) pp.494-514
  ISSN: 0022-0469
  Abstract The Isle of Man was a distinct diocese before it became a possession of the English crown in 1399. In the following centuries it retained not only a national legislature, the Tynwald, but the lord bishop of Sodor and Man. Ecclesiastical officers were to be found in Tynwald as early as 1614, and throughout the nineteenth century it included the lord bishop, the vicars-general and the archdeacon of the diocese. During the twentieth century the number of ecclesiastical officers in the legislature dwindled, until today only the lord bishop survives, and his position remains controversial.Website 
• Edge P, 'Religious drug use in England, South Africa and the United States of America'
  1 (2) (2006)
  ISSN: 1871-0328 eISSN: 1871-0328
  Abstract The question of whether there should be a fundamental right to sacramental use of psychotropic drugs, despite the existence of a general prohibition against the drug in question, has been considered by the courts of England, South Africa, and the United States. Despite the commonality of the issues in all three countries, the approaches taken by the courts show significant differences of interest beyond the factual situation. In particular, a consideration of the cases suggests different strategies in evaluating justificatory claims by the state when incidentally restricting religious practice; differing use of cases from other jurisdictions; and differing emphases on the importance of international law in interpreting fundamental rights. Website 
• Edge P, Pearce A, 'The work of a religious representative in a democratic legislature: A case study of the Lord Bishop of Sodor and Man in Tynwald, 1961-2001'
  Marburg Journal of Religion 9 (2) (2004)
  ISSN: 1612-2941
  Abstract The Isle of Man is a largely autonomous territory of the United Kingdom Crown, whose dominant constitutional body is the Tynwald. Tynwald, although meeting regularly as a single body, is for most purposes divided into two Branches - a directly elected House of Keys, and the Legislative Council. The latter includes among its members the Lord Bishop of Sodor and Man. This study draws upon the legislative debates of Tynwald between 1961 and 2001 to examine the nature of the Bishop" s role. Analysis shows that the Bishop was expected to contribute to debate in two major areas - moral issues and technical issues concerning the Manx Church. Additionally, the Bishops operated within expectations as to their modes of contribution. The strongest of these was that the Bishop should not become entangled in party politics. There was also a strong expectation that the Bishop should represent the Manx Church and Christianity more generally, although this expectation does not seem to have been realised in relation to non-Christian religions. There is also evidence that the Bishop was also entitled to use both secular and religious modes of argumentation, and that he should not have expected to the be the only religious voice in Tynwald, or even the uncontested voice of the Manx Church.
• Edge P, Pearce A, 'Official religious representation in a democratic legislature: lessons from the Manx Tynwald'
  Journal of Church and State 46 (3) (2004) pp.575-616
  ISSN: 0021-969X
  Abstract A number of national legislatures include an element of official religious representation, with seats in the legislature set aside for religious officers. In Andorra, the Bishop of Urgell is "in personal and exclusive right," co-prince with the president of the French Republic. (1) In Bhutan, the Tshojdu (national assembly), established in 1953, has a tripartite system of representation, which in 1989 consisted of thirty officials, ten monks, and 110 representatives of the people. The monks are appointed by the Central Monk Body at Thimphu. (2) In Brunei, the Legislative Council consists of six ex-officio members, including the religious advisor appointed by the Sultan, five official members, and ten nominated members. (3) In Iran, seats in the 230-member Islamic Consultative Assembly are reserved for the recognized minority religions of Zoroastrians, Jews, Assyric and Chaldean Christians, and both the Northern and Southern Armenian Christians. (4) Within the British Islands three national legislatures include official religious representation. In Jersey, the dean sits as a non-voting member of the States; (5) in the Westminster Parliament twenty-six bishops of the Church of England sit as the Lords Spiritual in the House of Lords; (6) while in the Manx Tynwald the Lord Bishop of Sodor and Man sits in the Legislative Council.Website 
• Edge P, 'Extending hate crime to religion'
  Journal of Civil Liberties 8 (2003)
  ISSN: 1362-3451
  Abstract A hate crime is a crime which is aggravated by the existence of a proscribed type of hostility or hatred; it is not the crime of having, or even generally acting upon, such hostility or hatred.1 A substantive hate crime is a specific criminal offence which can only be committed where a basic offence is aggravated by the proscribed hostility. Additionally, the State may implement a policy of treating the proscribed hostility as grounds for imposing a heavier penalty for a basic offence, described in the broader literature as hate crime sentence enhancement.2 In neither case does the hate crime criminalise conduct to which the defendant would be entitled in the absence of the prohibited hostility.3 Hate crimes of this sort exist in the English jurisdiction, but are of a comparatively narrow reach. Although other jurisdictions have adopted hate crimes covering hostility on the basis of grounds such as race, religion, colour, disability, sexual orientation and ancestry4, before 2001 only hostility on the grounds of race could form the basis of a hate crime. In that year these provisions were extended to include religious hostility.
• Edge P, 'The legal construction of sacred places in English law'
  Journal of Environmental Law 14 (2) (2002) pp.161-183
  ISSN: 0952-8873
  Abstract No abstract availableWebsite 
• Edge P, 'Naturalism and neutrality: Fairly trying miraculous claims in English courts'
  44 (3) (2002) pp.521-537
  ISSN: 2040-4867 eISSN: 2040-4867
  Abstract No abstract availableWebsite 
• Edge P, 'Deemster Parr's Abstracts'
  Studeyrys Manninagh 2 (1) (2002)
  
• Edge P, Vickers L, 'Casenote: Re A (separation of conjoined twins)'
  Journal of Civil Liberties 2001 (2001)
  ISSN: 1362-3451
  
• Edge P, 'The legal protection of mosques.'
  New Law Journal 2001 (2001)
  ISSN: 0306-6479
  
• Edge P, Loughrey J, 'Religious charities and the juridification of the Charity Commission'
  21 (1) (2001) pp.36-64
  ISSN: 1748-121X eISSN: 1748-121X
  Abstract The Charity Commissioners have indicated that theyposJeJs a lawmaking role. This paper evaluates the extent to which the Commissioners have exercised this role in relation to charities for the advancement of religion, and evaluates this role in the light of the Human Rights Act 1998. The analysis draws upon both case law and decisions of the Commissioners, in particular the decision of the Commissioners to refuse status as CI religious charity to the Church of Scientology.Website 
• Edge P, 'Religious Rights and Choice under the European Convention on Human Rights'
  Web Journal of Current Legal Issues 3 (2000)
  ISSN: 1360-1326
  Abstract This paper argues that an analysis of the jurisprudence on Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights suggests an unspoken, but important, role for the concept of choice in the construction of religious rights. Choice is given a fundamental role in the establishment of such rights, with the Court assuming that individuals choose to believe, an assumption which brings with it significant theoretical and practical problems. Choice is also given a key role in restricting religious rights, with the Court and Commission uncritically accepting an extensive form of waiver of religious rights by those in employment. These developments are not so firmly established in the case-law as to be unassailable, however, and this paper suggests a variety of ways in which the jurisprudence could be modulated to address the concerns it raises, in particular by an appreciation of the different religious interests protected by Article 9.
• Edge P, 'Male circumcision after the Human Rights Act 1998'
  Journal of Civil Liberties 5 (3) (2000) pp.320-337
  ISSN: 1362-3451
  Abstract The circumcision of male infants, once regarded as relatively uncontroversial, has become a focus for medical and legal debate involving both significant support and pressure groups,1 and a rapidly growing body of medical and legal literature.2 This paper considers the legality of infant circumcision in English law, both in the context of established doctrines of family and criminal law, and under the Human Rights Act. A number of assumptions underpin this paper, which need to be outlined before moving on to discussion of the substantive English law.
• Edge P, 'Reorienting the Establishment Debate: From the Illusory Norm to Equality of Respect'
  Anglo-American Law Review 27 (1999) pp.265-284
  ISSN: 0308-6569
  Abstract The establishment, and possible "disestablishment", of the Church of England has become a pressing subject for debate, in part because changes in the establishment of the Church of England are viewed as relevant to the broader issue of constitutional reform.' This article argues that the discipline of law has a valuable contribution to make to any debate on the establishment of the Church of England; that this contribution shows the inappropriateness of analysis based upon the possibility of "disestablishment"; and that the way forward is to develop a debate based on equality of respect and international guarantees of non-discrimination. II. A Legal Definition of Establishment The term establishment has been used in a variety of ways in the context of church/state relations.2 In the English context, it has been required to bear meanings as disparate as the role of the Church of England in the creation of shared values, the demographics of 1. Consider the importance given to establishment in discussions of Prince Charles' personal life in, for instance, Burnet, "Open Season on the Royals as the Bubble Bursts" (1993) The Times, December 12. See Brazier, "The Constitutional Position of the Prince of Wales" [1995] Public Law 401. 2. For instance, see Hammond, Religion and Personal Autonomy: The Third Disestablishment in America (1992).
• Edge P, 'Religious organisations and the prevention of terrorism legislation: A comment in response to the Consultation Paper'
  Journal of Civil Liberties 4 (2) (1999) pp.194-205
  ISSN: 1362-3451
  Abstract In 1998 the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, addressed the General Assembly of the United Nations in ringing terms : "The fight against terrorism has taken on new urgency. The past year's global toll includes Luxor, Dar es Salaam, Nairobi, Omagh and many others. Each one is a reminder that terrorism is a uniquely barbaric and cowardly crime. Each one is a reminder that terrorists are no respecters of borders. Each one is a reminder that terrorism should have no hiding place, no opportunity to raise funds, no let up in our determination to bring its perpetra- tors to justice"' As an expression of this determination, in December 1998 the Government issued a Consultation Paper on reforming the United Kingdom counter-terrorism legislation. This brief note considers the application of the proposed counter-terrorism regime to religious organi- sations, and the extent to which a special approach towards organisations directed towards religious and philosophical ends is mandated by the European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act 1998. The emphasis throughout is upon special issues raised by religious interests, rather than the general principles underpinning the current counter-terrorism legislation.
• Edge P, 'Book Review of C Chatterjee, Methods of Research in Law:A handbook for students.'
  Web Journal of Current Legal Issues 1 (1998)
  ISSN: 1360-1326
  Abstract This text, by an experienced supervisor and prolific contributor to journals, aims to "explain the basic methods of doing research in law [although] no work on research methodology can be exhaustive" (p 1). The intended readership are undergraduates, especially those undertaking a dissertation, and those planning an LL.M. or Ph.D. degree with an element of legal research. We welcomed the appearance of this text as addressing an important need of which we had become aware - one of us as a recent Ph.D. survivor, supervisor, and research skills teacher on LL.M. degrees; the other as a full-time Ph.D. student about to enter the second year of their project. In this review we discuss the merits of this text, and consider more broadly what a text introducing students to postgraduate research in law should address. The text is structured as a series of very short chapters, dealing with ethics, terminology, research tools, research planning and design, sources of information ranging from interviewing to case-analysis, and presentation of the final dissertation or thesis. An introductory text might benefit from dealing with the immediate concerns of likely readers by discussing research planning and design before ethics, tools, and terminology. Within chapters the narrative flow is irregular, and the problems this poses for understanding are exacerbated by the prose style, which seems unsuitable in an introduction for students, some of whom may be worried about embarking on a substantial research project.
• Edge P, 'The European Court of human rights and religious rights'
  International and Comparative Law Quarterly 47 (3) (1998) pp.680-687
  ISSN: 0020-5893 eISSN: 1471-6895
  Abstract Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights provides: 1. Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief, in worship, teaching, practice and observance. 2. Freedom to manifest one's religion or beliefs shall be subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of public safety, for the protection of public order, health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.Website 
• Edge P, 'Charitable status for the advancement of religion: An abolitionist's view.'
  Charity Law and Practice Review 3 (1996)
  ISSN: 0966-4041
  
• Edge P, 'The legal challenges of paganisms and other diffuse faiths'
  Journal of Civil Liberties 1 (1996)
  
• Edge P, 'Doctrinal effects of smallness: the authority of English decisions on the common law in Manx courts'
  Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly 46 (1995) pp.34-49
  ISSN: 0029-3105
  Abstract The Isle of Man is a small island, roughly 220 square miles in area, located in the Irish Sea between England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Despite its small size, and consequent low population, it has never been assimilated into a neighbouring territory. Instead, the Manx Crown was held by the King, later Lord, of the Isle of Man from some more powerful monarch. After 1406 the Manx Crown was held by members of the Stanley and Atholl families, upon conditions of their presenting two falcons to the British Sovereign upon Coronation day. In 1765, for fiscal and military reasons, the British Sovereign purchased the Manx Crown from the Lord of the Isle of Man, and the Isle of Man fell under the control of the British Government.2 The Isle of Man is a separate dependency of the British Crown, rather than a part of the United Kingdom, with its own distinct legislature, judiciary, executive, and laws. Although similar to English structures and laws, a number of local differences remain, and it is thus appropriate to speak of a Manx legal system and Manx laws.3 This paper considers the value of English cases on English common law to Manx courts attempting to determine the customary law of the Isle of Man, and the factors which give these cases their value. It is submitted that the process by which English authorities have become accepted by the Manx courts casts light upon the process of judicial lawmaking more generally.
• Edge P, 'Contemporanity, moral congruence and criminal liability: Actus reus and mens rea reconsidered'
  Liverpool Law Review 17 (1) (1995) pp.83-95
  ISSN: 0144-932X
  Abstract No abstract availableWebsite 
• Edge P, 'Use of foreign legislative models in the Commonwealth: A case study of criminal legislation in the Isle of Man 1800-1993'
  Commonwealth Law Bulletin 21 (2) (1995) pp.671-682
  ISSN: 0305-0718
  Website 
• Edge P, 'Lawyers empires: the anglicisation of the Manx bar and judiciary'
  International Journal of the Legal Profession 19 (4) (1995) pp.29-57
  ISSN: 0969-5958
  Abstract The Isle of Man is a very small jurisdiction, roughly equidistant from England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. At various times in its history it has been dominated by one or other of its larger neighbours. Since 1765 it has been under the political and legal control of the British Crown, although the Isle of Man has never been absorbed into the United Kingdom. The special status of the Isle of Man as a separate territory, rather than an administrative unit such as a county, has led to it retaining its own unique laws and legal system. 1 Thus, there are distinct Manx courts, manned by distinctively Manx judicial officers, administering a body of law which, while often identical to English law in content, remained formally distinct and, in some areas, different in substance. This unique legal system was, after 1777, served by a local, professional bar. The Manx Bar is a unified body, by which is meant that all the functions required of a legal profession are carried out by a single profession--the advocates--rather than dividing the roles between two separate professions--such as the barrister and solicitor in England. Thus, after 1777 a single professional body was responsible for providing legal advice to private individuals and state officials and arguing cases in the Manx courts.
• Edge P, 'David, Goliath and Supremacy: The Isle of Man and the Sovereignty of the United Kingdom Parliament'
  24 (1995) pp.1-30
  
• Edge P, 'The law and practice of capital punishment in the Isle of Man'
  25 (1995) pp.49-61
  
• Edge P, 'The missionary's position after Kokkinakis v Greece'
  3 (1995)
  Abstract The issue before the European Court of Human Rights in Kokkinakis v Greece concerned Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights which protects freedom of religion and required the Court to consider the relationship between those who wish to proselytise, and those who are the targets of such action.
• Edge P, 'Dancing to the beat of Europe'
  New Law Journal 144 (6650) (1994)
  ISSN: 0306-6479
  
• Edge P, 'The value of English authority in interpreting Acts of Tynwald, and Acts of Parliament extending to the Isle of Man'
  Manx Law Bulletin 22 (-) (1994) pp.106-
  
• Edge P, 'Decisions of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in other jurisdictions: A note on the limit of stare decisis in Commonwealth Jurisdictions'
  Commonwealth Law Bulletin 20 (2) (1994) pp.720-727
  ISSN: 0305-0718
  Abstract No abstract availableWebsite 
• Edge P, 'The codification of Manx criminal law'
  Journal of Legal History 15 (1994) pp.109-130
  ISSN: 0144-0365
  Abstract No abstractWebsite 
• Edge P, 'Ritual magic'
  New Law Journal 144 (1994)
  ISSN: 0306-6479
  

Book chapters

• Edge PW, 'History, sacred history and law at the intersection of law, religion and history' in Grass T et al (ed.), The Church and the Law (Studies in Church History ; 56), Cambridge UP (2020)
  Abstract

  Lawyers, both practitioners and academics, engage with legal history in a variety of ways. Increasing attention is being paid to legal regulation of history and memory. I argue that the interaction of law and history is particularly problematic within the context of a dispute with a religious element. I will use three case-studies to illustrate these challenges: (1) The repeal of the Fraudulent Mediums Act 1951 by the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008; (2) The Babri Masjid/Ram Temple dispute in Ayodhya, India; and (3) The Hindmarsh Island bridge controversy in South Australia; These case studies show the difficulties legal actors face when confronted with incompatible secular and sacred histories and diverse ways of ‘knowing history’, and the importance, nonetheless, of understanding history to understand law and religion.
  

• Edge PW, Rajan MC, 'Sacred sites and state failures: A case study of the Babri Masjid/Ram Temple dispute in Ayodhya' in J Bhuyian (ed.), Law and Religion in the Liberal State: An Introduction, Ashgate (2019)
  
• Edge P, Vickers L, '“Evans’ Freedom of Religion under the European Convention on Human Rights”' in Sandberg R (ed.), Leading Works in Law and Religion, Routledge (2017)
  
• Edge PW, 'Lessons from the Isle of Man?' in A criminal code for Jersey, Jersey Law Institute (2016)
  
• Edge PW, 'Let's talk about a divorce: religious and legal wedding' in Marriage Rights and Marriage Rites, Hart Publishing (2015)
  ISBN: 9781849469135 eISBN: 9781782259664
  Abstract The extension of marriage to same sex couples is an important policy concern in a number of jurisdictions across the world. This is not necessarily framed as a religious rights issue, at least in the constitutional discourse. In US v Windsor , for instance, the US Supreme Court managed to discuss the constitutional position of same sex marriage without any consideration of religion; the High Court of Australia has managed much the same in Commonwealth of Australia v The Australian Capital Terrority . In this chapter, however, rather than seeking to engage with marriage as part of the canon of family law (Has day 2004), I will be putting same sex marriage very much in a religious frame, that is, as an issue which raises religious interests.Website 
• Edge PW, 'The contribution of law to interdisciplinary conversations on law and religion' in Routledge Handbook of Law and Religion, Routledge (2015)
  ISBN: 9780415836425
  Website 
• , 'Autonomy and established churches' in Transformation of Church and State Relations in Great Britain and Germany, Nomos (2013)
  
• Edge P, 'Unsympathetic magic: charitable status and magic practice in the United Kingdom' in Law and magic: A collection of essays, Carolina UP (2009)
  
• Edge P, 'Religious remnants in the composition of the United Kingdom Parliament' in Law and Religion: Current Legal Issues 2001, Oxford University Press (2001)
  ISBN: 9780199246601
  Abstract Law and Religion, the fourth volume in the Current Legal Issues series, is a comprehensive treatment of an area that will stimulate and enlighten anyone interested in law and religion. Both common and civil law jurisdictions and a wide variety of cultural contexts are represented. In addition the volume contains contributions written from a wide variety of faith perspectives (Christian, Jewish, Islamic, Ba'hai) as well as from a secular perspective. Contributors discuss a series of difficult and important issues from the interaction in contemporary societies of law and religious practice to the coherence of the notion of the soul and of the scope and limits of our concept of religion in a post modern world. A major theme of the volume is the common hermeneutical questions faced by the Islamic Christian and Jewish traditions. In addition, the implications for religious practice of the contemporary ascendancy of human rights are thoroughly and critically considered. A number of the essays argue forcefully for controversial conclusions such as the legitimacy of the claim by some of the Christian Churches in New Zealand to exemption from legislation prohibiting discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation. The European Convention on Human Rights and the jurisprudence of the Court come under particular critical scrutiny for example in relation to their protection of freedom of religion in the work place. Consideration is given to the extent to which State law can, should and does provide a regulatory framework for the life of religious institutions without compromising their collective autonomy for example in relation to matters of doctrine.
• Edge P, 'European Convention on Human Rights' in J Michie (ed.), Research Guide to the Social Sciences, Fitzroy Dearborn (2001)
  ISBN: 1579580912
  
• Edge P, 'The employment of religious adherents by religious organisations' in Law and religion in contemporary society: Communities, individualism and the state., Ashgate (2000)
  ISBN: 9780754613060
  Abstract The relationship between law and religion has traditionally been analysed according to two basic paradigms. One has focused on the relationship between religious communities and the State (the Church/State paradigm), while the other has concentrated on the relationship between the State and the individual (the liberal-individualist or civil liberties paradigm). This book enriches the analysis of law and religion in society by emphasising a third and complementary analytical dimension involving the relationship between religious communities and religious individuals. In particular, the contributors explore the various facets of the multiple tensions that exist in the legal relationships between religious organisations, State and adherents in the period leading up to the third Christian millennium. Against the background of the complex and sometimes contradictory responses of religious organisations and the State to the Human Rights Act, this interdisciplinary collection draws on contributions from leading scholars active in the field of religious rights and the interaction of law and religion based in the UK, USA, Canada, New Zealand and elsewhere, and makes a timely and significant contribution to international debates in a variety of academic disciplines. Contributors explore international concerns over religious liberty, focusing particularly on the boundaries of ethnicity and religious community, the status of the 'established' Churches in the UK, and the proper place for religious organisations under generally applicable legal regimes of non-discrimination. Themes discussed are closely related to wider interests within legal and socio-legal studies involving gender, discrimination, equality, community and the nature and limits of individualism and individual legal rights.
• Edge P, 'Transatlantic perspectives on religious rights in English law' in Transatlantic studies: An edited collection, University Press of America (2000)
  ISBN: 9780761817901
  Abstract Although our age has become host to a number of academic disciplines called area studies, including for example, African Studies and American Studies, these divisions do not capture the truly unique relationship of the lands joined by the Atlantic Ocean. Accordingly, a new area, called Transatlantic Studies, has emerged. This seminal work attempts to: define clearly the term Transatlantic Studies; locate Transatlantic studies academically; supply the field's critical perspective; discuss issues of globalization, migration, and the law. The collection is appropriately international and inter-disciplinary.

Reviews

• Edge P, review of Small States in a Legal World, in International and Comparative Law Quarterly (2018) ISSN: 0020-5893 eISSN: 1471-6895
  Website 
• Edge P, review of Law, State and Religion in the New Europe: Debates and Dilemmas., in Journal of Church and State 55 (2013) pp.569-570ISSN: 0021-969X
  Website 
• Edge P, review of Initiation, Membership and Authority in Anglican and Roman Catholic Canon Law, in Ecclesiastical Law Journal 11 (2009) pp.357-358ISSN: 0956-618X
  
• Edge P, review of Churches and Other Religious Organisations As Legal Persons, in Ecclesiastical Law Journal 11 (2009) pp.357-358ISSN: 0956-618X
  

Other publications

• Edge P, 'Tynwald and the Bishop of Sodor and Man [guest blog post]'
  (2017) Website 
• Edge P, 'The Lisvane Debate, 20 June 2017 [personal blog post]'
  (2017) Website 
• Edge P, '1867: When democracy came to the Isle of Man?'
  (2017)
• Edge P, 'Peter Edge: The Lisane Report on the Functioning of the Manx Tynwald'
  (2016) Website 
• Edge P W, Vickers L R, 'Review of equality and human rights law relating to religion or belief'
  EHRC Research Report 97 (2015) ISBN: 978-1-84206-514-3
  Abstract

  Executive summary

  This study reviews the interpretation and effectiveness of the current domestic legislative framework in relation to religion or belief under equality and human rights law. The review is based upon a detailed analysis of primary and secondary sources of British and European law, recent research carried out by the EHRC, the extensive body of academic literature in the field, and the insights of a diverse group of academics, legal practitioners, representatives of religion or belief organisations and representatives of other advisory and equality bodies. The report explores the legal definitions of religion and of belief and the relationship between them; the legal protection for religion or belief at European level and its application in Great Britain; the balancing of rights and the exceptions to equality law duties on the basis of religion or belief; the idea of a duty of reasonable accommodation; and the public sector equality duty. This report takes forward the EHRC's religion or belief strategy, Shared understandings. This committed the Commission to an extensive work programme including an assessment of the effectiveness of the existing legislative framework.

  Website 
• Edge P, Augur Pearce C, 'Religious representation in a democratic legislature: A case study of the Lord Bishop of Sodor and Man in Tynwald.'
  (2003) Abstract The Isle of Man is a largely autonomous territory of the United Kingdom Crown. It entered the territories of the Crown in the fourteenth century, but remained under the control of a vassal monarch, the Lord, until 1765. In that year the Crown'revested' the regalities of the Lord into itself, and the British authorities exercised direct authority over the Island. From the mid-nineteenth century on, however, the Island regained an increasing level of autonomy, this time vested in the Tynwald ' a body broadly analogous to the United Kingdom Parliament ' rather than the Lord. Today the dominant constitutional body in the Island is Tynwald. Executive authority is largely exercised by a government drawn from its members, and commanding its support, while it exercises a plenipotentiary legislative authority over the jurisdiction. Tynwald, although meeting regularly as a single body, is for most purposes divided into two Branches ' a directly elected House of Keys, and the Legislative Council. The Council originated in the Lord's retinue of principal officials. Although the Council included ecclesiastical officers as early as 1614, it was not until after the Revestment of 1765 that this became established as the invariably practice. Throughout the nineteenth century the Council included the Lord Bishop of Sodor and Man, the Vicars-General, and the Archdeacon of the Diocese. In the early twentieth century the lesser ecclesiastical officers were removed, and the Council began to include a number of members elected by the Keys, as well as officials appointed by the Crown or the Governor. Throughout the twentieth century this element increased, until today the Council consists of nine members elected by the Keys, the Bishop, and the Attorney General who sits without a vote as a legal advisor. Although the Bishop's seat and vote survived this major constitutional change, it was not uncontested. From 1958 on, reform of the Bishop's role was suggested ' often but not invariably as part of a broader constitutional change ' by individual members of Tynwald, Commissions, and Committees. The changes of 1980 left the Bishop as the last unelected member of the Council with a vote, and subject to intense scrutiny ' most notably in 1981-3, 1992-4, and 2000-1. A study of the work of the Bishop in Tynwald between 1961 and 2001 shows that his vote has been decisive on 53 occasions. Although demonstrating to some extent the significance of the vote, this does not properly delineate the nature of the Bishop's role, which requires detailed analysis of all debates concerning or involving the Bishop, rather than simply those where his vote proved to be decisive. Such an analysis shows that the Bishop was expected to contribute to debate in two major areas ' moral issues and technical issues concerning the Manx Church. The voice of the Bishop in moral issues can be seen in debates concerning gaming, sex between men, abortion, and Sunday trading. In relation to the Manx Church, the Bishop took a lead role in ecclesiastical legislation before Tynwald, but also had a role in debates over church property, legislative ceremony, the nature of oaths, and prison Chaplains. Although proposals were put forward to limit the role of the Bishop to moral issues in particular, Bishops were entitled to, and did, contribute on a range of other topics. It is in these particular topics, however, that the Bishops were seen as having a special role. As well as expectations as to subject matter, the Bishops operated within expectations as to their modes of contribution. The strongest of these is that the Bishop should not become entangled in party politics. There is also a strong expectation that the Bishop should represent the Manx Church and Christianity more generally, although this expectation does not seem to have been realised in relation to 5 non-Christian religions. There is some evidence that the Bishop is also entitled to use both secular and religious modes of argumentation, and that he should not expect to the be the only religious voice in Tynwald, or even the uncontested voice of the Manx Church. The study suggests an eleven point taxonomy for the analysis of religious representation in deliberate assemblies. Applying this taxonomy to the Bishop, and to the Lords Spiritual in Westminster, we see that religious representation in the two bodies is very similar, making lessons learnt from the Manx study applicable to consideration of reform of the House of Lords; and the broader literature on reform of the Lords Spiritual relevant to consideration of the Manx situation. Analysing this form of religious representation first in a legal sense, it seems likely that such representation is permissable, but not obligatory, so long as the interests of unrepresented religious communities are not unreasonably compromised. The gender bar on religious representation in both legislatures may, however, be problematic. If international law, most immediately under the European Convention on Human Rights, gives a strong emphasis to the right to non-discrimination on the grounds of gender over the right to religious self-determination, the gender bar on the Bishops may be unlawful per se. It may be, however, that the Manx and English Church can discriminate in relation to its leaders, but not where this discrimination will be endorsed by the State in the composition of the national legislature. Moving away from legal restraints on the composition of the legislature, a range of justifications for the role of the Bishop, and the Lords Spiritual, emerge from debates over the future of the role in the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Process arguments see the Bishop as improving the quality of the legislative and deliberative processes ' for instance through his insulation from normal political processes. Public benefit arguments find a broader benefit to the Manx state or society ' for instance safeguarding the continued existence of the Diocese of Sodor and Man. Community benefit arguments see benefits accruing to the Manx Church, or Manx Christianity more broadly ' for instance through the oversight of ecclesiastical legislation. We conclude from this study that the current model of religious representation in Tynwald is probably the simplest involving ex officio representatives that can be envisaged. A focus on this form of religious representative underplays the extent to which other spiritual voices can be heard in the chamber. Although other legislators speak with a spiritual voice, the Bishop does have a distinctive role. He contributes a Manx Christian perspective to debates on moral issues, and functions as a technical expert on the Manx Church. The broader idea of the Bishop as representing religion generally, including non-Christian faiths, has not been fulfilled in relation to communities outside of interdenominational Christianity. International law provides few limits on the choices of Tynwald as to religious representation, although the gender limit on the Bishop may be problematic, and a variety of justifications for the role of the Bishop emerge from debate. It may be artificial, however, to seek a single justification for his role ' his legitimacy may derive from the cumulative effect of several grounds, each of which could be applied to others, none of which combine in any other single office.

Membership of professional bodies

He is a member of the Advisory Committee on Conscientious Objection, which advises the Secretary of State for Defence.

Consultancy

Review of the interpretation and effectiveness of equality and human rights law relating to religion or belief, EHRC, 2014-2015 (with Vickers and Manfredi).

EHRC Report 97: Review of equality and human rights law relating to religion or belief, (2015) http://tinyurl.com/nah4ldh (with Vickers).

Conferences

“Legislative/Executive relationships in small democracies”, UCM Lecture Series, University College of the Isle of Man, May 2019 (with de Than).

“The Constitutional Conundrum”, Progressive Action Group, Isle of Man, April 2019 (round-table contributor).

“Thinking about constitutional reform in the Isle of Man: Reflections on the Lisvane Period”, Law Drafting and Law Reform in Small Jurisdictions, Centre for Small States, March 2019 (invited contributor).

“The Lisvane Legacy”, UCM Lecture Series, University College of the Isle of Man, January 2019 (with de Than).

“Reforming the Manx Tynwald”, CIFORB Theory of Change Workshop, Manchester Harris College, Oxford, April 2018 (invited contributor).

"Windows into (corporate) souls: Do companies have religious rights?”, Public Lecture, SHU Public Law Conference, April 2018.

“Tales from (another) small island: Reforming the Manx Tynwald”, Public Lecture, SHU Public Law Conference, April 2018.

“Taking the long view on LegCo: Reforming the Council, 1417-2018”, Public Lecture, University College Isle of Man, January 2018.

"Who cares about unbelief?" Roundtable panel, UCL, London, December 2016.

"Commercial religion and law", Krinock Lecture, Hertford College Oxford, July 2016.

"The problem with religious hatred law", LARSN, Cardiff, May 2016.

“An Anglo-American perspective on religion and the workplace”, Observatoire Social International, Paris, October 2015.

Convenor, “Anglo-Brazilian Dialogues on Law and Religion/ Diálogo Anglo-Brasileiro sobre Direito e Religião”, e-seminars, July 2015-2016.

Convenor, “Condemnation”, cross-Faculty workshop, July 2015.

“Patriot Games? The American Revolution and Magna Carta”., Magna Carta Day, 18 June 2015.

“Sovereign/Lord? Modern legal controversies over Revestment”, 250th Anniversary of Revestment Conference, IOMNHAS, May 2015.

“Changing definitions of religion”, Charity Law Unit, Liverpool University, May 2015 (invited paper).

“Microjurisdictions workshop”, April 2015, Jersey Law Institute.

“Sacred places, community cohesion and partnership”, OJLR Summer Academy, June 2014 (invited paper).

“Asking the dissident question in law and religion”, LARSN, Cardiff, May 2014 (invited panelist).

“Counsel pro hac vice in small jurisdictions: The Manx experience”, Centre for the Study of the Legal Profession Westminster University, June 2013.

“Sacred places are shared places”, Oxford Journal of Law and Religion Summer Academy, June 2013.

“Colonialism, capital punishment, and embarrassing Queen Victoria: Manx Capital Punishment 1800-2000”, SJS Webinar, June 2013.

“The special status of religion as a reflection of the fact/value and physical/metaphysical distinctions”, The impact of religion: Challenges for society, law and democracy, Uppsalla Universitet, May 2013 (invited panellist).

“Sacred places are shared places”, Oxford Journal of Law and Religion Summer Academy, June 2013.

“Colonialism, capital punishment, and embarrassing Queen Victoria: Manx Capital Punishment 1800-2000”, SJS Webinar, June 2013.

“Temp or consultant? Reflections on  temporary licensing of foreign lawyers in small jurisdictions”, SJS Webinar, February 2013.

“Love rights and love rites in civil partnerships and same-sex marriage”, Centre for Diversity Policy Research and Practice, February 2013.

“Counsel pro hac vice in small jurisdictions: The Manx experience”, Centre for the Study of the Legal Profession Westminster University, June 2013.

"Hate and Blame Colloqium", Oxford Brookes University, June 2012, 

"Sacred sites and state failure: The Babri Marjd/Ram Temple Dispute in Ayodhya", Sharing sacred space, International Centre for Law and Religion Studies, December 2011.

"Hateful words of God", Royal Society of Edinburgh Seminar on Defining Racism in Criminal Law, September 2011.

“Autonomy and the Established Church: A contradiction?”, Transformation of Church and State Relations in Germany and Great Britain, Munster Cluster of Excellence (Religion and Politics), June 2010.

“Religion and Law in the 21st Century”, Politics, Religion and International Relations Lecture Series, Centre for Christianity and Culture Regent’s Park College Oxford, April 2010.

“Consuming Occulture”, Lancashire Law School Guest Seminar, February 2010.

“Religion as religio in 21st century English case law”, (LARSN Annual Conference, Cardiff University, May 2010).

“Counter-terrorism, Establishment, and an Anglican Islam”, Oxford Society for Law and Religion, Balliol College, Oxford 26 June 2009.

“Security, Places of Worship and Religious Autonomy”, Brigham Young University/CEU Colloquium, Budapest 26-28 May 2009.

“The Guest House on the Borderlands: Consuming Occulture”, (LARSN Annual Conference, Cardiff University, May 2009).

“Is the authentic human a member of a family? Some thoughts from law and religion”, University of the West of England Human Rights Group, UWE, 26 February 2008.

“Taking due account of religion in sentencing”, Crime, Religion and History, (Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, January 2008).

“Some reflections on sentencing for the exercise of religious rights”, Oxford Society for Law and Religion, Balliol College, 1 December 2007.

“Glocalisation, multidisciplinarity and law and religion”, invited paper at The Changing Nature of Religious Rights in International Law, ESRC/Bristol Centre for the Study of Law and Religion, Bristol, 5-6 July, 2007.

“Sacred places as generators of dangerous social capital?”, British Sociology Assocation (Religion Study Group) Conference, (Manchester University, Manchester, April 2006).

“Religious rights and human rights: The place of a right to exit”, invited paper at Insan Haklarinda Yeni Ariyislar, Mazlumder/EDAM, Istanbul, 27-29 May 2006.

“The tail that has yet to wag the dog: Abu Hamza and state control of places of worship”, University of the West of England Law Seminar Series, March 13 2006.

“Sacred places as generators of social capital: Some thoughts from the United Kingdom”, Keynote paper at Confrontation and Co-Existence in Holy Places: Religious, political and legal aspects of the Israeli:Palestinian context, Jewish-Arab Center Haifa University/Al-Qasemi Academy, 2-3 January 2006

"Religious liberty vs non-discrimination on the grounds of religion", British Association for the Study of Religions (Harris Manchester College Oxford, September 2004)., 2004

"The collapse of the Big Tent: The Bishops and Lords Reform", Centre for Legal Research and Policy Studies, Oxford Brookes University, 17 June 2004., 2004

“Religious representation in a democratic legislature: The case of the Isle of Man Tynwald”, Centre for Democracy Studies, Oxford Brookes University, 2 June 2003., 2004

Other experience

Lecturer, then Senior Lecturer, Lancashire Law School, 1992-1999.

Further information

 Follow him on twitter: @edge_law