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Silk v Brief Contents Spring 2017 2 Edition Theme : Climate Change A Letter from the President A Comment from the Editor 3 The Benjamin Barsby Fund 4 Graphic Design & Editor: - Climate Change: Wildlife - Abdul-Halim Albasha - (Dis)pleased to be Chilling in the West Indies 7 Front Cover: - Bubble, Bubble, Oceans in Trouble 8 EJ Oakley Editorial Team: - Climate Change: People - Annabel Smith - Rising Seas: Pacific Small Island Developing States 12 Charles Jack - Desertification: A Cause of Mass Desertion 14 Kasim Ali - Global Warming Presents: The Sixth Extinction 16 Michael Stresing Francesca Alice Forzoni - Climate Change: Politics - - Trump’s War on Climate Change 20 - What Do You Truly Believe In? 22 Silk v Brief is the official magazine of the - Climate Change: Economy - UCL Law Society, edited by the Society’s - Is Nature Our Best Climate Tool? 26 Publications Officer and produced by the undergraduate Law students of University College London. - Climate Change: Technology - - Carbon Capture: An Extortionate Remedy to 30 The UCL Law Society is a non-profit Humanity’s Mistake? student organisation; any views expressed herein belong exclusively to the student writers and are not necessarily those held - Miscellaneous - or endorsed by the Society or the - Democracy: Becoming the Paradoxical Enemy of the 34 Publications Officer. People? - London Terror: Has the Tide Turned for our Security 36 Text, layout or image content may not be Services? copied, printed or otherwise disseminated - Chimeras: How Medicine Transformed Myth into 38 without authorisation from the UCL Law Society. Miracle - Would I Lie to You? Political Truth Telling in a Post- 40 Truth Era Advertising: For further information, including an advertising rate card, please - Modern Slavery: The Greatest Human Rights Issue of 42 contact the incumbent Publications Officer. our Time? - Romania Resists 44 2016/17: Abdul-Halim Albasha - Compulsory Voting: A Cure for All? 46 ([email protected]) - The Neverendum to End Them All 48 - My Genes Made Me Do It 50 Silk v Brief Magazine - The Bizarre Appeal of Emmanuel Macron 52 C/O UCL - Have More Kids; Save The Economy 54 Faculty of Laws Bidborough House - Works of Art - 38-50 Bidborough Street - EJ Oakley: Copic Marker & Biro on Paper 58 London - Ayat Alhaji: Oil on Canvas 60 WC1H 9BT Silk v Brief | 1 Silk v Brief | Spring 2017 | A Letter From The President A Letter From The President For the first time in the Society’s history, we were recognised as one of the top 10 university societies in the UK (NUE Awards) and nominated for ‘Best Law Society Overall’ and ‘Best Society for Aspiring Barristers’ (LCN Award). It has also been a fantastic year in mooting, bearing testament to the calibre and dedication of some of Dear Benthamites, our best students. Our mooters have competed all around the UK in national competitions such as the It has been a pleasure to serve the UCL Law Society ESU-Essex Court Chambers Competition and the for the past two years, first as the Overseas Officer OUP-BPP Mooting Competition. We won both the and subsequently as your President. ‘UCL v LSE’ Eversheds Sutherland Cup and the ‘UCL v KCL’ Hogan Lovells Cup. Notably, our Philip C I thank the Faculty and our sponsors for working Jessup International Law Moot team excelled in the closely with me throughout this year, the Committee national rounds and will be flying to Washington in 2015/16 for teaching me the ropes, the DC to compete in the international rounds. Committee in 2016/17 for tirelessly supporting my presidency, as well as my family and friends for Besides mooting, our Pro Bono team won the constantly providing me with patience, generosity midway prize of the Law School Challenge and will and sound advice. be contending for the overall prize. Furthermore, we published three editions of Silk v Brief (one To the finalists: In September 2014, we were 175 more than last year), the second edition of Next strangers who came from all around the world to Destination (with a wider selection of firms and study what many have regarded as the best articles) and the UCL Law Society Applications discipline in the world – Law. 2,000 cups of coffee Guide. Lastly, our football team entered a league and 4,000 cases later, we have grown together, and performed admirably, while our rugby team, forged strong friendships, and are now heading into netball team and mixed running club have also our final undergraduate examinations. I wish all of gone from strength to strength. you the very best in the upcoming papers and look forward to graduating together in July. Benthamites, it was truly wonderful befriending so many of you through the Society. While all good To everyone else: Enjoy the rest of your time at UCL things must come to an end, I will always look back Laws and take full advantage of everything that UCL at my time at UCL Laws with fond memories. has to offer. While the journey will be challenging, it is also immensely rewarding! As it is often sung: Until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand. This is also the time for us to look back at our Society’s successes over the past year. It has been Yours truly, one of the busiest years in the Society’s history, and Godwin Tan I am glad that there are accolades to affirm the hard work of my committee members. President, UCL Law Society 2016/17 2 | Silk v Brief A Comment From The Editor | Spring 2017 | Silk v Brief A Comment From The Editor Well, here it is; the last one. It’s fitting that this should also serve as my farewell to the UCL Laws community and society; a precious three years in which I’ve learnt so much, an experience untradeable for any commodity. This is the year Silk v Brief went through a transformation; a third edition, a sponsored writing award, and the foundations for an international readership. I stand very pleased to pass the mantle into the capable hands of Kasim as our incoming publications officer, with every confidence he will continue this pace of development. As ever, it goes without saying all this could never have been possible without our sponsors; a special thanks to the solicitors and employees at Macfarlanes LLP for giving their sponsorship and for taking the time to judge the shortlisted articles for the Writing Award. To Michael, Francesca, Charles, Annabel and Kasim; your counsel and aid turned an arduous task into a pleasure; many thanks over and again. To UCL Laws, its faculty, society members, and committee; I bid thee farewell – catch you on the other side! All the very best, Abdul-Halim Albasha Outgoing UCL Law Society Committee 2016/17: Godwin Tan Gelun (President) Zaal Cama (Overseas) Hyerin Park (VP and Careers) Alistair Ho (Final Year Rep) Jan-Alexander Greiwe (Treasurer) Ramsey El-Dabbagh (Second Year Rep) Gareth Deane (Social Sec) Oliver James (First Year Rep) Firoza Dodhi (Sec) Jasmine Castledine (Pro Bono) Amrit Singh Gill (Speaker Sec) Jack Helyar (Sports) Shemuel Sheikh (Bar) Abdul Albasha (Publications) Arthur Shin (Senior Moots) Michalis Ioannou (Vocations) Connor Gray (Junior Moots) Alex Kyriacou (Webmaster and Affiliate Rep) Silk v Brief | 3 Silk v Brief | Spring 2017 | The Benjamin Barsby Fund The Benjamin Barsby Fund A UCL Law Society Charity Focus Written by Godwin Tan & Arthur Shin In March 2017, UCL Law Society started an initiative to He was a wonderful son, brother and partner - the best… donate a portion of the Law Society’s budget surplus to a small, local charity. Law Society members were invited to submit suggestions regarding which charity to support. Many UCL law students responded to the call for submissions, and the Law Society Committee received suggestions ranging from the Prisoners’ Advice Service to Laptops for the Homeless. A document describing the different charities was circulated amongst Committee members, and in the final Committee meeting of the academic year, the Committee voted on which charity to support. About the Charity The charity that stood out was the Benjamin Barsby Fund. The Benjamin Barsby Fund is, amongst other things, dedicated to helping mental health charities in the name of a former UCL law student who sadly took his own life due to a battle with mental health issues. The Benjamin Barsby Fund has such a palpable connection with UCL Laws and the Law Society that it won the Committee’s unanimous vote. What led you to setting up the Benjamin Barsby fund? What does the charity aim to do? In addition to financially supporting the Benjamin Barsby Fund, the Law Society interviewed Benjamin’s mother, Keri, who We, Benjamin’s family, partner and friends were determined to kindly sent us photos and agreed to have her responses and the mark the loss of Benjamin by working towards helping and photos published to raise awareness of the charity and the creating a more positive outlook for others, including those importance of mental health. The Law Society thanks Keri for who are suffering whilst facing mental or emotional distress. her time and candidness. The Society’s donation to the Benjamin Barsby Fund is modest compared to the efforts of Keri Working with Nottinghamshire Community Foundation (NCF) and others, and we know that it will be put to very good use. we have created a charitable fund in Benjamin’s name, with a primary aim of growing it to build a permanent legacy in support of mental and emotional wellbeing and preventative To those who don’t know him, what was work in Nottinghamshire and the UK.