A Birmingham barrister has spoken of her sense of achievement after being asked to speak at the annual conference of the United Kingdom Association of Women Judges (UKAWJ) on 9 November.
Adreeja Chatterjee, of No5 Barristers’ Chambers, was invited to present a paper and to deliver a talk at the event, which examined the themes of Migration, Slavery and the Law, including human trafficking.
Speakers included the president of the Supreme Court Baroness Hale, who is the president of UKAWJ, and Lady Justice Sarah Asplin, Vice-President of the UKAWJ.
Adreeja said that being invited to speak was a highlight of her career so far. Her talk focused on forced marriage, including issues arising in cases where capacity is lacking, and issues arising in the Court of Protection.
She examined various facets of forced marriage, including the civil protection orders and criminalisation, in which she informed the audience that there had only been three convictions since forced marriage was made a criminal offence in 2014.
Adreeja, who is a member of the Family and Court of Protection groups at No5 Barristers’ Chambers, said: “Every speaker said they were delighted to give a speech in front of such a distinguished audience of more than 100 women judges, and it really was an honour and a privilege. Everyone was very warm and receptive, and I had a lot of people coming up to me afterwards providing feedback and asking questions.”
She said it was a poignant moment when Baroness Hale spoke of the late HHJ Estella Hindley QC, formerly of No5 Barristers’ Chambers, who passed away earlier this year, saying that she was a great loss and would be sadly missed.
During the conference, which was held in Liverpool Malmaison Hotel, Professor John Belchem, Emeritus Professor of History at the University of Liverpool, also looked at slavery and migration in the city’s past as a major port. Adreeja added: “It was an inspired link with the theme and really put it in context with our increasingly globalised society. It was a very hard-hitting conference, and at times quite dark, but everyone was inspired by the event.”
To view Adreeja Chatterjee’s profile visit: https://www.no5.com/barristers/barrister-details/272-adreeja-chatterjee/
