One of the foremost scholars in the area of European constitutionalism, Professor Neil Walker of the European University Institute, (EUI) in Florence is to deliver the Annual Distinguished Lecture at the Faculty of Law, NUI Galway on Friday, 23rd March 2007.

The event, which is in its third year, will be held in Lecture Theatre MY001, Aras Moyola Building at 7.00pm. The theme of the lecture, Europe at Fifty: A Mid-Life Crisis, was chosen to mark the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome.

The EUI is Europe's leading postgraduate centre for studies in law and the social sciences. Prof. Walker was the first holder of the position of Dean of the EUI between 2003 and 2005 and this year, alongside his EUI Chair, he holds the position of Honorary Tercentenary Professor of Law at the University of Edinburgh as a prelude to his full-time return to Edinburgh next year where he will take up the position of Regius Professor of Public Law.

Announcing the event the Dean of Law, Donncha O'Connell, said: "The current status of the EU Constitutional Treaty is a matter of acute political concern in all of the European Member States. We are privileged to have someone of the stature of Professor Walker to speak on this topic and we in the Faculty of Law hope that his lecture will contribute significantly to the Irish debate on this topic".

Dr Niamh Nic Shuibhne, Reader in EC Law at the School of Law, University of Edinburgh will deliver a response to the lecture. Dr Nic Shuibhne is an alumna of NUI Galway and also taught in the Faculty of Law for a period of time.

The event will be chaired by Mrs. Justice Catherine McGuinness, President of the Law Reform Commission and Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Law, NUI Galway.

The lecture will be followed by a wine reception in the foyer of the Moyola Building at which it will be possible to meet with the speakers. For further information on the event please contact: (091) 492389 or 492752.

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