The approach of the centenary of the disestablishment of the Church of England in Wales offers a good opportunity to reflect on legal aspects of the life of the Church in Wales since 1920. Religious equality had been the principal stimulus for the Welsh Church Act 1914. This statute, together with the release of the Welsh dioceses by the Archbishop of Canterbury to form a separate Anglican province, necessitated the formulation of a constitution for the Church. Innovation was avoided, and continuity protected. ‘Vestiges of establishment’ continued, in burial and marriage, as the result of political expediency. The original structure of the Constitution continues to this day – a complex of various instruments. Change has been piecemeal. The Church still has no modernised body of canon law and its soft law has increased dramatically. However, understandings about the purposes of the Constitution have changed, and the demand for constitutional change has quickened recently, particularly since the Harries Review of the Church in Wales in 2012.

This article examines how Lord Coleridge's Victorian experiences and Christian mindset played a prominent and persuasive role in the formulation of his judgment in R v Dudley and Stephens. Notwithstanding efforts to act impartially and objectively, we are all beholden, often unconsciously, to the biases and beliefs permeating the society in which we live. Coleridge was no exception, being a composite of influences: family and educational backgrounds, religious beliefs, personal encounters and societal norms. These prejudices sharpen into focus with the benefit of distant hindsight. An associated challenge is the present difficulty faced when interpreting old judgments in which allusions are made to concepts that no longer resonate in the modern world. Finally, we are left to ponder our own predicament: what are the biases that present-day jurists unconsciously possess, how do they influence the formulation of judgments and how will they be understood in a future age?

Mr G Conisbee v Crossley Farms Ltd & Ors [2019] ET 3335357/2018 was a preliminary hearing to determine whether or not vegetarianism was ‘capable of satisfying the requirement and definition of being a philosophical belief (protected characteristic) under the Equality Act 2010’. Employment Judge Postle held that vegetarianism did not amount to a philosophical belief, comparing it to veganism. The case is the latest in the confusing and contradictory case law on the meaning of the term ‘religion or belief’ under English law.

Trinity Hall, Cambridge was founded in 1350 by William Bateman, Bishop of Norwich, for the study of canon law and civil law, as provided in its statutes. It later developed a direct connection with Doctors’ Commons in London, the College of Advocates practising in the church and admiralty courts. In the period 1512–1856, of the 462 admitted as advocates, 85 were from the Hall, including 15 masters and 45 fellows. From 1558 to 1857, the Hall had 9 out of about 25 Deans of Arches: two under Elizabeth, three at the end of the seventeenth century, three in the eighteenth century and one in the nineteenth. It has also provided more than 24 diocesan chancellors. As a result, within Cambridge University, Trinity Hall became the ‘nursery for civilians’, and the usual home for the Regius Professor of Civil Law. Among the first 12 of these (1540–1666), the Hall had 5. From 1666 to 1873, all of the next 12 holders were Trinity Hall by origin or adoption. Uniquely, all four of those holding this chair from 1757 to 1847 were clergy. These included Samuel Hallifax, Regius Professor of Civil Law 1770–1782. What follows deals with the life and career of Hallifax; his legal treatise An Analysis of the Roman Civil Law Compared with the Laws of England (with particular reference to its treatment of ecclesiastical law), its use and later editions; and the part played by it in a development which saw Trinity Hall become the centre for the new Civil Law classes (1816–1857), the forerunner of the modern Cambridge Law Tripos.

On 9 September, the European Union (Withdrawal) (No 2) Act 2019 received Royal Assent and Parliament was prorogued until 14 October. The prorogation was challenged in the courts both in England and Wales and in Scotland, and a strong Divisional Court of Queen's Bench and the Inner House of the Court of Session came to opposite conclusions as to its legality. The judgments were appealed to the Supreme Court, and on 24 September an eleven-judge bench handed down a unanimous judgment in the conjoined cases of Miller and Cherry.

This report covers the groups of sessions held in February 2019 and July 2019. After the spate of legislation in 2018, when nine Measures were enacted – the highest number in a single year since the Church was empowered by the Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919 to make Measures having the force and effect of statute – 2019 saw the enactment of just a single Measure.

The General Assembly met in Edinburgh from 19 to 25 May, with the Rt Revd Colin Sinclair BA BD, minister of Palmerston Place in the Presbytery of Edinburgh, installed as Moderator. Last year's Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly, Richard Scott, the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry, was reappointed by HM The Queen.

The April meeting was held while the Anglican Consultative Council was meeting in Hong Kong, and the Governing Body received a video message from Dr Heather Payne and the Ven Mary Stallard, its two representatives. In his presidential address to the September meeting, the Archbishop of Wales spoke of the challenges facing the Church and said that those who challenged the Church, asking sometimes uncomfortable questions, deserved to be taken seriously. He also highlighted some of the initiatives that the Church in Wales was undertaking as part of the acknowledgement that the status quo for ministry in Wales was unlikely to meet the needs of the province in the decades ahead.

This year's General Synod, the second meeting of the triennium, was held for the first time in the Diocese of Derry and Raphoe. The venue was the Millennium Forum Theatre in the centre of the historic walled city of Derry/Londonderry and a civic reception was held at the Guildhall, hosted by the mayor of Derry City and Strabane District. The Synod considered Bills relating to Holy Communion by extension; liturgical provision for miscarriage, stillbirth and neonatal death; and diocesan boundaries.

The General Synod met at St Paul's and St George's church in Edinburgh from 6 to 8 June. In his opening charge to Synod, the Primus, the Most Revd Mark Strange, encouraged Synod members to listen to the voice of God and respond to the command ‘this is the way, walk in it’. The Scottish Episcopal Church needed to be able to respond to a society crying out for reconciliation, fairness and hope but could only do so if, inside the Church, such values marked the way in which members treated one another.

The General Synod normally meets every three years for a session lasting several days. It held its 42nd session from 10 to 16 July 2019 in Vancouver. There were three items of business that particularly attracted the attention of the media, though a number of other important issues were also addressed during the session.

The Eighth General Synod of Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui (‘Holy Catholic Church of Hong Kong’) met from 23 to 25 June 2019 at St James's Church in the Wan Chai district of Hong Kong. The Synod had been scheduled to meet from 23 to 27 June but concluded its business two days early. It normally meets every three years.