Today the Cambridge Centre for Tax Law put on a spectacular 1-day conference on the role of judges in developing the context of tax law. The presenters and discussants provided some exceptional presentations and commentary on a range of topics. Dominic de Cogan did an excellent job of organizing this inaugural event. Chris Jenkins provided a thoughtful presentation on the role of judges in influencing tax outcomes. Ewa Plesnar presented a poster on tax and human rights. And Matteo Mantovani presented a poster on VAT and BEPs.

Below is a summary of the conference outline:

Tax Policy Conference 2016: The role of judges in developing the content of tax law

Wednesday 13 April 2016

Lloyd’s Room, Christ’s College

10.00-10.30am: Registration and tea/coffee

10.30-11.15am: John Avery Jones (Pump Court/UT/FTT), ‘Is tax all the same?’
Chair: John Snape (Warwick)
Discussant: Judge Colin Bishopp (President, FTT)
Discussant: Judge Roger Berner (UT)

11.15-11.50am: Tobias Franz (Münster), ‘The General Anti-Abuse Rule proposed by the European Commission’
Discussant: Christiana HJI Panayi (QMUL)

1.50am-12.10pm: Tea/coffee break

12.10-12.45pm: Chris Jenkins (Cambridge), ‘Implied terms and taxation’
Chair: Judith Freedman (Oxford)
Discussant: Johann Hattingh (Cape Town)

12.45-1.45pm: Lunch

1.45-2.30pm: Judge Malcolm Wallis (Supreme Court of Appeal of SA), ‘Is tax really different’
Chair: Judith Freedman (Oxford)
Discussant: Sir Stephen Oliver QC (Retired president, FTT)

2.30-2.50pm: Tea/coffee break

2.50-3.25pm: Stephen Daly (Oxford), ‘Judicial review and tax exceptionalism: recent trends’
Chair: Penelope Tuck (Birmingham)
Discussant: Hans Gribnau (Leiden/Tilburg)

3.25-4.10pm: Kristin Hickman (Minnesota), ‘Treasury’s Retroactivity’
Discussant: Dominic de Cogan (Cambridge)

4.10-4.30pm: Closing discussion