Dr Christopher Whelan is Associate Director of International Law Programmes at the University of Oxford and a Visiting Professor of Law at Washington & Lee University School of Law (since 2005, Spring Semester) in Virginia, USA.

He is also a practising barrister, specialising in Employment Law, at 3PB in the Temple. His current research interests are in the fields of Lawyers’ Ethics and European Union Law, but he has over 70 publications on a wide variety of topics in international and comparative law. In addition to W&L and Bucerius, he has visited and taught at the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of South Carolina (where he held the Senator Strom Thurmond Distinguished Visitor Chair), the Ohio State University, the University of Warwick (UK), and Bucerius Law School in Hamburg, Germany. He was Francis Lewis Scholar-in-Residence at Washington & Lee in 2005.

Dr Whelan is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

1. The European Union on Trial: Powerful or Powerless
How did the EU get such enormous power over 500 million people in 28 countries? EU Law can override domestic law, allow citizens to sue their own countries, and fine those countries millions or even billions of Euros. It even made it a crime to sell bananas weighed in pounds and ounces? Is that TOO powerful? But, if so, how come the EU seems so powerless to deal with current migration and other crises?

2. The Euro, the Dollar and the Yuan: Who Will Win The Race for Supremacy?
There are now more Euros in circulation around the world than US Dollars; the Euro has also become a global reserve currency and the Yuan is joining them. Could the Euro - or the Yuan - ever replace the 'greenback', and does it matter? The answer is that it does - to all of us. This lecture explains why.

3. The Eurozone Debt 'Crisis': Who is Really to Blame?
While politicians struggle to save the Euro, the 19 Eurozone countries struggle to survive the crisis. Meanwhile, economic recovery in the rest of the world has been held back by the Eurozone. Why is the Eurozone crisis unique? Who are the victims? And 'Whodunit': who is REALLY to blame?

4. The British Monarchy: Will it Survive and, if so, How?
While monarchies around the world have been in decline, the British Monarchy has survived not only in the UK, but in Canada and Australia and other countries as well. While it sometimes seems nothing more than a long-running soap opera, the British Monarchy in fact wields real power and influence all over the world. What are the secrets of its success?

5. The United Nations on Trial: Is it Mission Impossible?
Do you know what the UN actually does? What was its original mission and why did it have to change? What is its mission now and does the UN do anything for you?

6. Lawyers on Trial: Hired Guns or Heroes?
If lawyers are necessary for justice, why are they so unpopular? What would YOU do if faced with the tragic choices lawyers sometimes have to make? If the lawyer's role within the justice system was better understood, would that help their image - or make it worse?

7. International Human Rights and Wrongs: Is it Time for Global Justice?
How can there be international human rights when humans disagree on what they should be? And what is the point when there are still so many atrocities around the world. The trials of Saddam Hussein, Slobodan Milosevic and others have raised the prospect of 'global justice'. How does global justice work and what are its prospects for the future?

8. Miscarriages of Justice: Why could YOU be next
You are accused of a serious crime, but you're innocent. What are the chances you'll be convicted, imprisoned, or even executed? If 10 guilty people go free so that one innocent person is NOT convicted, why are YOU at risk of a miscarriage of justice?

9. Time to Send in the Clones? Designing Babies and Saving Lives
The world is at the dawn of a revolution in evolution but is it a slippery slope towards the evils of eugenics? What are the ethical dilemmas posed by human cloning?

10. The Legacy of the British Empire: Good, Bad or Ugly?
The British Empire has been analysed over and over again, but what about its legacy. It's been said that the Empire changed the world'. This lecture will consider whether the legacy has been good, bad or ugly.

11. The Anglo-American Relationship: Is it Really 'Special'?
Does the 'special relationship' forged by Churchill and Roosevelt have any relevance in the 21st century, and if so, in what way?

January 18 - February 1, 2020, Silver Spirit, Hong Kong - Bangkok
September 28 - October 16, 2019, Crystal Symphony, Los Angeles - Caldera
September 15 - 28, 2019, Viking Sun, Viking Bergen - Montreal
June 8-20, 2019, Viking Sky, Reykjavik - Bergen
March 2 - 26, 2019, Viking Sky Tilbury - Bergen - Tilbury
June 20 - 30, 2019, Viking Sky, Bergen - Copenhagen
December 4 - 16, 2018, Viking Sun, Rome - Lisbon
September 18 - October 9, 2018 Silversea Silver Wind, Tower Bridge London - Reykjavik - Montreal
March 29 - April 7, 2018, Viking Star, Athens - Venice
March 9 - 23, 2018, Cunard Queen Victoria, Ft Lauderdale - Southampton
August 8 - 15, 2017, Crystal Serenity, Vancouver - Seward Alaska
May 20 - June 3, 2017, Viking Star, Stockholm - Bergen
June 3 - 17, 2017, Viking Star, Bergen - London Greenwich
February 20 - March 6, 2017, Azamara Journey, Sydney - Auckland
March 6 - 22, 2017, Azamara Journey, Auckland - Sydney
October 7 - 23, 2016, Azamara Journey, Rome - Dubai
August 6 - 18, 2016, Crystal Symphony, London Tilbury - Lisbon
August 18 - 27, Crystal Symphony, Lisbon - Barcelona
April 12 - 24, 2016, Viking Sea, Venice - Barcelona
April 24 - May 6, 2016, Viking Sea, Barcelona - London Greenwich
November 10 - 25, 2015, Azamara Quest, Barcelona - Barcelona (Canary Islands cruise)
May 1 - 16, 2015, Silversea Sea Whisper, Ft Lauderdale - Southampton
November 10 - 22, 2014, Azamara Journey, Athens - Dubai
November 22 - 30, 2014, Azamara Journey, Dubai - Kochi
November 30 - December 21, 2014, Azamara Journey, Kochi - Singapore
August 7 - 17, 2014, Crystal Symphony, Stockholm - Dover
August 17 - 24, 2014, Crystal Symphony, Dover - Dublin
April 16 - 28, 2014, Cunard Queen Victoria, Ft Lauderdale - Southampton
December 9 - 23, 2013, Azamara Journey, Hong Kong - Singapore
September 28 - October 5, 2013, Crystal Serenity, Monte Carlo - barcelona
October 5 - 17, 2013, Crystal Serenity, Barcelona - Istanbul
October 27 - November 11, Sea Dreams, Barcelona - San Juan Puerto Rico
September 2005, Cunard Queen Mary II, New York - Southampton

The following recent Cruise History has been recorded for this candidate.