LAW MAKING INSTITUTIONS

Law Making Institutions

Law Making Institutions

Introduction

The Royal Society has played a key role in science communication at several points in its 350-year history. The society is the national academy of science for the United Kingdom, by custom and function if not by statute. It is in many ways similar to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and works closely with it on international initiatives, though in important ways it is also quite different.

Two developments in 1999 changed this status quo. First, the EU treaties were amended by the Amsterdam Treaty which came into force that year and provided EU competence to adopt measures defining responsible States for determining asylum applications; to establish minimum conditions of reception of asylum-seekers; to set out minimum standards of protection in the event of mass influx (which we will not consider further here); and to establish a common definition regarding those entitled to international protection, and common minimum standards for procedures. The second development was the adoption of a protocol to the European Community (EC) Treaty (now the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union - TFEU) and to the Treaty on European Union (TEU)that aims to exclude all EU nationals from international protection in another Member State.

Creation of the Royal Society

The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, to give it its full title, was founded by a group of individuals in London toward the end of 1660. The previous two decades had been a period of unprecedented turbulence in British political history. The devastating civil war had ended with the execution of King Charles I in 1649 and England turning from a monarchy into a republic, the so-called Protectorate under Oliver Cromwell. When Cromwell died in 1658, he was succeeded as Lord Protector by his son Richard, who, however, resigned within a year. An anxious few months of uncertainty followed. Then Charles II returned from exile on the continent and the monarchy was restored at the beginning of 1660.

It was an equally momentous period in science, as it was during this time that the practice of studying the natural world through systematic observation and experiment began to take root. There were many strands to this, of course. But a pivotal one was the groups that met privately in Oxford and London during and after the civil war, eventually resolving in late 1660 to establish a College for the Promoting of Physico-Mathematical Experimental Learning. They recognized the advantages of royal patronage to protect their fledging enterprise and its disruptive mission of a new approach to knowledge and promptly used their social connections to secure it from the newly restored King Charles II. It has been known simply as the “Royal Society” ever since.

Communication Among Scientists

The communication of the latest scientific results was its core business. The society met weekly to see new experiments performed and to discuss the latest results. Everything was recorded in meticulous detail, and much of this material from the early days of modern science can ...