International Justice and Human Rights Unit

The ‘International Justice and Human Rights Research Unit’ provides a forum for research in: international criminal law, international humanitarian law, human rights law, public international law, international conflict and security law, migration, criminal justice and human rights. It includes members from both academia and the legal profession. Members of the Unit provide expert advice and training to the legal profession, governmental and non-governmental organizations, judiciaries, undertake collaborative research. The Research Unit regularly hosts conferences, workshops, seminars, and lectures.

The Unit welcomes proposals for collaborative research projects.

You can contact the Unit on IJHR@edgehill.ac.uk.

Call for Papers: The Fifth Responsibility to Protect in Theory and Practice Conference

20 Years: Idea, Inaction, and Implementation
1 – 2 June, 2021
Liverpool, UK

The International Justice and Human Rights Unit is thrilled to announce the call for papers for an international conference in collaboration with the University of Ljubljana, the European Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (ECR2P), and the British International Studies Association’s Working Group on Intervention and the Responsibility to Protect.

The Organising Committee is pleased to confirm that Dr Simon Adams, of the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, will be giving a keynote address at the conference. Further speakers will be confirmed soon.

We are seeking for papers that address all aspects of the R2P – theoretical, empirical and/or normative. Scholars and practitioners of all career stages are most welcome to submit paper proposals.

Full details of the conference and call for papers can be found on the R2P conference website.

The deadline for abstract submissions is 8 January 2021.

Two IJHR Members Publish Monographs in International Law

The International Justice and Human Rights Research Unit is excited to announce the publication of two monographs by its members, as part of the Hart Publishing Series of ‘Studies in International Law’.

Dr Mariagiulia Giuffré has written The Readmission of Asylum Seekers under International Law, exploring the questions which lie at the junction of migration control and refugee law standards, and the extent to which readmission can hamper refugees’ access to protection.

Dr Patrick Butchard has published The Responsibility to Protect and the Failures of the United Nations Security Council which, at a time of inaction and political paralysis at the United Nations, explains the legality of alternative action beyond the UN Security Council.

Both books are now available to order. Keep watch on our events page and Twitter for announcements and developments about this research.

The Readmission of Asylum Seekers under International Law

This monograph could not be more timely, as discourses relating to refugees’ access to territory, rescue at sea, push-back, and push-back by proxy dominate political debate. Looking at the questions which lie at the junction of migration control and refugee law standards, it explores the extent to which readmission can hamper refugees’ access to protection. Though it draws mainly on European law, notably the European Convention on Human Rights, it also examines other international frameworks, including those employed by the United Nations and instruments such as the Refugee Convention. Therefore, this book is of importance to readers of international law, refugee law, human rights and migration studies at the global level. It offers an analysis of both the legal and policy questions at play, and engages fully with widely-disputed cases concerning readmission agreements, deportation with assurances and interception at sea. By so doing, this book seeks to clarify a complex field which has at times suffered from partiality in both its terminology and substance.

You can buy the book using the options below:

Buy the book in hardback.

Buy the eBook.

The Responsibility to Protect and the Failures of the United Nations Security Council

What can be done if the United Nations Security Council fails to protect people from mass atrocities? At a time of inaction and political paralysis at the United Nations, this book explains the legality of alternative action beyond the Security Council.

This book takes a fresh look at the responsibility to protect and offers new and compelling insights into the powers and limits of the UN Security Council. It argues that the Security Council’s responsibility to maintain international peace and security, and its responsibility to protect, do not die with its own failures. Other actors can and must take up responsibility to save those in need. In a persuasive and detailed examination of the legal framework, this research identifies options for coercive measures to be taken beyond the Council that could be used to break the deadlock, including through the General Assembly and regional organisations.

It provides a must-have resource for students, academics, and researchers on key principles of international law. It also offers insight for governments, policy-makers, and other international actors on how they can uphold their legal responsibilities, maintain peace and security, and prevent their failures from undermining the very existence of the UN itself.

You can buy the book using the options below:

Buy the book in hardback.

Buy the eBook.

The Fifth Responsibility to Protect in Theory and Practice Conference

20 Years: Idea, Inaction, and Implementation
1 – 2 June, 2021
Liverpool, UK

We are seeking for papers that address all aspects of the R2P – theoretical, empirical and/or normative. Scholars and practitioners of all career stages are most welcome to submit paper proposals.

Full details of the conference and call for papers can be found on the R2P conference website.

The deadline for abstract submissions is 8 January 2021.

What is the conference about?

In 2001, the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty published its report on ‘The Responsibility to Protect’, paving the way for the idea to be adopted by the international community at the 2005 World Summit. For 20 years, the concept of the Responsibility to Protect has developed from its initial idea, faced the inaction of States and the United Nations Security Council, but has also seen progress in its implementation by ‘R2P Focal Points’ and in the UN General Assembly.

To mark 20 years since the publication of the report, the Organising Committee invites abstracts to be submitted for a two-day conference in June 2021.

About the conference series

The Responsibility to Protect In Theory and Practice Series is a series of biennial international interdisciplinary conferences established by the Faculty of Law, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. The series is devoted exclusively to the concept of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P/RtoP), with the objective to create an opportunity for scholars and practitioners to engage in an interdisciplinary academic debate on the theoretical and practical implications of the concept. The conferences are organised as a forum where international experts and researchers have the opportunity to participate in a discourse on issues related to R2P and the applicability of the concept in practice.

Since 2013, the conference has been hosted by the Faculty of Law at the University of Ljubljana. This year, the conference will be hosted outside of its home venue by the International Justice and Human Rights Unit, Edge Hill University, bringing together colleagues from the University of Ljubljana, the European Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (ECR2P), and the British International Studies Association’s Working Group on Intervention and the Responsibility to Protect for a special 20-year anniversary event.

How will the conference work?

The 2021 Conference will take place in a hybrid form: panelists and attendees can participate either in person, or online. More details on the venue, and contingencies in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will be made available as soon as they can be confirmed.

Covid-19 and a hybrid conference

Because we are living in unprecedented times, this conference will take place both online and in-person, to ensure the event is as accessible as possible for all participants and attendees.

By taking this approach, the opportunities to participate in this conference can be much more inclusive, allowing people who may not normally be able to travel to the UK to participate in this event.

Panelists will have the option of attending in-person or presenting remotely online.

Attendees will be able to join the conference live, online, and interact with the speakers and panelists through online Q&As. When registration opens, there will be a limited number of spaces for attendees to purchase and register for in-person attendance.

Should coronavirus restrictions be eased, numbers for in-person attendance will be increased accordingly. However, should restrictions be tightened, or the UK enter a further ‘Lockdown’ situation, numbers for attendance will be reduced, or the conference will be moved online completely.

The venue

Owing to these uncertain times, confirmation of the conference venue is predicated on coronavirus restrictions and venue policies allowing such a conference to go ahead. Therefore, the final venue will be confirmed in the coming weeks, and as far in advance as possible for those wishing to attend in-person. However, we can indicate that the Conference will take place on either at a venue in Liverpool City Centre, or on Campus at Edge Hill University. As soon as we have confirmation of this, we will provide further details.

However, should campus or regional government restrictions mean that either venue is unavailable, then further updates will be provided as soon as possible.

The conference website provides details on how to travel to the conference venue.

The organising committee

Conference series chair

Professor Vasilka Sancin, PhD, Head of the Department of International Law and Director of the Institute of International Law and International Relations at the Faculty of Law, University of Ljubljana

Chairs of the 2021 conference

Patrick Butchard, PhD, International Justice and Human Rights Unit, Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, United Kingdom

Organising committee members

Adrian Gallagher, PhD, Co-Director of The European Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (ECR2P)

Jonathan Gilmore, PhD, Co-convenor of the BISA IR2P Working Group

Pınar Gözen Ercan, PhD, Associate Professor of International Relations, Co-convenor of the BISA IR2P Working Group

Alex Leveringhaus, PhD, Co-convenor of the BISA IR2P Working Group

Cristina G. Stefan, PhD, Associate Professor of International Relations, University of Leeds, UK, and Co-Director of The European Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (ECR2P)

Conference series coordinator

Maša Kovič Dine, PhD, Assistant Professor at the Department of International Law, Faculty of Law, University of Ljubljana

Elizabeth Bailey

(0)1695 657458
Baileye@edgehill.ac.uk

Dr Patrick Butchard (Coordinator of the Research Unit)
Publications
(0)1695 657623
Patrick.Butchard@edgehill.ac.uk

Holly Devlin

(0)1695 657384
Devlinh@edgehill.ac.uk

Dr Mariagiulia Giuffré (Coordinator of the Research Unit)
Publications
(0)1695 657614
Mariagiulia.Giuffre@edgehill.ac.uk

Agnieszka Martynowicz
Publications
(0)1695 657877
Agnieszka.Martynowicz@edgehill.ac.uk

Members of the International Justice and Human Rights Unit are involved in important and innovative research on a range of topics. Summaries of some of their work are available here.

2020-2021

1 – 2 June 2021
The Fifth Responsibility to Protect in Theory and Practice Conference
20 Years: Idea, Inaction, and Implementation

The Responsibility to Protect In Theory and Practice Series is a series of biennial international interdisciplinary conferences established by the Faculty of Law, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. The series is devoted exclusively to the concept of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P/RtoP), with the objective to create an opportunity for scholars and practitioners to engage in an interdisciplinary academic debate on the theoretical and practical implications of the concept. The conferences are organised as a forum where international experts and researchers have the opportunity to participate in a discourse on issues related to R2P and the applicability of the concept in practice.

The 2021 conference is collaboratively organised as a partnership between the International Justice and Human Rights Unit at Edge Hill, the University of Ljubljana, the BISA Intervention and Responsibility to Protect Working Group, and the European Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (ECR2P).

2018-2019

8 February 2019
Guest Lecture on the occasion of the launch of The Companion to International Humanitarian Law. Domestic and International Prosecution of War Crimes: Achievements and Challenges

Speakers: Judge Keith Raynor (Vice-President Kosovo Specialist Chambers) and Mr Niccolò Pons (Associate Legal Officer Kosovo Specialist Chambers)

Discussants Dr Patrick Butchard and Dr Triestino Mariniello

7 – 8 September 2018, Liverpool

Conference ‘Twenty Years of the ICC’s Rome Statute: Utopia – Reality – Crisis’

The Conference was based on an international and interdisciplinary discussion on four different, but interconnected themes – ‘global justice’, goals and functions of the ICC, relationship with states parties and the UN Security Council, effectiveness of proceedings.

Convenors

Julia Geneuss, LL.M. (NYU) (Hamburg University)
Triestino Mariniello (Edge Hill University)

2017-2018

24 November 2017

Guest Lecture ‘European Court of Human Rights Case Law on International Crimes’ on the occasion of the book launch ‘Judicial Dialogue on Human Rights: The Practice of International Criminal tribunals’ (Lobba – Mariniello eds, Brill 2017)

Speaker Judge Paulo Pinto de Albuquerque (European Court of Human Rights)

Chair Dr Mariagiulia Giuffré
Discussants Dr Paolo Lobba and Dr Triestino Mariniello

^t November 2017

Guest Lecture – The International Criminal Court at 15: Achievements and Challenges.

Speaker Judge Cuno Tarfusser (Vice-President of the International Criminal Court)

Previous Events

13 – 14 June 2014

The “Cross-Fertilization” Rhetoric in Question: Use and Abuse of the European Court’s Jurisprudence by International Criminal Tribunals

In June, 2014, Edge Hill University hosted a two-day international workshop. The event focused on the legal phenomenon of cross-fertilization between international criminal law and human rights principles developed by specialized supranational bodies. Twenty-two among scholars and practitioners critically assess the manner in which widely-recognized standards of human rights have been used (or misused) by international criminal tribunals.

To contact the International Justice and Human Rights Unit, please use the following contacts:

Dr Patrick Butchard
01695 657623
Patrick.Butchard@edgehill.ac.uk

Dr Mariagiulia Giuffré
01695 657614
Mariagiulia.Giuffre@edgehill.ac.uk

Department of Law and Criminology
Edge Hill University
St Helens Road
Ormskirk, Lancashire
L39 4QP
United Kingdom

IJHR@edgehill.ac.uk

International Justice and Human Rights Unit

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