Saturday 1st December 2018
University of Brighton
Call for Papers

In the UK, and with Brexit looming, the challenges for human rights are mounting. From counter-terrorism to migration, policing to poverty, human rights are facing significant challenges. Further afield the refugee crisis expands, women’s reproductive rights and bodily autonomy are devalued and western businesses take advantage of loose governance in poorer countries. It has been said that we are now living in a world of “stealth authoritarianism” (Varol) and “democratic degeneration” (Taylor), with many states facing an overemphasised majority principle and crisis-ridden, even collusive, constitutional courts, unable or unwilling to protect the minority’s fundamental rights. This conference seeks to bring academics, researchers, activists and practitioners together in a one-day conference to discuss all of these contemporary challenges to human rights law.

Keynote Speakers for the event are:

Professor Helen Fenwick, Durham Law School and Professor

Paul Hunt, University of Essex

Suggested topics include, but are not limited to:

Human rights and criminal justice

Human rights and terrorism Migration Refugee and asylum law

Gender issues Social and economic rights

Human rights in the workplace International trade and human rights

The European Convention on Human Rights Comparative and

International Perspectives Business and Human Rights Health (including reproductive rights)

We welcome proposals for individual contributions and for panels (of at least 3 papers). PhD students are encouraged to participate and there will be a prize for the best paper delivered by a PhD student. We are hopeful that a selection of papers from this conference will be published as an edited collection. Please indicate whether you would like your abstract to be included in any publication proposal that we may send to publishers.

Abstracts of no more than 300 words should be sent to Dr Claire-Michelle Smyth at C.M.Smyth@Brighton.ac.uk by 1 st August 2018. General enquiries can be sent to the conference organisers Dr Claire Michelle Smyth (C.M.Smyth@brighton.ac.uk) or Dr Richard Lang (R.A.Lang@Brighton.ac.uk) Registration fee of £60 will include lunch and refreshments. A reduced registration fee of £30 is available for students.