Dear Colleagues,
We are pleased to remind you of the slightly-extended deadline on 8 July 2013 for abstracts for the forthcoming conference on 'On the Borders of Refugee Protection? The Impact of Human Rights Law on Refugee Law - Comparative Practice and Theory'.
Organised by the Refugee Law Initiative in collaboration with a range of international partners, this 1.5 day conference will take place at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, London, on 13th and 14th November 2013. The objective is to bring together leading experts to reflect comparatively on the practical and theoretical impact of international human rights law upon refugee status determination.
Scheduled participants include: Lord Dyson - Master of the Rolls, UK Court of Appeal; Jane McAdam - UNSW; Deborah Anker - Harvard; Bruce Burson - NZ IP Tribunal; Michelle Foster, Melbourne; Raza Husain QC - Matrix Chambers; James Simeon - CRS, Canada; Roger Errera - French Conseil d'Etat; Cathryn Costello - Oxford; Satvinder Juss - KCL; Hugo Storey - UK Asylum Tribunal; Martin Jones - York; Tamara Wood - UNSW; Jason Pobjoy, Cambridge, in addition to UNHCR specialists.
The broad topics to be addressed by the conference are detailed in the Outline below. Towards this end, we are keen to receive additional contributions on the final thematic panel, particularly on the following broad topics and their implications for our understanding of the refugee definitions: sexual and gender identity; combatants and military service; permissible limitations to rights (such as freedom to manifest one's religion); and internal protection/flight alternative.
In terms of further timescale, presenters will be asked to submit a draft paper of 5 000-8 000 words by 1 November 2013 to enable paper-sharing in advance among the participants. After the event, revised papers will be submitted to Martinus Nijhoff for publication in an edited collection.
On the logistics, presenters will be offered local accommodation, as well as a contribution towards return economy travel expenses of up to £50 (UK), £150 (Europe), £500 (World).
If you wish to present a paper, please submit an abstract of up to 300 words for consideration to [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> and [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> by Monday 8 July, 2013.
Alternatively, if you are interested in attending as a non-speaking participant, please email the convenors so that we can register your interest and keep you informed once registration opens.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Kind regards,
Dr David James Cantor
Director, Refugee Law Initiative, School of Advanced Study, University of London
Bruce Burson
New Zealand Immigration and Protection Tribunal
CONFERENCE OUTLINE:
On the Borders of Refugee Protection?
The Impact of Human Rights Law on Refugee Law - Comparative Practice and Theory
International Conference
London, 13-14 November 2013
International human rights law (IHRL) has assumed an increasingly important role in refugee status determination (RSD) over the past twenty years. At the same time, the legal consequences of this interaction remain a source of considerable contention. Whilst much of the debate has taken place in abstract and general terms, the conference seeks to shift the focus to a detailed comparative analysis of how this relationship is configured by different jurisdictions in practice.
The simple fact that RSD takes place within a wide range of different jurisdictional contexts requires a new point of departure. Indeed, these express a vast variance based, inter alia, on the refugee and IHRL instruments ratified by the country, the ways in which these have been incorporated into domestic law, the interpretation of these instruments through the lens of local legal cultures, and the differing nature of RSD procedures internationally. The conference will provide an important new perspective on the divergent ways that such factors have moulded the relationship between IHRL and refugee law at the level of national RSD practice.
As well as generating important new practical understandings of RSD, the resulting analysis will feed back into wider theoretical debates about the influence of IHRL in RSD. For instance, the obviously uneven cross-jurisdictional terrain raises serious questions about the capacity of IHRL to cohesively shape RSD at the international level. Questions about transnational processes of borrowing between different jurisdictions also arise. Whether IHRL should be used to interpret refugee law and, if so, in which of its components, is also an important issue.
Broad questions to be addressed from both theoretical and comparative perspectives include:
1. Does IHRL influence RSD in practice at the national level? If so, what are the key factors that determine the degree and nature of such influence?
2. Are there particular areas of refugee law interpretation where the influence of IHRL is especially pronounced in national practice?
3. Has the IHRL influence on RSD - and refugee law - been broadly positive or negative?
4. Does IHRL facilitate the convergence of RSD processes at the international level?
Three panels will explore comparative practice from around the world and one will be addressed to broader cross-cutting thematic issues. Some further details can be found in the outline below.
This gathering provides the opportunity both for a stock-taking of transnational developments over the past twenty years and for the identification of future challenges. Given the scope of the material, it will be of interest to lawyers, judges, practitioners and scholars in the areas of refugee, human rights and EU law, as well as humanitarian workers and academics, government authorities, policy researchers and students.
The 1.5 day conference is organised by the Refugee Law Initiative, University of London, jointly with the Centre for Refugee Studies (York, Canada), Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinical Program (Harvard, USA), International Refugee and Migration Law Project (UNSW, Australia), International Refugee Law Research Programme (Melbourne, Australia) and the International Association of Refugee Law Judges.
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