Thursday 8 June 2023

Call for Papers for the European Human Rights Law Conference 2023

From 28-29 September 2023, the 2023 European Human Rights Law Conference is being held at the University of Cambridge, Faculty of Law. The theme of the conference is 'Human Rights: Prospects, Possibilities, Fears and Limitations'. Keynotes include Judge Paulo Pinto de Albuquerque, Professor Conor Gearty KC, Dr Elaine Webster and Lady Brenda Hale.


Here is a description of the call:

'Abstracts are invited from those at any career stage, and we welcome papers from academics, practitioners and those working for Non-Governmental Organisations as well as others. Abstracts should be no longer than 500 words and can address any aspect of the conference theme. Papers will be selected on the basis of merit and fit with the conference theme.

The deadline for the call for papers is 7 July 2023.

Please note that speakers will have to meet their own expenses and pay the conference fee. A limited number of fee-waivers may be available and will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Proposed sessions and themes for the conference include:

General

- The role of courts in human rights adjudication
- The strengths and weaknesses of written rights documents
- The future of the ECtHR, the ECHR and the European Social Charter
- The utility of the international rights framework
- Critiques of human rights
- Backsliding on rights in domestic systems and in the international rights framework

Specific rights issues

- Climate change and human rights litigation
- Reproductive rights
- Technology, Artificial Intelligence and human rights
- Migrants' rights
- LGBTQI+ rights
- Race, ethnicity and rights
- Health and rights
- Animal and environmental rights
- Domestic abuse and rights
- Workers' rights

Jonathan Cooper OBE Early Career Prize

The Jonathan Cooper OBE Prize for the best paper by an early career scholar or professional will be awarded at the 2023 conference dinner. Those who are eligible and wish to be considered for the Prize should indicate this by ticking the relevant box in the electronic application system and by submitting a full written version of their paper by 15 September 2023. The paper must be unpublished and not under consideration for publication (unless it is under consideration with the European Human Rights Law Review) at the time of submission. The Prize will be awarded on the basis of the written paper submitted. The prize-winning paper will be published in European Human Rights Law Review and will receive a monetary prize.

The eligibility criteria are as follows:

Anyone who:
a. is studying for, but who has not yet been awarded, a doctoral degree in Law; or
b. was awarded a doctoral degree in Law on or after 1 September 2018; or
c. was appointed to their first full-time academic or professional position on or after 1 September 2018.

Career breaks and caring commitments, and the impact of Covid-19 will be taken into account in determining eligibility

Publication

A small selection of the papers presented at the conference as well as keynote presentations may be published in a special issue of the European Human Rights Law Review.'