Human Rights and Social Justice Research Institute
Introduction
The Human Rights and Social Justice Research Institute (HRSJ) was created in 2003 to facilitate multidisciplinary research, policy analysis, training, teaching and consultancy. The Institute supports a focused network of academics, students and practitioners, seeking to substantiate links between human rights and social justice. It brings together both academics and practitioners from a range of disciplines including law, health policy, social policy, sociology, politics and philosophy. HRSJ is a member of the Association of Human Rights Institutes (AHRI).
Research Programmes/Strands
The Institute carries out a broad range of research on issues of national and international interest. HRSJ collaborates with University Departments (including Law, Governance and International Relations and Applied Social Sciences) and with research bodies outside the University.
Civil and Political Rights, Europe in transition and conflict - this strand is concerned with the protection of fundamental civil and political rights in the former Soviet states and in regions of conflict within Europe. In these contexts, the Institute carries out research, provides consultancy and training, and maintains an international human rights litigation practice. This body of work centres on a number of key substantive rights: the right to life; the prohibition of torture; and rights arising in the administration of criminal justice, including the right to liberty and the right to a fair hearing. As a centre within HRSJ, the European Human Rights Advocacy Centre (EHRAC) primary aim is to strengthen the capacity of lawyers and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) within Russia and Georgia, in taking cases to the European Court of Human Rights.
Multiple Perspectives on the Right to Health - research activities within the health strand are multi-disciplinary, crossing fields of social science theory, applied social sciences, human rights and law, medical sciences, building environment, philosophy and religion. Our research in this field has been funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).
Human Rights Defenders at Risk - HRSJ is currently developing a programme concerned with sustainable support for human rights defenders working in ‘at Risk’ countries. The Institute recently hosted the 2009 Conference on Security and Protection for Human Rights Defenders designed to engage European support, and UK focus on the important work being done by human rights defenders worldwide in an increasingly dangerous climate.
Human Rights and Social Justice in the UK - HRSJ is actively engaging with current human rights debates within the UK. We were commissioned by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to carry out a scoping report for their Human Rights Inquiry. Our report was published in 2009: Human Rights in Britain since the Human Rights Act 1998: A Critical Review, (co-authored with Jenny Watson & Alice Donald, Global Partners & Associates). A further report was commissioned by the EHRC: Evaluating the Impact of Selected Cases under the Human Rights Act on public service provision (co-authored with Jenny Watson, Alice Donald & Elizabeth Mottershaw, Global Partners & Associates). HRSJ Director Philip Leach is a invited member of the Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody (England & Wales).
Current and past Research Projects
Human Rights Defence and Strengthening Human Rights Institutions:
European Human Rights Advocacy Centre (EHRAC): EHRAC, part of HRSJ, was established in 2003, with the support of the European Commission. Its primary aim is to strengthen the capacity of lawyers and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) within Russia and Georgia, in taking cases to the European Court of Human Rights whilst working to transfer skills and build the capacity of the human rights community. EHRAC has long-established partnerships with the Russian NGO Memorial and with the Georgian Young Lawyers’Association (Tbilisi). EHRAC also has links with many other NGOs and lawyers throughout Russia, Georgia and other former Soviet Union countries. EHRAC was granted Participatory Status with the Council of Europe in 2006.
HRSJ provides consultancy and training on human rights issues nationally and internationally. Institute staff are regularly engaged in providing human rights training, notably in Central and Eastern Europe and in Central Asia, and most recently with lawyers from Darfur, Sudan in February 2009. Through public lectures, seminars and conferences, HRSJ enables scholars, practitioners and policy-makers from the public, private and non-governmental sectors to examine current human rights issues. Our most recent seminar ‘Scrutinising the Practice of the European Court of Human Rights: Fact‐Finding Missions and the Nomination & Election of Judges’ was held in June 2009 at the Nuffield Foundation, London. HRSJ staff teach on the human rights programmes provided at London Metropolitan University.
Consultancy & Training
HRSJ provides consultancy and training on human rights issues nationally and internationally. For example, we have carried out work commissioned by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, the British Council, the Council of Europe and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
Institute staff are regularly engaged in providing human rights training, notably in Central and Eastern Europe and in Central Asia.
Postgraduate Teaching
HRSJ staff teach on the human rights programmes provided at London Metropolitan University:
The LLM provides students with a contextual and critical understanding of domestic and international human rights law and practice, including the operational difficulties of law creation and law enforcement. The LLM programme includes (as an option) a clinical legal module, in which students are assessed in carrying out work on cases currently pending before the European Court of Human Rights (within EHRAC - see below). The LLM has Law Society CPD accreditation.
MA Human Rights & Social Justice
The MA offers a critical overview of the legal and political theory, history and practice related to domestic and international human rights issues. Students learn how concepts of human rights and social justice are applied in the constitutional, legal and political arrangements of the UK, the EU and internationally.
HRSJ staff supervise students studying for MPhil/PhD. We welcome new research degree applications and we are happy to discuss proposals before formal applications are submitted. Please note, to formally apply for a MPhil/PhD, you must contact the Graduate School Office (research@londonmet.ac.uk).
Events
Through public lectures, visiting speaker seminars and conferences, HRSJ enables scholars, practitioners and policy-makers from the public, private and non-governmental sectors to examine current human rights issues. For more information, please visit the Events section of our website and complete the online form.
Seminar Series: The seminar series aims to explore the inter-relationships between human rights and social justice, from both theoretical and practical perspectives. The speakers include academics from a range of disciplines and representatives of civil society, public bodies and inter-governmental organisations. For more information on our current seminar series, please visit: www.londonmet.ac.uk/hrsj/seminars
Publications
Institute staff and associates produce a wide variety of academic and professional journal articles, books, book chapters, and conference papers, as well as commissioned reports. Full listings of these publications are available in the publication section of the HRSJ website, and copies of many of them are available in the HRSJ section of the Ladbroke House library.
Affiliated Centres
European Human Rights Advocacy Centre (EHRAC)
EHRAC was established in 2003, with the support of the European Commission. Its primary aim is to strengthen the capacity of lawyers and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) within Russia and Georgia, in taking cases to the European Court of Human Rights. EHRAC has long-established partnerships with the Russian NGO Memorial and with the Georgian Young
Lawyers’Association (Tbilisi). EHRAC also has links with many other NGOs and lawyers throughout Russia, Georgia and other former Soviet Union countries. EHRAC was granted Participatory Status with the Council of Europe in 2006.
