Archive
Law School welcomes Utrecht Summer School students
Fifty students from 16 countries will migrate to Queen’s University next week for a unique two-week summer school on the issues arising from migration.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Summer School, organised by the Human Rights Centre in the University’s School of Law. Among the topics to be discussed will be the history of mobility since Neolithic times, ethnicity and ethnicisation, national identity, treatment of refugees, implications of economic and technological globalisation, the Irish diaspora and trafficking in human beings.
Summer School Director Dr Rory O’Connell said: “In the context of contemporary debates on globalisation and multiculturalism, few topics are more pressing than the movement of people across borders.
“The issue of migration offers numerous opportunities for our young people to study or work abroad in an increasingly globalised world and the opportunity to celebrate a more diverse multicultural society at home. It brings with it challenges too – public sector and civil society groups for example have recently highlighted the plight of the victims of human trafficking in Northern Ireland. Fundamentally, migration forces us to think about our attitudes to basic questions of identity and equality.”
Participants will have the chance to meet members of local civil society groups involved in protecting the rights of migrants, as well as interacting with the teachers, doctoral researchers and guests, including local MLA Anna Lo.
The opening day will include a special celebration to mark the 10th anniversary of the summer school. Among those taking part will be Belgian author Chika Unigwe and Chief Commissioner of the Equality Commission Bob Collins.
The Summer School is multidisciplinary, and students and teachers taking part have backgrounds ranging from Anthropology through Economics, History, Law, and Musicology to Politics and Sociology.
The event is organised under the aegis of the Utrecht Network, a collaboration of more than 40 European Universities. It also receives financial support from a European Union Intensive Programme grant, administered by the British Council.
Full details on the event, which runs from 1 to 12 August, are available at www.bordersofeurope.eu
University Tutor Applications
University Tutor Applications are now being invited by the School of Law.
Further details can be accessed here.
Northern Ireland now a seat of summer learning for leading US law students
Northern Ireland is fast becoming a destination of choice for summer study by leading US law students. Almost 60 students and professors from one of America’s leading law schools have opted to study at Queen's University Belfast this summer for an intensive programme in conflict resolution and international law.
The students and staff from Fordham Law School in New York have just arrived at the University, where in addition to taking courses taught by both Fordham and Queen’s staff, they will visit Stormont and meet with MLAs from all the major political parties.
The students will also visit the courts and the Bar Library, hold discussions with legal practitioners, visit the Police Service of Northern Ireland, incorporating a presentation by the Historical Enquiries Team, and tour the North Coast – one of the world’s most scenic coastal routes.
Many of the students have chosen to extend their stay in Belfast and the invaluable opportunities available to them, by interning with the courts, the Law Centre of Northern Ireland, the Public Interest Litigation Support (“PILS”) Project, and the Northern Ireland Law Commission, before returning to their studies in the autumn. These positions offer the students “contextual learning” that allows them to apply the legal principles about which they learn in the classroom to real-life contexts.
After their study in Belfast, the group will travel to Dublin to conclude the summer programme. Fordham's programme is officially sponsored by Queen’s, along with University College Dublin.
Professor Michael W. Martin from Fordham Law School said: "This programme was inspired by the 1998 Belfast Agreement's cross-Atlantic and cross-border co-operation, which we are proud and fortunate to continue to nurture.
"Fordham Law students leave Belfast with rich memories of this beautiful city and a significantly deeper understanding of Northern Ireland’s progress and the challenges to come."
Professor Colin Harvey, Head of the Law School at Queen’s commented: “We are delighted to welcome our friends from Fordham Law School for what is one of the highlights of our academic year”.
“This programme is a leading international example of co-operation and partnership between law schools, and further evidence of the strong connections between the US and universities on the island of Ireland. We look forward to building further on the established connections and wish the program continued success.”
Award for Sustained Excellence in Teaching
The Academic Council recently announced that a QUB Teaching Award had been awarded to Dr Brian Jack for sustained excellence in teaching. The award citation reads as follows:
This award is given to Dr Brian Jack from the School of Law who over the course of eleven years in higher education teaching has implemented a series of steady improvements which have resulted in an impressive record of teaching achievement and improved student performance. He is responsive to feedback from his students and his methods for the promotion and enhancement of students’ learning include the use of role play, problem based learning and the provision of feedback for learning
Queen’s University Belfast Professor Shadd Maruna, School of Law, was recently honoured by the Howard League of Criminal Justice Reform in London for his research into prisoner rehabilitation and public opinion. Maruna is the recipient of the inaugural Howard League Research Medal, created to “celebrate the work of academics and researchers whose work offers genuine new insights into the penal system.”
According to the Howard League’s Research Director Anita Dockley, “We are committed to supporting new thinking and radical researchers who want to make an impact and change penal policy and practice through high quality research.”
The award-winning research, published in the European Journal of Criminal Policy and Research (2009) is titled “Once a criminal, always a criminal?: 'Redeemability’ and the psychology of punitive public attitudes.” In the study, Maruna (with Dr. Anna King from Rutgers University) found that beliefs about the stability of criminal behaviour over time are a key predictor of public views about criminal justice policies.
Professor Maruna will receive the award of £1000 at a ceremony on 14th June 2011 at the head office of the Clifford Chance Law Firm, and will deliver a lecture at the event based on the winning research.
Paraphrased from http://www.howardleague.org/medal/
Professor Colin Harvey has been appointed to the REF 2014 panel for law (panel 20). The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is the new system for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions (HEIs). It will replace the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) and will be completed in 2014. The School extends to him its warmest congratulations.
A new initiative to promote the alternatives to court was launched on 12 September following a unique partnership between the Northern Ireland Ombudsman, the Law Centre (NI) and School of Law at Queen’s University Belfast.
The new booklet called ‘Alternatives to Court’ and written by Dr Jack Anderson of the Law School at Queen’s attempts to show members of the public that there other ways of dealing with many types of dispute, how these alternatives to court might work and when it is appropriate to use them. It also includes a detailed directory of dispute resolution services available in Northern Ireland appropriately organised by specific types of disputes. The initiative was endorsed at its launch by the Minister of Justice, David Ford, and the Hon Mr Justice Weatherup of the High Court.
The booklet is available online on NI Direct; the NI Ombudsman’s website; the Law School’s webpage; by contacting the Law Centre(NI) on 028 90 244401; and, over the coming months, in Courts, Citizens Advice Bureaus; solicitors’ offices, libraries etc across Northern Ireland.
Dr. Tom Obokata has secured £195,000 from the Arts and Humanities Research Council to conduct research entitled “North-South Irish Responses to Transnational Organised Crime.” To be specific, Dr. Obokata and his research team will be examining the extent to which relevant European and international standards on organised crime are implemented in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, with particular reference to cross-border co-operation. The project will also look at other pertinent issues such as transitional justice, devolution of powers relating to crime and criminal justice in Northern Ireland and the nexus between organised crime and terrorism. The project will last for 2 years and various academic and practitioner-orientated publications will be produced at the end.
Stephen Livingstone Lecture 2011
Professor Michael O’Flaherty, took the occasion of the Stephen Livingstone Lecture 2011, to present his first public address as Chief Commissioner of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission on Monday 5 December in The Great Hall, Queen’s University Belfast.
Read his public lecture, hosted by the School of Law, entitled “The Role of a Human Rights Commission in Challenging Times”
Professor Colin Harvey, Head of the Law School, welcomes Professor Chris McCrudden to Queen’s.
E.MA Call for Applications 2012/2013
The European Inter-University Centre for Human Rights and Democratisation (EIUC) is proud to launch 16th edition of its European Master’s Programme in Human Rights and Democratisation (E.MA) 2012/13.
School of Law Guest Seminar
Professor Michael O'Flaherty, University of Nottingham, will deliver a seminar on Thursday 26th April at 1pm in 101, 27 University Square entitled "Freedom of Expression and the Human Rights Committee - General Comment 34". All are most welcome to attend.
MODULE OPTIONS AND REGISTRATION 2012/13
Please note that information on module options and registration for 2012/13 will be available on the website from 12 noon on Wednesday 25 April 2012.
