Shinya Ito

Key information

• PhD Candidate in International Law
• Master of Laws (LLM) in International Law with Distinction (University College London) & Master of Arts (MA) in Human Security Studies (The University of Tokyo)
• shinya.ito.18@ucl.ac.uk

Shinya Ito joined UCL Laws as a MPhil/PhD Candidate in September 2020. His research interests lie in the field of public international law, particularly international human rights law and international economic law. His PhD research project explores the complex and multi-faceted relationship between these two areas of international law with a particular focus on the interface between the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Agriculture and the right to food in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. 

His research agenda has been driven by an interest in the ever-pressing significance of, and challenges to, economic, social and cultural rights in international human rights law under the current state of economic globalisation. His peer-reviewed articles, published both in generalist and specialist law journals, have covered various aspects of economic, social and cultural rights, including their application in the context of international trade, business activities, and sustainable development.

In addition, he has presented his research at international academic conferences. These have included the Asian Society of International Law, the Association of Human Rights Institutes, the Society of International Economic Law, and the Academic Council on the United Nations System.

Alongside the PhD research, he was a Senior Editor of the UCL Journal of Law and Jurisprudence between 2020 and 2021. In 2021, he also served as a Judge (Memorials & Oral Rounds) for the Third International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea Moot Court Competition organised by the Brazilian Institute for the Law of the Sea.

Research Supervisors

• Dr Gracia Marín Durán
• Professor Virginia Mantouvalou

Areas of Expertise

Public International Law, International Human Rights Law (Economic, Social and Cultural Rights), International Economic Law (WTO Law)

UCL Associations/Academic and Professional Memberships

• Senior Editor, UCL Journal of Law and Jurisprudence (2020 - 2021)

Professional Experience

• Research Fellow, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (2017-2018)
• Teaching Assistant, The University of Tokyo (2015-2018)

Public Engagements and Media Coverage

Academic Conference Presentations

• Asian Society of International Law (Regional Conference, June 2016)
• Kyushu Association of International Law (Conference, January 2022)
• Hope in International Law and Human Rights (University of Liverpool, June 2019)
• Association of Human Rights Institutes (Doctoral Forum, September 2020)
• Early-Career Researchers’ Network for Human Rights - Japan (Research Forum, October 2015)
• Society of International Economic Law (Postgraduate and Early Professionals/Academics Network Conference, May 2019)
• Academic Council on the United Nations System (Annual Conference, June 2020 & June 2017)
• Japan Association for Human Security Studies (Annual Conference, December 2016 & November 2017)

Publications

Peer-reviewed Journal Articles

In English:

• Shinya Ito, ‘Re-evaluating a Conflict between WTO Law and the Right to Food: The Case of Public Food Stockholding’ (2020) 17 (3) Manchester Journal of International Economic Law 403-429.
• Shinya Ito, ‘Taking the Social Rights Covenant More Seriously in Business and Human Rights: A Global Governance Perspective’ (2020) 12 (2) European Journal of Legal Studies 213-244.

In Japanese:

• Shinya Ito, ‘The Significance and Challenges of the Sustainable Development Goals in the Context of Development and Human Rights Debate: An Analysis from the Perspective of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights’ (2017) 28 Human Rights International: Journal of International Human Rights Law Association Japan 122-130.

Edited Volume

• Joshua Bradley, Shinya Ito, and Nabila Roukhamieh-McKinna (eds), UCL Journal of Law and Jurisprudence Volume 10 (University College London Faculty of Laws 2021).

- Joshua Bradley, Shinya Ito, and Nabila Roukhamieh-McKinna, ‘Preface’ vii-viii.

Translation

• Shinya Ito, ‘Tokyo District Court, Judgment, November 14, 2019’ (2021) 64 Japanese Yearbook of International Law 302-307. (An English translation of a Japanese court judgment concerned with women’s rights in international human rights law.)