Launch of UCL Human Rights Review
17 March 2010
The second edition of the student-edited UCL Human Rights Review, encompassing contributions from eminent legal experts, UCL academics and students, will be launched on 19 March.
Judge Christos Rozakis, Vice-President of the European Court of Human Rights; Senior Immigration Judge Hugo Storey; and Steven Greer, Professor of Human Rights at the University of Bristol will be among the speakers at the event, entitled 'The Interpretation of Convention Rights: Universal Standards or National Application?'
The launch is co-organised by the UCL Human Rights Review and the UCL Institute for Human Rights, whose director Dr George Letsas (UCL Laws) will chair the event.
The UCL Human Rights Review aims to invigorate human rights academia by publishing original contributions by students and human rights professionals together in one journal. Judge Christos Rozakis and Shami Chakrabarti, Director of Liberty, are among the authors of this volume.
Editor-in-Chief Pasquale Annicchino and Deputy Editor-in-Chief Justin Leslie put the publication in the context of developments in the human rights sphere: "The second edition of the UCL Human Rights Review comes at a time of immense change in the way human rights are protected. In Strasbourg, attempts are being made to restructure the European Court of Human Rights to avoid the pressures of an overwhelming case-load. It is 50 years since the European Convention on Human Rights was established and during that time it has demonstrated that human rights protection can be both effective and progressive. However, its effectiveness is being severely curtailed by the ongoing challenge presented by a jurisdiction which covers over 800 million people."
The Review's patron, the Rt. Hon. the Baroness Brenda Hale of Richmond, said in her foreword: "UCL has been a pioneer in the field of student-edited journals of high academic quality...They have proved that last year's volume was not just a flash in the pan.
"The courts may be increasingly preoccupied with human rights but other are more sceptical. As Helen Wildbore argues, we need constantly to reaffirm and promote their importance outside the narrow confines of the courts. And that is what the UCL Human Rights Review seeks to do. Congratulations to all involved!"
The event will take place at 6-9pm on 19 March 2010 in the Gustave Tuck Lecture Theatre, Wilkins Building. All are welcome.
UCL context
The UCL Student Human Rights Programme is a dynamic and pro-active human rights organisation. It is led by students and advised by human rights academics and professionals, with members from all walks of life. The Programme seeks to foster a vibrant culture of human rights within UCL and wider communities by initiating awareness, instigating debate and inspiring action.
The UCL Institute for Human Rights, which was launched officially in October 2009, was established to bring the university's multidisciplinary expertise (for example, in law, the humanities, and social and medical sciences) to bear on human rights.