Call for Papers: 'From the University to the Grand Chamber: How can Academic Work on Asylum and Immigration have greater Impact in the European Court of Human Rights?

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) plays a major role in shaping access to protection in Europe for refugees and other migrants, and the content of that protection.

The jurisprudence of the ECtHR on asylum and immigration has long been analysed (and critiqued) by legal academics, some of whom inhabit the dual role of academic and practitioner and who have brought their research before the Court, for example as counsel or through third party interventions. Yet, relatively little is known about how practitioners (such as lawyers, judges and Registry staff) engage with academic work and how legal academic work can develop practical impact in the ECtHR’s courtrooms.

This workshop aims to bring together legal academics working on the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) with practitioners who have worked at, or engaged with, the ECtHR to discuss how practitioners use academic work, how academics and practitioners can work more closely together, and how academic work can have real impact in the ECtHR’s courtrooms.

To do so, we particularly encourage the following types of contributions:

• Contributions from academics who wish to present work (in progress) which could have a practical impact on the protection of asylum seekers and other migrants under the ECHR, in particular on topics such as access to territory and asylum procedures; search and rescue at sea; immigration detention; protection from removal and transfers (to the country of origin or ‘safe’ third countries); economic and social rights, child and family rights; and human trafficking;
• Contributions from academics who conduct empirical work on whether and why practitioners use academic work – at the ECtHR and other courts;
• Contributions from practitioners (broadly conceived, including those working at NGOs/charities) who have worked at / litigated in the ECtHR and who want to speak to how and why they have used legal academic work in this context, what type of legal academic work would be useful and how practitioners and academics can work more closely together

Confirmed speakers:

Judge Emeritus Françoise Tulkens: Dr Françoise Tulkens has been a judge at the European Court of Human Rights, Section President and Vice-President of the Court. She also holds a doctorate in Law and was a professor at the University of Louvain.

Sue Willman (Deighton Pierce Glynn Solicitors): Sue established DPG’s public law and human rights team and has represented the applicant in JN v The United Kingdom before the ECtHR. She also works at King’s Legal Clinic, Dickson Poon School of Law, King’s College as a lecturer and supervising solicitor.

Abstract submission:

Interested researchers and practitioners are invited to send abstracts in word document format (250 words max) to maja.grundler@rhul.ac.uk by 30 January 2024. Please include your name, position and institution (if applicable). Accepted applicants will be informed by 20 February 2024.

Practicalities and funding:

The workshop will take place on 9 May 2024 at Royal Holloway, University of London in Egham, Surrey. Catering will be provided. The workshop is funded by an SLSA Impact Grant