Socio-legal news

Welcome to the news section of the SLSA website. This area is divided into the following categories:

Events
Publications
Research and funding
Vacancies
Online resources
Networks
Consultations, inquiries and surveys
Other announcements

If you would like an item added to the news section, please contact the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

New for week ending 4 December 2020

SLSA events and co-sponsored events

SLSA 2020 Cardiff Virtual Conference: call for papers and posters now open; registration is also now open

SLS-JAC-SLSA Workshop on Judicial Appointments: ‘Academics as Judges', Coventry: rescheduled

SLSA Postgraduate Conference 2021

Decolonising the Criminal Question: Colonial legacies, contemporary problems, Warwick

Other events

Human rights, China and the UN: UPR mid-term assessment, online from QMUL and KCL

Citizenship in Myanmar: The root of all problems?, online from QMUL

Annual Harry Weinrebe Memorial Lecture – Inclusivity and the law: do we need to prohibit class discrimination?, online from the British Institute of International and Comparative Law

Law and Humanities Roundtable 2021: 'Change and the law: hope, opportunity, shock and dread' online event organised by Law and Humanities: call for papers

Law and Society Association Annual Meeting 2021, hybrid event, Chicago: call for papers deadline extended and early registration opening

Publications

Vacancies

JUSTICE: Legal intern - three-month fixed-term post working from home

Administrative Justice Council intern: part-time three-month post working from home

Research associate/senior research associate, University of Bristol: study of the discharge of care orders in England and Wales

Chair and Director of the Yeoh Tiong Lay Centre for Politics, Philosophy & Law, The Dickson Poon School of Law, KCL

Other

Call for nominations for the LSA's annual prizes and awards

Vacancies

JUSTICE: Legal intern - three-month fixed-term post working from home

Applications are invited for the above full-time home-based post. The internship will provide the opportunity to develop research and drafting skills, to engage with litigation and law-making processes, and to be part of a small, friendly and committed staff. Please see job description for details. Closing date: 13 December 2020.

Administrative Justice Council intern: part-time three-month post working from home

Applications are invited for the above post. The successful candidate will work on a new project on access to social welfare and health advice provision. See website for details (and scroll down). Closing date: 14 December 2020.

Research associate/senior research associate, University of Bristol: study of the discharge of care orders in England and Wales

Applications are invited for the above post on this Nuffield Foundation-funded project. Please see website for further details. Closing date: 8 December 2020.

Post-doctoral fellowships, Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, Oxford

Oxford Law faculty has recently published its intention to support applicants interested in submitting an application for a Leverhulme Trust early career fellowship scheme. Further details including the deadline for applications to Oxford can be found here.

The Centre for Socio-legal Studies (CSLS) at Oxford is keen to hear from any socio-legal applicants interested in the scheme and being hosted by us. Each year the CSLS is successful in attracting a group of post-doctoral fellows from a range of funding sources who form an important part of the centre's community. If you would like to discuss a proposal with the Director of the Centre please contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Closing date: 11 January 2020.

Chair and Director of the Yeoh Tiong Lay Centre for Politics, Philosophy & Law, The Dickson Poon School of Law, KCL

King's College London seeks to recruit an outstanding Chair within the School of Law. The postholder will also become Director of the Centre for Politics, Philosophy & Law. The appointee will exercise high-level leadership as Centre Director and build upon its position as a globally recognised centre of research excellence. Please see website for details. Closing date: 8 January 2020.

The Law Teacher: Deputy Editor (leave cover) – call for applications

Applications are invited for this temporary position: January 2021–31 August 2021. See announcement for full details. Closing date: 4 December 2020.

A siginificant number of posts from lecturer to reader at Manchester Metropolitan University

As part of the university’s significant investment in the Law School’s new strategic vision, there are a number of exciting opportunities available, from lecturer to reader level on Research (REC) and also Education (EPC) pathways, contributing across the academic and professional portfolio. The investment in these posts is explicitly driven by the Law School's desire to increase research quality and capacity and to align with the UCRKEs hosted by the Faculty of Business and Law and beyond. The Law School welcomes applications that support the following broad areas of research: equalities and human rights; sports law; international environmental law; intellectual property and/or media. See the website for details of the two current vacancies. Closing date for both posts: 8 December 2020.

American Bar Foundation fellow and scholar programmes open for applications

The American Bar Foundation invites applications for the its fellow and scholar programmes. See website for details. Closing date: 15 January 2021.

PhD position on legal informatics in connection with EU law, Vrije Universiteit, Brussels

Applications are invited for the above position. See announcement for full details. Closing date: 15 December 2020.

top

Online resources

KG Kannabiran Lectures on Law, Justice and Human Rights

A series of lectures organised by the family of K G Kannabiran (1929–2010) to remember him 10 years after his death: jurists, lawyers and judges who knew and worked with KG Kannabiran recall and celebrate his life, his work, and his futures. Details can be found on the YouTube Channel.

The Countersign Podcast hosted by Professor Stewart Motha

Countersign is a podcast hosted by Stewart Motha, Professor of Law at Birkbeck. Stewart and guests discuss books, films, and other materials from across disciplines which open new perspectives on law, difference, and plural existence.

The Oxford Putney Debates: All five of this year's debates now available online

This year these events livestreamed as webinar debates on 'The Sovereignty of Parliament'. The entire series, featuring Sir Adam Roberts, AC Grayling, Helen Mountfield QC, and a host of other panellists, is now available online.

Criminal Justice Natters: new YouTube channel

Dr Ed Johnston, University of the West of England, has launched a new videocast channel which will feature interviews with individuals wth an interest in criminal justice. In the first episode, Ed will be speaking to Liam Allan who was accused of rape in 2016 and took two years to clear his name. The second episode will US lawyer David Rudolf of The Staircase documentary series. See Criminal Jusice Natters on YouTube for details.

Catch-Up Webinar: Populism and the law, by Prof Daniel Smilov, hosted by the Foundation for Law, Justice and Society, Oxford

Catch up on FLJS Fellow Prof Daniel Smilov's webinar exploring the link between the rise of populism and the rule of law in liberal democracies. Prof Smilov challenges prevailing wisdom on populist regimes in Eastern Europe, offering instead a provocative 'anti-paternalist' thesis to argue that populism in fact fits well with many liberal constitutional principles. See website for details.

Catch-Up Webinar: The Narrow Corridor: States, Societies, and the Fate of Liberty, hosted by the Foundation for Law, Justice and Society, Oxford

A panel of experts discuss The Narrow Corridor: States, Societies, and the Fate of Liberty, a crucial new big-picture framework that answers the question of how liberty flourishes in some states but falls to authoritarianism or anarchy in others, by Daron Acemoglu and James A Robinson, the authors of the international bestseller Why Nations Fail. See website for details.

Doing Ethnography Remotely: Stanford Centre for Global Ethnography – six video interviews with researchers

In this video series, the Center's co-directors Sharika Thiranagama (Anthropology) and Sylvia Yanagisako (Anthropology) interview six ethnographers who have conducted research remotely. See website for details.

IEL Collective: call for contriutions to IEL Pop-up Collection

The IEL (international economic law) Collective invites contributions for its online pop-up collection of artefacts (objects or images). Please see website for details.

top

Networks

Queer Lawyers of Tomorrow: Breaking barriers to assist the next generation of LGBTQIA+ lawyers

This new network's key aim is is to support the queer aspiring lawyer community across the UK with the creation of an inclusive, informative network. It seeks to support the development of professional relationships enabling likeminded people to connect. Queer Lawyers of Tomorrow is also planning to create a calendar of events that are of particular interest to queer aspiring lawyers whilst holding a few annual events of its own. Social mobility will also be put at the forefront of the network's activities with all its events and opportunities being accessible to all. For further information, please see announcement and website for details.

Pracademia Network: new network for UK and international pracademics

The new Pracademia Network aims to:

inform the development of training programmes
encourage and share best practice and
facilitate internal/external collaborations

for the benefit of a much wider group of local, national and international stakeholders; including academics, students, Higher Education Institutions, and other organisations. The network has been set up with the help of Advance HE following research at Sheffield Hallam University around former/current practitioners who now lecture/research in HE. See the website for further details.

Network: New AHRC humanities-led network will put social justice at the heart of AI research

The Ada Lovelace Institute and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) have today launched JUST AI, a network of researchers and practitioners, led by Dr Alison Powell from LSE, that will establish a multidisciplinary research base around ‘just AI’ – AI that is ethical, works for the common good and is effectively governed and regulated. The humanities-led network will build on research in AI ethics, orienting it around practical issues of social justice, distribution, governance and design, and seek to inform the development of policy and practice. See website for full details.

European Reproductive Justice network: call for interest

This is a call to anyone interested in being part of a European Reproductive Justice network. The aim of the network is to share knowledge of law, society and culture across Europe in relation to reproductive justice. The network recognises reproductive justice as a core element of human rights, particularly, but not exclusively for women. As such, the focus is upon, but is not limited to:

ability and means to become pregnant
ability and means to prevent pregnancy
support around and for decision to remain pregnant
support around and for decision to discontinue a pregnancy
obstetric healthcare
gynaecological healthcare
obstetric violence
economic and social support for parents or those wishing to become parents

This is an interdisciplinary network for academics, professionals and activists. If you are interested in being part of the network then please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Invitation to Join the Global Research Network

Expressions of interest are invited for SLSA members to the Global Research Network, a meeting place for doctoral and early career scholars in law and the humanities.

Network members support one another by, for example, arranging visits to their university to speak, sharing useful information about the newest developments in the field, and participating in regular webinars on key topics of interest (publication strategies, career planning, etc). There are PhD and early career writing groups that meet monthly. There is a members’ forum that includes tips and resources, job and fellowship opportunities, and conference calls and publication opportunities. We are also establishing a Think Tank (with programmes in various field of law), and inviting established scholars to act as mentors.

Please contact our This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. via email if you have any questions or fill in the sign-up form online, where you will find more information.

The Legal Cultures of the Subsoil Database – new database launched by the Institute of Latin American Studies

The Legal Cultures of the Subsoil Database compiles legal actions and documentation (artefacts) devised in the context of mining conflicts. It has resulted from an ESRC-funded anthropological project led by ILAS lecturer, Dr Ainhoa Montoya, that explored how legal languages, instruments and institutions are employed by different actors within the field of environmental politics, specifically in the context of mining conflicts. It currently contains information on six mining projects in Central America, with plans to expand to other Latin American regions in the future.

To learn more about the database and the wider 'Legal Cultures of the Subsoil' project please consult the following blog contributions:

The database will continue to be developed and expanded during 2020, as part of a British Academy–GCRF sponsored project, ‘The Juridification of Resource Conflicts: Legal Cultures, Moralities and Environmental Politics in Central America’. A Spanish-language version will be available by the end of 2020. If you have any questions or comments about the database or the wider research projects, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The IEL Collective: launch of a new international economic law initiative

The IEL Collective was launched on Thursday 23 May 2019. It is an initiative started by research centres based at seven law schools around the UK and we are hoping to include more partners from around the world shortly. The IEL Collective provides a space for critical reflection on the complex interactions in the growing field of international economic law and exploring how epistemological and methodological diversity in the discipline can contribute towards the development of a more holistic landscape of scholarship on law and the governance of the global economy. The Collective aims to stimulate conversations about plurality, representation and, criticality, in researching, teaching and practising international economic law and spark new conversations about the future of the discipline. Visit the website for more information

Current partners include: Cardiff Law and Global Justice, University of Cardiff; Centre for Critical International Law, University of Kent; Centre for Law, Regulation and Governance of the Global Economy, University of Warwick; Human Rights Centre, University of Essex; Human Rights Law Centre, University of Nottingham; Liverpool Economic Governance Unit, University of Liverpool; School of Law, University of Bristol; Social Critiques of Law, University of Kent.

To receive more information and get involved, please sign up here.

top

Consultations, inquiries and surveys

Sentencing Council: Consultation on guidelines for modern slavery offences

The Sentencing Council has published draft sentencing guidelines for offenders convicted of modern slavery offences, including slavery, servitude, compulsory labour and trafficking people for exploitation purposes. See press release for details of the consultation. Closing date: 15 January 2021.

Law Commission: Getting Married: A consultation on weddings and the law

The Law Commission has published a consultation paper on weddings and the law. See website for details of the full paper, a summary, and an at-a-glance overview. Consultation closes on 3 December 2020.

Law Commission: Consultation Confiscation under Part 2 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002

The Law Commission has published a consultation paper on Confiscation under Part 2 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. See website for details of the full consultation paper and executive summary. Closing date: 18 December 2020.

Law Commission: consultation on hate crime

The Law Commmission has published a consultation paper on hate crime. See website for details and to download the full paper or the summary. Closing date: 24 December 2020.

top

Other announcements

Call for nominations for the LSA's annual prizes and awards

The Law and Society Association offers awards for scholarship in the field of law and society. The awards are presented at the Annual Meeting. Each award is funded by individual contributions. Nominations for 2021 are now open. The deadline is 10 January 2021. See website for details.

Professor Linda Mulcahy elected to LSA board of trustees

Linda Mulcahy, Director of the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies at Oxford has recently been elected to the board of trustees of the Law and Society Association for three years. Each year, the LSA membership elects a class of eight individuals to serve on the Board of Trustees. The class of 2023 Trustees will also include: Shaun Ossei-Owusu (University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School) as the Class Representative, Fabio de Sa e Silva (University of Oklahoma), Rachel Moran (University of California-Irvine School of Law Ayobami Laniyonu (University of Toronto), Jeffrey Omari (Northern Illinois University College of Law), Matthew Shaw (Vanderbilt Law School) and Alison Renteln (University of Southern California). Aware of the unpredictability of elections Linda would like to thank any members of the SLSA who voted for her.

Union Académique Internationale: Early Career Research Awards

Applications for the 2020/2021 round are invited from candidates who hold a PhD in linguistics, philology, sociology, law or political science. Please see website for details. Closing date: 15 December 2020.

Tribute to Don Harris, former director of the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, Oxford University

Staff at the Law Faculty at Oxford University were saddened to hear of the death of Donald Harris on 10 August 2020. One of his many achievements was the centre role he played in establishing the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies at Oxford in 1972. He was the centre's director for 21 years. The current director, Professor Linda Mulcahy, commemorates his work and legacy on behalf of her colleagues at the centre.

Tribute to Reza Banakar, Professor of Legal Sociology, Lund University

Following the recent death of Professor Reza Banakar, the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, has published a tribute to its former colleague. Reza held the Paul Dodyk Resarch Fellowship at the centre from 1997 to 2002. He was also Professor of Law at the University of Westminster before moving to a Chair in Legal Sociology at Lund University. He was also a lifelong member of the SLSA.

Law and Society Association commemorates the life of its former president, Professor Sally Engle Merry

The Law and Society Association is inviting expressions of condolences following the recent death of Professor Sally Engle Merry. Sally was a pre-eminent law and society scholar, who won many prestigious awards during her career and whose work was hugely influential. Those who knew her either personally or through her work are invited to contribute to the condolences page.

Impact of Covid-19:Perceptions of wellbeing among Law teachers

Caroline Strevens, Head of Portsmouth Law School and Chair of the Association of Law Teachers, is conducting research into wellbeing among law teachers, particularly in the light of the current Covid-19 crisis. Please see invitation to particiapte and follow the link to complete the survey.

Survey on Gendered Understandings of Human Rights : call for human rights law academics to participate

Human rights law academics are invited to participate in an SLS-funded research project by filling out a short survey on gendered understandings of human rights and how this influences the human rights law syllabus. Please visity the survey page to complete the survey.