The Legal Research Society

Call for Papers The Legal Research Society is organizing an Essay Competition and invites all postgraduate law students from the University of Aberdeen to participate. – Engage in Research! – Submit an excellent Essay! – Win a valuable Prize (worth of £100)! – We welcome essays in the areas of EU Law , Private and Commercial Law and Public International Law . The essays should be of approximately 3,500 words and they should be sent to k.bashir@abdn.ac.uk by February 14th, 2009 . All taught and research postgraduate law students are eligible to participate provided that they have not graduated by the time of the deadline of submission. Essays will be assessed on the basis of excellence and depth of analysis, of critical thought, of evidence of extensive reading and of superior understanding of the issue. The winners in each subject area will be chosen and proclaimed in the beginning of March 2009 and a celebratory event will be held shortly afterwards. The prizes to be won a

Moving Forward The 6 th College of Arts & Social Sciences Postgraduate Conference University of Aberdeen , Scotland , UK 21 – 22 July 2009 Drawing on the success of the past five events, the Moving Forward organising committee are delighted to announce that the 6th CASS postgraduate conference will take place at the University of Aberdeen on Tuesday 21 and Wednesday 22 July 2009 . Its aim is to bring together postgraduate research students from different universities across the UK , and further a field, to debate common issues and problems and to establish lasting contacts. In previous years there has been a truly international flavour: the conference has attracted quite brilliant delegates from prestigious universities across the world. The conference is designed to provide an opportunity to present work in a supportive and relaxed atmosphere and to discuss various findings and theories amongst fellow peers in the disciplines

December 10, marked the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights . Most people assume this day that the guarantee of human rights is an essential feature of all civilized societies. In order to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the LRS will host a roundtable discussion on ‘Human Rights: Universalism vs. Relativism’. Time: Monday, 15th December, from 4 pm until 6 pm Location : MacRobert Building 252 The UDHR enshrines universal rights that apply to all humans equally. 60 years ago, while the fledgling U.N. General Assembly ultimately passed the UDHR by 48-0 vote, a huge diplomatic effort was required to get disparate nations to agree on exactly what "human rights" are or should be. Communist countries proffered one view, while capitalist and Islamic countries had their own perspectives. Proponents of cultural relativism argue for acceptance of differe

To round off the year with a light and entertaining last movie night, on Wednesday 17th of December from 7:00 pm until 9:00 pm in TAYLOR C11 (opposite to Taylor library entry) the LRS will screen “ Le Dîner de cons” ( The Dinner of Idiots ), a French comedy of the year 1998. Imagine your friend takes you to a nice dinner of a bunch of people, but the thing you don't know is that your freakiness and originality are supposed to make for a big laugh for the people around you. If you thought the French are not good at making comedies Le Dîner de cons will make you think again. The film won three awards (best actor, best supporting actor, best producer) at the national film award of France César Award in 1999. You are very welcome to come along and enjoy the movie and the refreshments.

On Wednesday 10th of December from 7:00 pm until 9:00 pm in TAYLOR C11 (opposite to Taylor library entry) The LRS will screen a movie titled “Workingman's Death”. After the film we will have the opportunity to talk about the film and the issues it raises. Is heavy manual labour disappearing or is it just becoming invisible? Where can we still find it in the 21st century? Workingman's Death follows the trail of the HEROES in the illegal mines of the Ukraine , sniffs out GHOST among the sulphur workers in Indonesia , finds itself face to face with LIONS at a slaughterhouse in Nigeria , mingles with BROTHERS as they cut a huge oil tanker into pieces in Pakistan , and joins Chinese steel workers in hoping for a glorious FUTURE. Even though it's the twenty-first century, the director wants us to know that a lot of workers across the world have not benefited from the advancement in technology . You are very welcome to come along and enjoy the movie and the refreshments.

On Wednesday 3 rd of December from 7:00 pm until 9:00 pm in TAYLOR C11 (opposite to Taylor library entry) The LRS will screen a movie titled “Lion of the Desert” Lion of the Desert is a 1981 historical film starring Anthony Quinn as Libyan tribal leader Omar Mukhtar who led the Libyan resistance against the Italian oppressors from 1911-1931. In 1982 the Italian authorities banned and censored the movie because, it was "damaging to the Italian Army's honour". The Movie will be preceded by a Historical and legal overview (the concept of ‘ jihad ’, International Law of War ) delivered by Khaled Bashir and Ahmed Hassanein , also there will be a discussion after the movie. You are very welcome to come along and enjoy the movie and the refreshments.