The Legal Research Society

Maria Aristodemou , Senior Lecturer in Law, Birkbeck University of London DOES THE LETTER OF THE LAW ALWAYS ARRIVE AT ITS DESTINATION? Thursday 30 April , 1-3 p.m. (1.00 sandwich lunch, 1.30 talk) MacRobert 302 Abstract This lecture uses Balzac's short story "A Study in Feminine Psychology" as a springboard from which to explore what position the letter of the law occupies in a subject's psychic space. Through this tale of a mis-addressed declaration of love, the paper examines how the law and the signifier arrest the subject, and what freedom, if any, the subject has to manoeuvre around this position. Are subjects condemned, as Balzac seems to suggest in this tragi-comic tale, to never fully find, let alone assume, their own satisfying place "before the law"? Or that they can never do so without some embarrassment and/or pain? Further, if the letter of the law always arrives at its destination, if the subject is always arrested by the signi...

On Friday 21 November 5-7pm, Taylor A17 the LRS will host a presentation delivered by Nasser Alghitta, under the title:- " Africa : from the human rights commission to the court – really a step forward or just a make-up?" Abstract The presentation theme is to examine the African system of the protection of human rights to establish what the weaknesses of the system are. It also assesses the system against the more advanced regional system which is the European system of the protection of human rights. Originally the African system entrusted a commission to oversee the implementation of the African charter of human and people's rights. However after years of operation it has become clearer that the commission is not ideally suited for the job. A proposal to establish a court had been put forward. On June 9, 1998, in Ouagadougou , Burkina Faso , the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) adopted a Protocol to ...

On Tuesday 02 September the Legal Research Society will host what is sure to be a fascinating paper by another of our co-founders, Jernej Letnar Cernic: Tuesday 02 September, 3pm, Taylor C16 Jernej Letnar Cernic, 'The Prosecution of Crimes Against Humanity committed in Slovenia after the Second World War - The Prosecutor v. Mitja Ribičič case before the Slovenian Courts' Abstract : This presentation examines the recent decision by the Slovenian Courts in the case of Prosecutor v. Mitja Ribičič concerning alleged commission of crimes against humanity in the Slovenian territory in the months following the end of the Second World War. As many as one hundred thirty thousands person are estimated to have been extra-judicially killed in the months following the end of the Second World War by Secret Police controlled by Yugoslav Communist Party. Mass grave sites numbering between four and five hundred have been so far found on the Slovenian territory. In August 2006, the Sloven...

Although term start is still a few weeks away, the Legal Research Society kick starts this academic year with a presentation by founding member J ustin Borg Barthet titled “ How Corporate Europe was Built in Kirchberg: An overview of AG Maduro's Opinion in Cartesio ". The presentation will take place on Monday August 25 (sorry for the short notice) at 14.00 in Taylor Building room C16. Here is the abstract: This presentation addresses the opinion of Advocate General Maduro (ECJ) in Case C‑210/06 Cartesio Oktató és Szolgáltató bt . The case concerns the refusal of the Hungarian courts to allow a Hungarian limited partnership to transfer its operational headquarters to Italy while remaining incorporated under Hungarian law. In keeping with the flow of liberalisation that began with the ECJ's judgment in Centros , AG Maduro finds that the Hungarian law at issue constitutes an unjustified restriction on freedom of establishment as provided in Articles 43 and 48 of the EC...

Thursday 22 May, 5pm, Taylor A19 Jernej Letnar Cernic, 'Fundamental Human Rights Obligations of Corporations' Abstract: This paper argues that fundamental human right obligations of corporations derive primarily from national legal orders and only secondarily from international level, whereas both draw their foundations from international value system. The tenets of every normative system are principles and rules that create rights and obligations of the subjects/participants of that system. Validity of any positive norm derives its legal authority from the membership in a legal order, which gives it a binding force. Legal authority means a source of law where a positive law norm is derived from. Legal scholarship has so far predominantly focused on international legal obligations of corporations. In contrast, the present paper argues that fundamental human rights obligations of corporations derive its legal authority from national normative orders and only secondary from inter...

Denise Naicker’s presentation that was previously scheduled to take place tomorrow has been postponed to Monday 5th May at 4pm. The LRS programme is now as follows: Friday 02 May, 3pm, Old Senate Room Hon FDJ Brand, 'South African Contract Law and the Constitution' Judge Brand of the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa will visit the University of Aberdeen on Friday 02 May. Judge Brand holds a BA, an LL.B and an LL.M. from the University of Stellenbosch, and a Drs Juris from Leiden University. He was a practising advocate for fourteen years, before being appointed a Judge in 1992 and a Judge of appeal in 2001. We are thankful to Prof David Carey Miller who made this event possible. Monday 05 May, 4pm, Taylor C28 Denise Naicker, 'The Attempts of the UN General Assembly’s Non-Proliferation Treaty to construct a rational Nuclear Order' Abstract: The United Nations General Assembly (the “GA”) may consider general principles of co-operation in the maintenance of interna...

Wednesday 30 April, 4.30pm, Taylor C16 Denise Naicker, 'The Attempts of the UN General Assembly’s Non-Proliferation Treaty to construct a rational Nuclear Order' Abstract: The United Nations General Assembly (the “GA”) may consider general principles of co-operation in the maintenance of international peace and security, including the principles governing disarmament and the regulation of armaments. In response to this mandate, the GA produced the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (the “NPT”) which sought to construct a rational nuclear order in the post-World War II era. There are conflicting views as to what extent the NPT should be regarded as authoritative by the states to which it is addressed. The current nuclear order centred on the NPT has inherent limitations, including its discriminatory character, lack of agreement on appropriate sanctions for violations and in its foundations in the hypocrisy which prevailed almost without exception among nuclear powers. There is ver...

Wednesday 12th March, 5pm - Taylor C16 Brigit Toebes, 'Sex Selection Under International Human Rights Law' Abstract: Sex selection, or influencing whether to have a boy or a girl, embraces sex selection before and during pregnancy, as well as infanticide. In my presentation I will discuss the issue of sex selection from an international human rights perspective. I will address the question of whether human rights laws are permissive or prohibitive with regard to sex selection. In relation to this I will discuss some of the ethical views on the matter. India and the UK are used as case studies to illustrate the debate. In both countries sex selection is -roughly speaking- prohibited, but the difference is that, while in India there is widespread practice of ‘son preference’, in the UK reasons for choosing to sex select are mostly because of ‘family balancing’.The key question is whether choosing the sex of one’s child is inherent in the right of reproductive choice, an important...

The LRS has the pleasure to announce that Judge Brand of the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa will visit the University of Aberdeen on Friday 02 May. Judge Brand will deliver a talk on the subject of 'South African Contract Law and the Constitution' . Judge Brand holds a BA, an LL.B and an LL.M. from the University of Stellenbosch , and a Drs Juris from Leiden University . He was a practising advocate for fourteen years, before being appointed a Judge in 1992 and a Judge of appeal in 2001 (see here ). We are thankful to Prof David Carey Miller who made this event possible.

On Tuesday the 29th of January at 2pm Gerd Koehler will present "The regionalist Challenge to Supranationalism" in Taylor Building Room D48. The following is a description of Gerd's essay by Jo Shaw: The theme of the relations between the EU, the Member States and the regions is taken up again by Gerd Koehler. He identifies the risk that supranationalism, far from fostering regionalism, might also hinder its development. Taking a more EU-centric approach, Koehler submits the existing arrangements to a close legal analysis, identifying the difficulties for regions and substate nations when they raise claims to better representation and voice within the European Union political system. And below is Gerd's summary of the issues. Comments are welcome. The essay presents the inherent conflict between regionalism and the nature of the European Union as expressed in its structure. Both of the latter, nature and structure, have changed over time from an internatio...

Tenured Radical has some excellent advice on how to give a good paper presentation that I strongly recommend folks take a look at if they are going to be presenting any time soon. Linda Kerber has more good advice, and the Legal History Blog talks about how to incorporate all this into a legal presentation. Here are some excerpts. First, Kerber observes: Dorothy Kenyon, a great feminist and civil rights activist, who spent much of her time speaking in public, once observed that a public talk must “always seem to be improvised, but it must never be improvised.” If you want to hold your audience you must plan ahead, and plan very carefully. Observe time limits scrupulously. The usual rule of thumb is that a typewritten page [old fashioned courier, 12 point type] holds 250 words. It should take a minimum of 2 minutes to say 250 words out loud. If you have 20 minutes to speak your paper, it can be no longer than 10-12 pages. Do not think you can cheat by fixing the font. Begin with a ...

Thursday November 8, at 17.00 in C28 "The Lex Situs Rule: A Poor Tool for Combating the Illicit Antiquities Trade" - Derek Fincham, in anticipation of the upcoming conference Location, Location, Location: the Role of Lex Situs in Modern Claims for the Return of Cultural Objects. Application of the lex situs rule is nearly unanimous in multi-jurisdictional cases involving movables. It has the dual advantage of simplicity and certainty. If an object has been acquired in good faith, the acquisition will be protected even if the location of the object changes in the future. Courts have been hesitant to bypass the lex situs rule in the past. However the singular nature of art and antiquities compel a more careful analysis on the part of courts. A convincing and compelling policy argument can be made that the general lex situs rule governing title to movable objects across national boundaries should be limited in some situations involving cultural objects. Before we can con...

May 29th at 17.00 in room C11 Taylor Building, Justin Borg Barthet will present his research in a presentation titled "Theories of the Firm and connecting factors". Here is an abstract. Theories regarding the determination of the governing law of corporations can broadly be traced to two schools of thought. On the one hand, the incorporation theory is based on the contractual paradigm. In this construct, the principal feature that should determine the governing law is the freely expressed will of the shareholders. The real seat theory, on the other hand, takes the view that the corporation, as a fiction of national law, is inextricably linked to the State of its management centre, and that it is only this State that could determine the existence and scope of its legal personality. Corporate law theorists have long debated the nature and purpose of the firm. The fundamental question of the extent to which the will of shareholders should be curtailed by the ...