The Legal Research Society

On Wednesday 26 th of November from 7:00 pm until 9:00 pm in TAYLOR C11 (opposite to Taylor library entry) The LRS will screen a movie titled “No Country for Old Men” No Country for Old Men tells the story of a botched drug deal and the ensuing cat-and-mouse drama, as three men crisscross each other's paths in the desert landscape of 1980 West Texas . The film examines the themes of fate and circumstance the Coen brothers have previously explored in Blood Simple and Fargo . No Country for Old Men has been highly praised by critics . Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times called it "as good a film as the Coen brothers...have ever made." Guardian journalist John Patterson said the film proved "that the Coens' technical abilities, and their feel for a landscape-based Western classicism reminiscent of Anthony Mann and Sam Peckinpah, are matched by few living directors." The film was honoured with numerous awards , garnering three British A...

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 Thursday 13th November from 6pm until 8pm in TAYLOR C11 (opposite the Taylor library entry) The LRS will screen a movie titled “ The Constant Gardener ”. Gripping and intelligent entertainment, this is a dramatic thriller of sex, lies and dirty politics in modern Africa . Based on a book by espionage novelist John le Carré and directed by Fernando Mereilles (City of God ) the film blends high tension with social conscience, giving a human face to the West's exploitation of the Third World . For more information about the movie click here . The screening will be followed by a brief discussion which will be moderated by Paula Herm and Ahmed Hassanein . You are very welcome to come along and enjoy the movie and the refreshments ( free of charge) !

On Thursday 6th November at 6pm TAYLOR C11 (opposite the Taylor library entry) The LRS will screen a movie titled “Why we fight” The film was directed by Eugene Jarecki and has won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. It is an unflinching look at the anatomy of the American war machine , weaving unforgettable personal stories with commentary by a “who’s who” of military and beltway insiders. The film moves beyond the headlines of various American military operations to the deeper questions of why – why does American fight? What are the forces – political, economic, and ideological – that drive “us” to fight against an ever-changing enemy? The movie will be followed by a brief discussion which will be moderated by Paula and Khaled. You are very welcome to come along and enjoy the movie and the refreshments ( free of charge )!

On Thursday 30 October at 4pm in Taylor C24 the LRS will host its first roundtable discussion of this academic year. The topic will be the current financial crisis looked at from a legal point of view. The event will be of interest to anyone interested in the interrelation between law and economics, the role of government regulation and thus the intersection of private and public law in the field of banking and global finance. Su Jieche will give an introduction to the topic explaining the background of the credit crunch, the rescue plans and the role of the state in bank insolvency. His talk will be followed by a discussion moderated by Bo Yin . This is a chance to discuss this burning issue, join the society and enjoy the refreshments. All welcome!

To the surprise of many today, Aljazeera reported that the US defence secretary, Robert Gates, has said that “his country would `ultimately’ be prepared to reconcile with the Taliban group to end the conflict in Afghanistan”. Since the beginning of the so called 'war on terror' the question of how effective non-governmental groups are in shaping International Law has been repeatedly raised. Dr Aspremont, from Leiden University, further argues “In research circles, there is an impression that over the last twenty years international law has been shaped much less by nations and much more by non-state actors”. The reoccurrence of Pre-emptive wars, the breach of International Humanitarian Law and many more issues reflect the need to re-tackle the question without delay. to read more about the topic visit: www.news.leiden.edu/who-shapes-international-law.jsp

Since I'll be taking up a lectureship at a university in a neighbouring city next week, this will be my last post on this blog. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who was involved in setting up the LRS and keeping it going for the past two years, as well as all those who supported the Society. It's been a truly enriching experience to see the Society become a fixture in the School of Law. I wish you all the best of luck in keeping the Society going.