Women´s Voices in International Law

Initial Meeting to be held on 8^th May 2014, SOAS (London).

 

Participants are sought to take an active role in the Feminist International Judgments Project.  The basic idea behind the project is that participants will collaboratively re-write key judgments in their field of international law from a feminist perspective.

Why a Feminist International Judgments Project?

Feminists are increasingly at the forefront of critical international legal scholarship.  In practice, however, feminists’ work has arguably failed to make an impact on mainstream international law and in judicial thinking.  International Law is an area notoriously dominated by male perspectives, and an increasing number of feminist scholars are expressing concern about the silencing of women’s voices in international law.  This project rises to the challenge of adopting innovative methodological approaches in order to address this omission. The (re)writing of judgments will demonstrate in accessible and meaningful ways possible alternatives to the structural inequalities of traditional International Law.

What will my participation involve?

The aim of the project is to re-write 12-15 key judgments in the field of international law.  This project centres shared experiences in its methodology, bringing it close to the actual working practices of international courts and tribunals.  We anticipate that a number of Chambers, comprised of 3-5 academics, will each work collaboratively on one judgment.  Judgments will be rewritten in a variety of substantive areas of international law, such as, Reproductive Rights, International Criminal Law, Environmental Law, the Law of International Organisations, as well as others that address normative issues.  These are just representative examples, and at this stage we very much welcome your suggestions about suitable judgments.

Prior the initial meeting to be held on 8^th May 2014 in London, participants will be assigned to chambers to begin the collaborative judgment writing process.  Given the international nature of this project, we anticipate that much of the Chambers’ collaboration will be done remotely.  However, participants will be required attend one workshop (to be held in a European venue) in which their draft judgment will be the focus of discussion.

At this stage, you simply need to tell us what areas of International Law you would be interested in working on and perhaps also suggest a proposed judgment. If you do not have a particular judgment in mind, then please send us your details with the specific area you would like to write on so we may be able to assign you into a Chamber that matches your research area.

What is my time commitment?

The first meeting of all project participants will take place at the following time:

8th of May 2014, 10am-5pm, School of Oriental and African Studies (London).

The first workshop will be an opportunity to learn more about the project and to have your questions answered. We will also hear about the process of judgment re-writing from those who have worked in the UK Feminist Judgments Project and from those who write in this area. This workshop will also provide an opportunity for Chamber members to meet and to begin exchanging ideas on their particular judgment.

After this initial meeting, three workshops will follow (probably to be held in Autumn 2014, Spring 2015 and Summer 2015).  For logistical reasons, the likelihood is that these workshops will be held in a European venue.  Each judgment will be subject to a wider work-shopping process, and it is therefore an expectation that participants will attend at least ONE of these workshops to present their draft judgment.

Ultimately, your chamber will be asked to produce one re-written judgment by autumn 2015 (under 10,000 words in length).  Chambers will also be asked to produce a short piece of writing reflecting on the judgment writing process.

At present, we are in the process of seeking funding for the project, but at this stage participants must assume that when attending meetings and workshops they will need to be self-funding.  For the initial meeting in May, we have a limited amount of funding available to contribute towards the travel costs of junior scholars without access to other sources of support. Please let us know if you would like to be considered for some financial support.

 

What is the likely output?

We anticipate the re-written judgments will be published in an edited collection on completion of the project. Hart Publishing (now Bloomsbury) have expressed an interest in this collection. We also hope to create a well-populated web-site in which those interested in feminist perspectives on international law and feminist judgment writing will find academic and teaching resources.

The deadline for this call is 28^th February 2014.

If you have any questions about this project, please don’t hesitate to ask us.  What we need at this stage more than anything is enthusiasm and a desire to help make this important project work!  We would also be grateful if you could circulate this invitation to any colleagues you think might be interested.

Potential participants, please email the following information to Troy Lavers:

 

Your name:

 

Affiliation:

 

Subject area you are interested in writing on:

 

Possible judgment (if you wish to recommend one):

 

Any colleague(s) you wish to work with who will be participating:

 

Contacts:

Dr Troy Lavers: troy.lavers@le.ac.uk

Dr Loveday Hodson: loveday.hodson@le.ac.uk

School of Law, University of Leicester, LE1 7RH, UK.