This symposium will focus on the evolution of international human rights law and will celebrate the work and commitment of Professor Martin Scheinin (EUI Law Department).
This half day event brings together scholars interested in the evolution of international human rights law and inspired by the work of Professor Martin Scheinin. The event will draw on themes reflected in Martin’s academic corpus and activism including intergenerational justice, cultural rights, indigenous rights, human dignity, as well as notions of borders, security, privacy and counter-terrorism. The event will be conversational in nature and is designed to take stock of the legacy of Martin Scheinin as seen through the panelists’ own contributions to the field. The moderator in each session will pose open-ended questions to the panel members based on the overall theme of the panel, with the general focus being on the prospects of human rights law.
What works well? What needs to be changed – both in our conceptualisation and their implementation? The goal is to come together, foster conversation and connections among different ideas, and to reflect on the state of the art in the field. The panel structure invites open floor discussion - all guests are welcome and encouraged to intervene and engage.
Panel 1 entitled ‘The collective dimension of human rights: culture, climate, and intergenerational justice’ is focused on the collective dimension of human rights and our ability to create a framework for protecting public goods. That panel will also ponder the temporal dimension of human rights and potential blind spots resulting from short-termism in thinking about the legal interests at stake.
Panel 2 entitled ‘The individual dimension of human rights: security, privacy, counter-terrorism, and dignity’ will focus on individual freedoms and the balancing act between the collective and the individual, especially in the areas of public security, freedom of speech, and information, and the right to privacy. The panel will also consider the spatial dimension of human rights in a sense of investigating the appropriate boundaries between the private and the public.
Please note that there will be no pre-circulated questions but the panel members as well as those in the general public are invited to identify key points they wish to highlight in relation to the overall theme of the event and the specific theme of each panel. The event will run for a half day 2 and end with a party to celebrate the work and commitment of Martin Scheinin to a better world (the evening party will provide an opportunity, for those who would like, to say a few personal words, share a story, or make a toast!).
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