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2006-07

The Interdisciplinary Child and Youth Focused Research Centre at Brunel held a one day conference on 3 March 2007. This was the third such annual joint venture by Brunel Law School and the Association of Lawyers for Children (ALC). Held on the Uxbridge campus, the aim was to bring together students, academics and legal professionals to share insights and knowledge. The solicitors and barristers who attended not only gained professional continuing education points but also subsidised the attendance of students and trainees! The speakers included Maddie Blackburn (from the Healthcare Commission), Prof Celia Brackenbridge (School of Sport and Education), Simon Oliver (barrister and Chair of the Care Standards Tribunal) and Richard White (a leading child law solicitor and Editor of the ALC Newsletter). Workshops were also held on health issues, substance misuse and contract disputes whilst speakers' topics covered child protection in relation to special educational needs, care orders and sport.
Congratulations to Brunel Law School Mooting team on progressing to the second round of the ESU – Essex Courtchambers National Mooting Competition, after beating a visiting team from the University of East Anglia on 23 January!  Special congratulations to the team’s members, Eniola Aluko and Neshan Minassian for an impressive display of advocacyskills and competitive spirit. Many thanks to the Mooting Convenor and Team Coach, Dr Emily Finch, for effectively navigating the team in challenging waters.
Prof Christine Piper presented a paper (by invitation), Privacy and Family Law: the Child, the Courts and the Community’ at a Workshop on Privacy and the Law: Comparative Aspects, at the British Institute of International and Comparative Law, London, 30th November 2007. [The other UK-based speakers were Prof Simon Davies (LSE) and Prof Eric Barendt (UCL)]. 
Roda Mushkat, Prof at the Brunel Law School and Director of the University’s Centre for International and Public Law (CIPL) attended a conference entitled Law and Society in the 21st Century: Transformations, Resistances, Futures. The Conference was organised by the joint Law and Society Association/Research Committee on the Sociology of Law and took place in Berlin from 25-28 July 2007. The Conference attracted over two thousand participants from Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East (from over 70 countries altogether). The attendees represented a wide-range of disciplines/sub-disciplines within the law, social sciences and the humanities, and proceeded to examine from a variety of analytical perspectives the challenges facing law and society in the 21st Century.
Prof Mushkat presented a paper on “Predicting Authoritarian/Liberal Political Practises within an International Legal Framework: theory Meets Reality in Hong Kong ” in a session focusing on Jurisdictional Disputes among Constitutional Actors. The paper introduced and critically assessed new approaches employed in predicting, as distinct from merely explaining, the compliance of political actors with binding and widely recognised international and constitutional commitments. The paper stimulated substantial discussion and ways were actively explored as to how to deepen the understanding of the subject through empirical research in different cultural settings. Prof Mushkat also contributed to the exchange of ideas in a number of other panels and participated in meetings design to further the activities of the Law and Society Association and provide exposure for CIPL.
Alexandra Xanthaki gave a paper on 'Teaching International Human Rights' at an international conference on Extremism and Education, organised by Roehampton University during 5 - 7 July 2007. Alexandra's paper looked at the challenges extremism poses on teaching International Human Rights in Higher Education. Using her teaching as a starting point, she argued that limitations on extreme opinions are already placed by common values of mankind, as established in standards of international law. Using such standards as the contours of the various discussions International Human Rights focus on (including prohibition of torture: women rights; religious hatred), students feel free to explore and discuss various sensitive topics (including religious hatred; illiberal cultural practises; and prohibition of torture).
In June, Alexandra Xanthaki published a book with Cambridge University Press entitled Indigenous Peoples and United Nations Standards. The book is part of the prestigious Cambridge Studies in International and Comparative Law Series. It analyses the serious difficulties that indigenous claims pose for current international law and explores the extent to which indigenous claims, as recorded in the United Nations fora, can be accommodated by current international law. It argues that the indigenous debate has stretched the contours and ultimately evolved international human rights standards. The book first reflects on the international law responses to the theoretical arguments on cultural membership. After a comprehensive analysis of the existing instruments on indigenous rights, the discussion turns to self-determination. Different views are assessed and a fresh perspective on the right to self-determination is outlined. The author then juxtaposes indigenous cultural claims and land claims with current standards of international law. Ultimately, the author refuses to shy away from difficult questions and challenging issues and offers a comprehensive discussion of indigenous rights and their contribution to international law.
In June, Alexandra Xanthaki also completed a study on Indigenous participation rights. the study, completed with the help of Dr O'Sullivan from University of Waikato and commissioned by the International Labour Organisation, used the Maori representation in New Zealand Parliament as a case study to highlight positive practice regarding the implementation of article 6.1 of the ILO Convention No. 169. It argued that the combination of Maori guaranteed seats and the Mixed Member Proportional system has substantially increased the Maori MPs in Parliament (including Maori women MPs), even though it has not substantially changed the number of Maori voters.
Felicity Kaganas and Christine Piper (with Prof Harwin) organised, on behalf of the Interdisciplinary Child and Youth Focused Research Centre, jointly with Children Law a national conference Early Interventions - Panacea or Policy Hype? on June 15 2007. This conference attracted a range of professionals and academics to Brunel University.
Prof Christine Piper presented a paper entitled 'The sexless child and accountable youth: shifting concepts?', at the Second International Symposium on Online Child Exploitation, Centre for Innovation, Law and Policy, Law School, University of Toronto, May 7 2007.
Alexandra Xanthaki has been appointed as Member of the Committee on Rights of Indigenous Peoples of the prestigious International Law Association. The membership was put forward by the ILA British Branch and approved by the Executive Council.
Sue Easton's book on the right to silence has recently been cited in the Israeli Supreme Court. View (in Hebrew).
Sue Easton and Christine Piper organised the first sentencing and punishment stream at the Socio-Legal Studies Association Annual Conference at the University of Kent in April 2007 where they also presented papers on their current research.
Felicity Kaganas, Reader and a member of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Child and Youth Focused Research, was one of three speakers invited to attend a prestigious event in Hong Kong during April 2007. She was invited, together with Marianna Hildyard QC (Lady Falconer) and Helena Kennedy QC (Baroness Kennedy), to present a paper and to participate in a panel discussion on: 'Domestic Violence: The UK experience and the way forward for Hong Kong'. This event was organised by the Hong Kong Federation of Women Lawyers and the Zonta Club of Victoria . It was sponsored by the Zonta Club and the British Council.
The Third National Child Law conference organised by the Association of Lawyers for Children and Brunel University was held on the university campus on 3 March 2007. The theme was 'Child Protection: Expanding Boundaries?' and the eminent speakers included Simon Oliver of Guildford Chambers, Maddie Blackburn from the Healthcare Commission and Prof Celia Brackenridge, Brunel's own expert in child protection in sport. Attendance was excellent and the day proved to be a very stimulating one for all attending. The event was organised by members of Brunel Law School as part of the activities of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Child and Youth Focused Research.