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Friday, 25 January 2019 - 1.00pm
Location: 
Lauterpacht Centre for International Law, Finley Library

Lecture summary: The expansion of international law since the early 1990s has arguably regulated and restricted the space for political compromises over how to deal with the legacy of past human rights violations. Northern Ireland’s transition from armed conflict began in the 1990s, and as such, its peace process has evolved against the backdrop of these developments within international law. This lecture will analyse how international law has shaped efforts to deal with the legacy of harms that resulted from the conflict in Northern Ireland. It will demonstrate that recourse to international law has been an effective strategy for activists to pressure the United Kingdom to adopt processes to ensure greater truth, justice and reparations for victims and survivors. It will further demonstrate how international law has provided a safeguard against recurring demands for impunity for the actions of UK armed forces personnel and paramilitaries. In addition, international transitional justice approaches, while not replicated in the Northern Ireland transition, have provided creative inspiration for processes adapted to that context. Cumulatively, these arguments will demonstrate that international law has played a largely positive role in advancing accountability in Northern Ireland. However, the dealing with the past processes developed to comply with judgments of the European Court of Human Rights have largely been legalistic and individualistic, and have not been empowered to ask broader social, political and cultural questions about the causes and consequences of violence. Based on this observation, the lecture will ask whether international law can at times inhibit efforts to address the root causes of conflict. The lecture will conclude by reflecting on what the Northern Irish experience can tell us about the role of international law in addressing the needs of victims in post-conflict settings.

Professor Louise Mallinder is a professor at the School of Law, Queen's University Belfast. Her teaching focuses on international human rights law, human rights practice, research methods and theories, and constitutional law.

A sandwich lunch is available for all attendees from 12.30 pm in the Old Library.

Numbers are limited so please arrive early to avoid disappointment. Please note the lecture programme is subject to revision without notice.

 

Lauterpacht Centre for International Law

 

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