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Informing Approaches to Improving Human Rights in South Sudan and Foreign Policy in the UK (Mashood Baderin)

Summary of the impact

The predominant perception of the relationship between Islamic law and international human rights law is that of one grounded in conflict, with Islamic law often presented as fundamentally incompatible with the tenets of international human rights. Mashood Baderin's research challenges this notion, arguing that, while the two legal systems operate differently in terms of scope and application, they also share important commonalities that facilitate the fulfilment of human rights obligations in Muslim states. The research has resulted in Baderin's appointment to a number of high-profile advisory roles that have enabled a significant contribution both to the guaranteeing of human rights in Islamic countries, and to the shaping of UK foreign policy.

Submitting Institution

School of Oriental & African Studies

Unit of Assessment

Law

Summary Impact Type

Legal

Research Subject Area(s)

Studies In Human Society: Political Science
Law and Legal Studies: Law
Philosophy and Religious Studies: Religion and Religious Studies

Human Rights Law in a Globalised World – Extraterritorial Human Rights Obligations (ETOs)

Summary of the impact

Skogly's research has significantly contributed to the understanding of how and to what extent states' human rights obligations go beyond the territorial borders of states. Increased globalisation has led to the need to address the human rights effects of states' international actions and operations, and Skogly's research in this area has directly influenced the development of authoritative principles regarding ETOs, and these are now actively used by NGOs and the United Nations. The case study focuses on how research findings have enabled NGOs and UN bodies to understand, articulate and apply states' extraterritorial human rights obligations.

Submitting Institution

Lancaster University

Unit of Assessment

Law

Summary Impact Type

Political

Research Subject Area(s)

Studies In Human Society: Political Science
Law and Legal Studies: Law

Privacy, Libel and Freedom of Expression

Summary of the impact

Research conducted by Durham University on the reconciliation of free speech with rights of privacy and reputation has significantly affected contemporary law and policy around the law of privacy, media injunctions and libel reform. Specifically, it has:

(1) resulted in a substantial contribution to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) Libel Working Group and hence to the Defamation Bill 2012 which followed (now the Defamation Act 2013);

(2) strongly influenced the report of Parliament's Joint Committee on Human Rights on the human rights aspects of that Bill;

(3) influenced a major parliamentary inquiry on privacy;

(4) helped change Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) guidelines on prosecuting the media for privacy-related offences including phone-hacking;

(5) been used in argument by an NGO intervening in two important cases before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).

Submitting Institution

University of Durham

Unit of Assessment

Law

Summary Impact Type

Legal

Research Subject Area(s)

Law and Legal Studies: Law
Philosophy and Religious Studies: History and Philosophy of Specific Fields

Legal Education: Strategies for Learning and Teaching

Summary of the impact

  1. New methodology for researching and teaching human rights law and empirical research used in biosecurity law
  2. Pioneering a human rights model of disability through an international project leading to development of strategies for monitoring law and training future legal practitioners in disability rights
  3. Developing a model for pro bono undergraduate research projects in the local community
  4. A student feedback guide and model adaptable across disciplines which has been referred to in law schools
  5. New visual teaching aids - accessed by the global law tutor and legal education market
  6. An innovative use of mobile phone voting technology.

Submitting Institution

University of Greenwich

Unit of Assessment

Law

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Education: Curriculum and Pedagogy, Specialist Studies In Education

Human Rights and Equality Impact Assessments: Critical Evaluation and Methodological Leadership

Summary of the impact

The research examines how the use of norms and standards of human rights and equality law are used to measure human rights performance through `human rights and equality impact assessment'. The work has been directly used by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (Pacific and Geneva), the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, the Canadian Government, and the Scottish Human Rights Commission (SHRC), and has been influential both in developing and in changing policy. It has also been used by a wide range of civil society organisations in the UK, Europe, Pacific, India and Canada, and has informed debates at all levels of government.

Submitting Institution

University of Warwick

Unit of Assessment

Law

Summary Impact Type

Political

Research Subject Area(s)

Law and Legal Studies: Law

Incorporating Socio-Economic Group Rights Within Global Development Goals

Summary of the impact

Emerging from investigations of social exclusion during the 1990s, the Unit's research into minority rights has led to outputs and consultancy ranging across political participation, identity, rights protection and international criminal law. The impact claimed here falls in two main channels. Firstly, research on socio-economic group rights, amplified by Castellino's work as co-chair of the relevant UN delegated group, has made a significant input into the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2015-30. Secondly, research has been incorporated into practice and capacity- building through projects involving judiciaries, advocates, statutory bodies, and NGOs. Beneficiaries include the public across 194 states who will benefit from implementation of SDGs over their 15 years lifespan; and civil society bodies and their users.

Submitting Institution

Middlesex University

Unit of Assessment

Law

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services
Studies In Human Society: Political Science
Law and Legal Studies: Law

The Third Way: Guiding New Policy Over Third-Party Insurance

Summary of the impact

Influential work on insurance law by Professor Rob Merkin led directly to the repeal of the outmoded and increasingly unpopular Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers) Act 1930. With its predecessor criticised for its demands on time and costs, a new Act made it simpler, faster and cheaper for a third-party claimant to recover compensation from an insurer without instituting proceedings against the insured. Merkin not only drew policymakers' attention to the old Act's defects but provided a detailed basis on which to formulate its successor, which earned Royal Assent in 2010.

Submitting Institution

University of Southampton

Unit of Assessment

Law

Summary Impact Type

Legal

Research Subject Area(s)

Law and Legal Studies: Law

Shaping the political debate regarding the development of a British Bill of Rights

Summary of the impact

Research conducted by Dr Liora Lazarus and colleagues at Oxford helped shape public and parliamentary debate on the merits of a domestic Bill of Rights for Britain. Some had argued that if Britain were to replace the Human Rights Act (HRA), which allows rights in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to be argued before domestic courts, with a British Bill of Rights, the government would gain greater flexibility, e.g. in addressing terrorist threats. The research showed that to be incorrect. This finding informed Reports to the Ministry of Justice, was influential in hearings of the Joint Committee on Human Rights and among human rights professionals, and was later used in Ministry of Justice training materials for judges on the nature of `proportionality' in human rights adjudication. It has situated one of the most controversial debates in British politics on a more secure evidential foundation, and provided reliable information to governments and others on the way courts can be expected to handle certain human rights cases.

Submitting Institution

University of Oxford

Unit of Assessment

Law

Summary Impact Type

Political

Research Subject Area(s)

Law and Legal Studies: Law

Securing Reparations for International Human Rights Violations

Summary of the impact

Dr Clara Sandoval's research has helped to clarify the scope of the obligation to provide reparations under international law. This research has informed legal cases worldwide considering claims to reparations: international courts such as the International Criminal Court and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights have relied on her work and her expert advice when considering claims to reparations; lawyers have used her work to claim reparations for victims of human rights violations; and international NGO Redress has used her work in its campaigns.

Submitting Institution

University of Essex

Unit of Assessment

Law

Summary Impact Type

Legal

Research Subject Area(s)

Law and Legal Studies: Law

Human Rights Advocacy and Training

Summary of the impact

The European Human Rights Advocacy Centre (EHRAC), led by Leach, has combined research and litigation over ten years, to achieve access to justice for individuals in the former Soviet Union. It has mentored and trained lawyers and non-governmental organisations; raised awareness about human rights violations; and improved the functioning of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). Impact on public policy is evidenced by: (i) justice for individuals; (ii) compensation secured through the ECtHR; and (iii) consequential changes in national law and policy. To date, EHRAC's impact includes 98 ECtHR judgments against Russia, Georgia and Ukraine, on behalf of 1,100 victims.

Submitting Institution

Middlesex University

Unit of Assessment

Law

Summary Impact Type

Legal

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services
Law and Legal Studies: Law

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