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Research by Raab (1998-2013) on data protection, privacy and surveillance has influenced political debate and regulatory practice. First, Raab's central role in reports for the UK Information Commissioner's Office and the House of Lords and his advisory work with NGOs have contributed to a more robust regulatory framework for information privacy and have informed media and NGO critiques of the social ramifications of surveillance. Second, his insights about the need to understand privacy as a social good have informed the principles and practices underpinning information processing in several areas of UK and Scottish Government policy, including health, social care, digital public services and ICT, as well as informing regulatory practice in Canada and Australia.
This case study focuses on the impact on the legal and policy debate at the domestic and international level of research carried out within the Centre for Research in Law (CRiL) on the legal protection of fundamental rights in situations of exception.
In particular, it discusses how the research in question has:
(a) assisted NGOs in shaping their strategies;
(b) informed the debate within international organisations;
(c) contributed to raising public awareness of issues relating to respect for fundamental rights in the context of counter-terrorism.
By raising awareness of the relevant legal constraints upon States and by assisting NGOs and international organizations, the research has contributed to reinforcing the protection of the fundamental rights of individuals belonging to specific groups and, more broadly, to the strengthening of the rule of law at both the domestic and international level.
Franklin is a key participant in a formative period for global media and communications, in which power struggles over ownership and control of the internet are intensifying. Her work presaged the current global outcry over illegal forms of state-sponsored online surveillance and non-transparent forms of corporate storage and control of personal data. She combines participatory action research and critical theory with a leadership role in advocacy on human rights for the online environment. Focusing on UN and intergovernmental arenas in internet governance, her research unpacks how public, private, and civil society actors look to frame the terms of debate around diverging priorities for the internet's future design, access, and use. Her work has put human rights and principles advocacy for the internet onto the international human rights and internet governance agendas. It has played a formative role in increasing recognition — at the UN and European Union for instance — that online we have rights too.
The Initiative on Impunity and the Rule of Law, a joint project of the Centre for Law, Justice and Journalism, City University London and the Centre for Freedom of the Media, University of Sheffield, has played an agenda-setting role in a campaign involving several non-governmental and inter-governmental bodies. It influenced international legislation and NGO practices concerning human rights, freedom of information and protection of journalists, most notably through the adoption of the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity and its accompanying Implementation Strategy 2013-2014, both published in 2012.
Academic staff in The City Law School at City University London contributed to the campaign through their research expertise and the production of new material which enabled the identification of lacunae in the international standards of protection of journalists; and by making the case directly to United Nations decision-makers for additional safeguards.
The Initiative has achieved impact on public engagement, policy-making and civil society by: (i) shedding light on the problem of crimes against journalists by contributing detailed evidence on the number of human rights violations in different countries; (ii) campaigning to safeguard the personal and professional integrity of journalists worldwide; (iii) providing expert advice to governments, NGOs and international organisations to define legislation and understanding to prevent crimes against media freedom; and (iv) creating an international platform of academic and legal expertise for combatting violence against journalists.
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.
The Information Rights Research Interest Group (IRRIG) has worked with a national non-departmental public body, the Marine Management Organisation (MMO), and Durham County Council to define best practice in data handling and sharing of information. Training and consultancy based on legal regulatory doctrinal and theoretical research has led to the MMO altering its policy and procedure in relation to freedom of information legislation and data sharing practice. Durham County Council has consolidated its Environmental Information Regulation work within the Information Management Team to improve the delivery of a consistent, joined up service to all stakeholders and has prepared a revised FOIA Procedures Packet which is widely used in the local authority.
University of Birmingham research for the DETECTER project identified legal and moral standards that detection technologies in counter-terrorism must meet in relation to privacy, discrimination and criminal justice. The project surveyed current and foreseeable applications of detection technologies, and explored their implications for human rights and ethics. The impact was achieved by a series of meetings held under Chatham House rules bringing together technology developers, counter-terrorism police, intelligence and policy makers with a network of ethicists, lawyers and NGO representatives. Advice was offered to policy makers on how to take counter-terrorism measures that protect both the security of European citizens and their human rights. This advice influenced the preparation of professional codes of conduct for users and developers of counter-terrorism and border-control technologies, informed review and authorization of surveillance applications by police officers, and contributed to the implementation of privacy solutions in the development of new products used in detection (e.g. body scanners).
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.
Essex research on developing quantitative indicators for assessing countries' performance on human rights and democracy has informed the work of a number of international organisations. Professor Todd Landman's research has been used by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in its provision of assessment frameworks and by the UN Development Programme in its work on democratic governance and sustainable development. Landman's research on democracy underpins the main resources employed by the inter-governmental organisation, International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), based in Sweden. These resources have been translated into four languages and are used to assess the quality of democracy throughout the world. He also provides training for International IDEA's 150 members of staff on the measurement and assessment of democratic performance.
Beyani's research on the protection of refugees' human rights demonstrably underpins his work as a drafter of the Kenyan Constitution, as a United Nations Special Rapporteur, and as an expert advisor on the content of international treaties concerning protections to be accorded to internally displaced persons. The impacts specifically ascribable to his research relate to: