Call for papers: International Conference “Law in the Times of War: Conflicts, Legal Responses and Legal Solutions”

The event is organized by Aleksanteri Institute and Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki

Dates: 28-29 October 2024

Location: Helsinki, Finland

Deadline for proposals: 15 May 2024

Call for papers

The Faculty of Law in cooperation with Aleksanteri Institute of the University of Helsinki is pleased to announce the annual conference organised by the Development of Russian Law research project, which will take place in Helsinki on October 28-29, 2024. This conference continues the series of workshops, seminars, and conferences originated in comparative legal scholarship on post-Soviet law and legal transformations, organized by the Faculty of Law since 2008.

Russian aggression against Ukraine perpetrated on 24 February 2024 changed the agenda for legal research and practice not only in the region, but worldwide. It highlighted the need for profound change in approaches to international law, security, rule of law and other fundamental concepts that were coined after WWII and with the emergence of the UN as a guarantor of new, peaceful international legal order.

We would like to invite scholars and legal partitioners to reflect upon how law operates in the times of war, providing a comparative context for seeking legal solutions to end Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

We encourage submissions of individual papers and full panels in the following themes and beyond:

  •  International law of war: what are the boundaries of (il)legal?
  •  Legal theories of war: when the war is (un)justified?
  •  Criminal prosecution of war crimes: are the criminal tribunals (in)effective?
  •  Humanitarian law: civilians and protection under international law;
  •  Gender and war: sexual violence in conflict and beyond;
  •  Gender and war: women, peace, security agenda for international communities;
  •  Ecocide: how does environment change during the war?
  •  Russian aggression against Ukraine: legal solutions for the illegal conflict;
  •  Asylum seeking and refugees in the time of war: international experiences;
  •  What did we learn from the Yugoslav Wars: using law to establish peace?
  •  Kosovo, Nagorno Karabakh, Crimea and legal solutions for contested territories

We welcome legal researchers from across disciplines to join our discussions of current issues in legal studies and law. We especially encourage younger scholars and graduate students to apply.

The working language of the conference is English. All presentations and discussions are held in this language.

The proposals shall be submitted by 15 May 2024.

Links for registration:

individual paper submission: https://elomake.helsinki.fi/lomakkeet/128283/lomake.html  

panel proposals: https://elomake.helsinki.fi/lomakkeet/128286/lomake.html

Women’s Rights and the Russian Constitution by Marianna Muravyeva

Verfassungsblog has organised a discussion the state of Russian Constitution after 30 years of its existence. Professor Muravyeva has contributed with the analysis of the human rights of women and the failure of the constitutional law to effectively protect them.

Since the beginning of Russia’ aggression against Ukraine, the government’s rhetoric has become more conservative and nationalistic. In 2022-2023, Russia witnessed the introduction of a slew of oppressive legislation directly violating human rights. Against the backdrop of Putin’s focus on the fight against the ‘enemies’ and Russia’s isolation due to ‘fighting for the right cause’ women once again became the target of regulation with a steady and consistent assault on their human rights, particularly reproductive rights. Moreover, as women actively participate in anti-war protests, the authorities have been treating women more harshly during arrest, trial and sentencing as various reports show. Nevertheless, women continue to fight for their rights and freedoms in courts and on the streets, hoping for change.

Read more here: https://verfassungsblog.de/womens-rights-and-the-russian-constitution/

Check other contributions here as well: https://verfassungsblog.de/category/debates/the-legal-tools-of-authoritarianism-the-russian-constitution-at-30/ 

The Foundations of Russian Law – New Foundational Text

The Foundations of RUssian Law book edited by Professor Muravyeva is finally out!

This accessible text explains how Russian law works in all its principal areas. It elucidates the main concepts and frameworks behind Russian law, and uses original legal sources and case law to explain how it operates in practice. The contributors, all of whom are leading experts on Russian law, employ original research to further knowledge of the Russian legal profession, legal culture, judiciary and court systems, providing a scholarly and practical account of Russian law for students and scholars alike. It is essential reading for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the subject.

Preview the Table of Contents here.

Invitation: Christina Research Seminar/SKY Advanced Research Seminar 22.2., 16-18: Joanna Bourke

On Wednesday 22.2.2023, 16-18 (Helsinki time), Joanna Bourke will be the guest speaker in the Christina Research Seminar. This session will be chaired by Professor Marianna Muravyeva.  

Joanna Bourke (Birkbeck): Sexual Violence in War  

Abstract: Violence is an essentially contested concept. Never is this more the case than during war. Military conflict not only lowers the threshold at which interpersonal violence can take place, but it also dramatically alters the nature of that violence. In this talk, Joanna Bourke explores these issues in relation to sexual violence. She focuses on questions of language, ethics, the politics of representation, trauma, and gender. She concludes by asking what can be done to eradicate sexual violence during armed conflicts as well as civilian contexts.  

 

  Bio: Joanna Bourke is Professor of History at Birkbeck University of London, and a Fellow of the British Academy. She is also the Professor of Rhetoric at Gresham College. Bourke is the Principal Investigator and Director of an interdisciplinary Wellcome Trust-funded project entitled ‘SHaME’ (Sexual Harms and Medical Encounters, which explores medical and psychiatric aspects of sexual violence). She is the prize-winning author of fifteen books, as well as over 120 articles in academic journals. Among others, she is the author of Dismembering the Male: Men’s Bodies, Britain, and the Great War, An Intimate History of Killing (which won the Wolfson Prize and the Fraenkel Prize), Fear: A Cultural HistoryWhat it Means To Be HumanThe Story of Pain, and Wounding the World: How Military Violence and War-Play are Invading Our Lives. In 2022, Reaktion Books published Disgrace: Global Reflections on Sexual Violence (also published by Chicago University Press) and Oxford University Press published Birkbeck: 200 Years of Radical Learning for Working People. Her books have been translated into Chinese, Russian, Spanish, Catalan, Italian, Portuguese, Czech, Turkish, and Greek. 

The talk will be organized as a hybrid event. Helsinki-based participants can attend the talk on campus. It will take place in the University of Helsinki’s Main Building, room U3032. Remote participant can join the talk via Zoom 

Please register to the event via this form: https://forms.gle/ohuRetpbPCWZ9H7V6 

Those who have registered to attend via Zoom will get the event link before the event.  

We look forward to seeing you there 

The Christina Research Seminar is an open advanced seminar focused on interdisciplinary gender studies chaired by Professor Tuija Pulkkinen. The seminar is organized as part of the doctoral programme of Gender, Culture and Society (SKY) by Gender Studies, University of Helsinki. 

Post-Soviet Legal Choices 5 Recording Available!

The seminar: Post-Soviet Legal Choices 5-Ukraine Lessons Learned and the Future of Law with Judge James Baker was held on on 30 January 2023.

Watch the seminar here: https://www2.helsinki.fi/fi/unitube/video/cfc89af5-f515-4db1-99ea-7c665c74eb8a

The original description of the event:

President Zelensky has said, “lawyers will put an end to this war after the military, after the politicians.” Russia’s war against Ukraine is a battle over territory, but it is also a battle over ideas. Law is one of those ideas. Should and do states observe principles of territorial integrity? Should, and do, states adhere to the Law of Armed Conflict? Should states be free to determine their own destiny, or have that destiny dictated by more powerful states? In this presentation, former U.S. national security official, federal judge, and now professor sets an agenda for looking at some of legal lessons we might derive from Russia’s war against Ukraine addressing, among other topics, United Nations reform, security assurances, and war crimes accountability.

Speakers:


Judge Jamie Baker, Director of the Syracuse University Institute for Security Policy and Law

Post-Soviet Legal Choices 5: Ukraine Lessons Learned and the Future of Law

30 January 2023

Time: 12-13:30 (Helsinki time)
In person at Metsätalo, Alexander room and via Zoom

Registration:

Please register for the event via this form: https://forms.gle/aBqvv4zgGCVtMUeG6.

Please register no later than January 27th!

Event Description:

President Zelensky has said, “lawyers will put an end to this war after the military, after the politicians.” Russia’s war against Ukraine is a battle over territory, but it is also a battle over ideas. Law is one of those ideas. Should and do states observe principles of territorial integrity? Should, and do, states adhere to the Law of Armed Conflict? Should states be free to determine their own destiny, or have that destiny dictated by more powerful states? In this presentation, former U.S. national security official, federal judge, and now professor sets an agenda for looking at some of legal lessons we might derive from Russia’s war against Ukraine addressing, among other topics, United Nations reform, security assurances, and war crimes accountability.

Speakers:


Judge Jamie Baker, Director of the Syracuse University Institute for Security Policy and Law
Judge Jamie Baker is Director of the Syracuse University Institute for Security Policy and Law as well as a Professor at the Syracuse College of Law and the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. He previously served as a Judge and Chief Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. As a career civil servant, Baker served as Legal Adviser and Deputy Legal Adviser to the National Security Council. He has also served as Counsel to the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board and Intelligence Oversight Board, an attorney in the U.S. Department of State, an aide to Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, and as a Marine Corps infantry officer. In addition to teaching at Syracuse, he has taught at Yale, Iowa, Pittsburgh, Washington University (St. Louis), and Georgetown. He is the author of numerous articles and three books: The Centaur’s Dilemma: National Security Law for the Coming AI Revolution (Brookings 2021); In the Common Defense: National Security Law for Perilous Times (Cambridge 2007); and, with Michael Reisman, Regulating Covert Action (Yale 1992).

Post-Soviet Legal Choices 4 Recording Available!

The seminar: Post-Soviet Legal Choices 4-What Happened in Russian Law in 2022? with Grigory Vaypan, Kirill Koroteev, Denis Shedov, Jeffrey Kahn and William Pomeranz was held on 22nd December 2022.

Watch the seminar here: https://www2.helsinki.fi/fi/unitube/video/ae22b809-49dc-4c74-ae74-f7a76c0d08f1

The original description of the event:

The year 2022 has provided many challenges for Russian Law, many of which deal with Russian aggression against Ukraine. In this Talk, our guests who are lawyers, advocates and researchers talk about results and further perspectives of legal development for Russia.

Speakers: 

Grigory Vaypan
Independent Russian Human Rights Lawyer & Scholar

Peter H. Solomon, University of Toronto
Professor Emeritus

Kirill Koroteev
Head of International Practice at Agora International Human Rights Group

Denis Shedov
Russian Human Rights Lawyer and Analyst at OVD-INFO

Jeffrey Kahn, SMU, Dedham School of Law
Professor

William Pomeranz, The Wilson Center
Director of Kennan Institute

Post-Soviet Legal Choices 4: What Happened in Russian Law in 2022?

22 December 2022

Time: 10 am (Washington time)/17 (Helsinki time)
Via Zoom

Registration:

Please register for the event via this form: https://forms.gle/HYzSNDJxUBfZAsAy5. Please register no later than December 21st! 

Event Description: 

The year 2022 has provided many challenges for Russian Law, many of which deal with Russian aggression against Ukraine. In this Talk, our guests who are lawyers, advocates and researchers talk about results and further perspectives of legal development for Russia.

Speakers: 

Grigory Vaypan
Independent Russian Human Rights Lawyer & Scholar

Peter H. Solomon, University of Toronto
Professor Emeritus

Kirill Koroteev
Head of International Practice at Agora International Human Rights Group

Denis Shedov
Russian Human Rights Lawyer and Analyst at OVD-INFO

Mari Davtyan
Head of the Center for Protection of Victims of Domestic Violence

Jeffrey Kahn, SMU, Dedham School of Law
Professor

William Pomeranz, The Wilson Center
Director of Kennan Institute