Bonavero Graduate Research Forum completes the Michaelmas Term with sixteen human rights research project discussions
In the Michaelmas term, Bonavero Graduate Research Forum (BGRF) - a student led human rights law research group based at the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights, heard presentations and discussed works-in-progress from a total of sixteen graduate research students working across the broad field of human rights. The group's activities were aimed at fostering a strong and supportive community of early career researchers working on human rights across domestic, international and comparative law, deploying doctrinal, normative and empirical research methods.
During our core sessions this term, we heard presentations from Anna Galmiche, Zaki Rehman, Lara Ibrahim, Ugochukwe Ezeh, Adrija Ghosh and Sfiso Nxumalo. In addition, a highlight activity of the Forum was the Public Law Doctoral Workshop co-organized with the Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney. During the five sessions held online between 25-29 November 2024, in the mornings in Oxford and evenings in Sydney, researchers based at Oxford and UNSW presented and discussed papers of doctoral researchers at both institutions.
On Day 1, Ashita Alag (Oxford) presented a paper on gender neutrality in law concerning rape in India, and Surbhi Karwa (UNSW) discussed institutional constructions of equality and non-discrimination. Kate O'Regan provided comments. On Day 2, Adrija Ghosh (Oxford) presented her work on the cultural and educational rights of minorities under the Indian Constitution, and Binendri Perera (Oxford) introduced her piece about local government in feminist constitutional theory, with comments from Rosalind Dixon (UNSW) and Daniella Lock (Kings College and Bonavero Institute). On Day 3, Douglas McDonald-Norman (UNSW) presented his work on India's Central Administrative Tribunal, and Ugochukwe Ezeh (Oxford) introduced his paper on transitional justice and legalistic anticorruptionism. Elizabeth Perham (UNSW) and Eva Maria Belser (Bonavero Institute) discussed the papers. On Day 4, Shohini Sengupta (UNSW) introduced her paper entitled 'The (financial) citizenship effects of India’s Aadhaar digital identity program', which was followed by the discussion of a paper called 'Anglo-Australian national security, democracy and media law' by Derick Luong (Oxford). Moiz Tundawala (Bonavero Institute) offered comments on both papers. The workshop ended with papers by Daniel Bogea (UNSW) on off-bench judicial strategies employed by judges, and by Geoffrey Yeung (Oxford) on judging high stakes cases under authoritarianism. Başak Çalı (Bonavero Institute) and Svetlana Tyulkina (UNSW) discussed the papers.
All MPhil/DPhil researchers working in the broadly defined field of human rights at Oxford are encouraged to join the Bonavero Graduate Research Forum. Our group will continue to meet fortnightly in Hillary Term, providing an opportunity for its members to present their ongoing research work and receive feedback from fellow students and senior academics. Follow this link to find out how to get involved and join the BGRF's newsletter, and contact Konrad Ksiazek, BGRF's co-convener, to enquire about presenting your work in the Hilary Term.