Socio-legal news
Welcome to the news section of the SLSA website. This area is divided into the following categories:
- Events
- Publications
- Research and funding
- Vacancies
- Consultations, inquiries and surveys
- Other announcements
If you would like an item added to the news section, please contact the
News
Events
ERC Consolidator Grant Webinar from the British Academy
Twenty-First Century Media? Affective bodies, crowds and collectives, Delhi, India: call for papers
Writing Workshop for Early Career Scholars from the Global South, Singapore: call for papers
Reimagining the Public-Private Divide, University of Michigan Law School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA: call for papers
Wellness for Law Forum: Reflecting on the past, shaping the future, Melbourne, Australia: call for papers
The Challenge of Expert Evidence, QMUL, London and online
Book Discussion: Sovereignty, International Law, and the Princely States of Colonial South Asia, QMUL, London
Fundamental Rights for Non-Humans: Insects, AI-systems, and the future of legal personhood, QMUL, London and online
Book launch: Professor Kirsten Campbell: The Justice of Humans, Goldsmiths, London
From the Rule of Law to the Rule of Technology? The institutional implications of the digital transformation of courts, online from University of Wollongong
The Rights and Wrongs of No Platforming, QMUL, London
Armchair Seminar: 'Litigating Climate Change in the Global South', King's College London
Book launch: Sexual History Evidence and the Rape Trial by Professor Joanne Conaghan and Dr Yvette Russell, University of Bristol and online
Reproductive Journeys and the Workplace, Manchester Metropolitan University and online
Book launch: Law, Culture and Identity in Central and Eastern Europe: A comparative engagement, Strathclyde and online
SLSA events
From the University to the Grand Chamber: How can academic work on asylum and immigration have greater impact in the European Court of Human Rights?, Royal Holloway University of London: call for papers
Publications
Bloomsbury Christmas Sale: 30% off most books until 10 December 2023
Remand Decision-Making in the Magistrates’ Court, JUSTICE Research Report
Funding
British Academy & JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowships for Overseas Researchers: open for applications
Vacancies
Law and Society Association: PhD & postdoc fellowships, Chicago: call for applications
Three-year post-doctoral position at School of Law, SOAS, University of London
Postdoctoral research & climate fellowship, CASI, University of Pennsylvania, USA: call for applications
Portal Trust Internship at JUSTICE: open for applications
Other
Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and British Academy Knowledge Frontiers Symposium: call for applications
Vacancies
Law and Society Association: PhD & postdoc fellowships, Chicago: call for applications
Applications are invited for these fellowships in Law & Inequality offered by the LSA in partnership with the American Bar Foundation and the National Science Foundation. See announcement for details. Closing date: 16 January 2024.
Three-year post-doctoral position at School of Law, SOAS, University of London
There is a three-year postdoctoral opportunity at the School of Law, SOAS, as a part of Leverhulme Research Leadership Award project titled 'The Social Life of Law in Authoritarian Contexts', which is being led by Dr Mayur Suresh. The position is open to candidates who are interested in the relationship between land, law, and segregation in contemporary India. See website for details. Closing date: 14 January 2024. Mayur is happy to speak with candidates (online or in person) to discuss research ideas and proposals.
Postdoctoral research & climate fellowship, CASI, University of Pennsylvania, USA: call for applications
This position is open to applicants from the humanities and social sciences whose work focuses on contemporary India. We welcome candidates from a wide range of disciplinary traditions and methodological orientations. See website for details. Applications now open with review beginning on 10 January 2024 and continuing until the selections are final.
Portal Trust Internship at JUSTICE
JUSTICE invites applications for a three-month internship position commencing in January 2024. This is a paid position, funded by the Portal Trust. See website for details. Closing date: 10 December 2023.
Southampton Law School joins SCDTP with socio-legal pathway: applications for studentships now open
Southampton Law School has announced that it has joined the South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership, which has been awarded renewed funding by the Economic and Social Research Council for 2024-2029. See announcement for details. The call for applications is now open for students wishing to commence their studies in the 2024/25 academic year. Please see the SCDTP website for full details of approved pathways, and scholarships available. Interested students are encouraged to contact Professor Harry Annison in the first instance
Social media editor, The Law Teacher
The Law Teacher: The International Journal of Legal Education is seeking to appoint a new Social Media Editor to join its existing team and work alongside Cameron Giles. See announcement for details, Closing date: 15 December 2023.
Graduate Fellows Summer Research Institute in US Law and Race, University of Nebraska-Lincoln: call for applications
Applications are invited for these four places a the University of Nebraska's US Law and Race Initiative taking place from 10–28 June 2024. See announcement for details. Review of applications will begin 15 January 2024.
Two fully funded PhD PHD positions, SOAS School of Law, Gender and Media
Two fully funded PhD positions (fee + studentship + research expenses) at SOAS School of Law, Gender and Media are available as a part of Dr Mayur Suresh's Leverhulme Research Leadership Award titled 'Social Life of Law in Authoritarian Contexts'. The positions are open to candidates from a wide variety of disciplines – including law, gender studies, sociology, and anthropology – to do socio-legal research in India.
More details about the scholarship are available on the website. Mayur is very happy to meet candidates (online or in person) to discuss research ideas and proposals. Closing date: 15 April 2024.
American Bar Association: Postdoctoral fellowship program in Law & Equality
With support from the National Science Foundation and the Law and Society Association, the ABF hosts the Postdoctoral Fellowship Program in Law & Inequality. Postdoctoral Fellows work in residence at the ABF to develop original and significant empirical and interdisciplinary research on the study of law and inequality. See website for details. Closing date: 16 January 2024.
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science postdoctoral fellowships for overseas researchers 2024: call for applications
The scheme provides funding for early career postdoctoral researchers to conduct cooperative research in Japan, with leading research groups in Japanese universities and other institutions, under the guidance of a Japanese host. The British Academy is an overseas nominating authority for this scheme, which is funded entirely by the JSPS. In this capacity, the British Academy nominates a designated number of candidates each year. Candidates from all fields of the humanities and social sciences are eligible to apply. See website for details. Closing date: 13 December 2023.
PhD candidate, Faculty of Law and Criminology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Applications are invited for this position on the new 'Risk to right' project. See website for details. Closing date: 30 November 2023.
Leverhulme Study Abroad Studentships: open for applications
These studentships are intended to enable students to undertake research at a centre of learning in any country except the UK or USA. See website for details. Closing date: 9 January 2024.
Centre for Socio-Legal Studies Visitors' Programme: open for applications
Applications are invited for the CSLS's Visitors' Programme. See website for details. Closing dates: 22 March 2024 and 5 July 2024. See website for details.
Consultations, inquiries and surveys
Law Commission supplemental consultation on wills
As part of its wills project, the Law Commission published a supplementary consultation paper on 5 October 2023. The public consultation period will run until 8 December 2023.
The supplementary consultation is a re-consultation on two discrete issues: electronic wills and the rule that a marriage or civil partnership revokes an existing will. Since re-starting the project after its pause in 2019, the Law Commission has re-examined these issues in the light of developments since the project’s 2017 consultation paper.
At the time of the Commission’s consultation paper in 2017, the case for allowing wills to be made and stored in electronic form was relatively novel. This might not hold true in 2023. The last six years have seen increasing recognition of the use of digital documents and signatures in other contexts, as well as huge developments in technology. The Covid-19 pandemic has also taken place, during which technology facilitated will-making.
The Commission’s 2017 consultation paper had considered the need to protect vulnerable testators in relation to the rule that a marriage or civil partnership revokes a will. However, in the past few years, concerns about 'predatory marriages' have grown. These concerns might cast doubts on whether a marriage or civil partnership should continue to revoke a will.
We are interested to hear consultees’ current views on these issues. The Supplementary Consultation Paper and online response form can be accessed from the project’s website: Wills - Law Commission.
Sentencing Council: Consultation on miscellaneous amendments to sentencing guidelines
The Council’s third annual consultation on miscellaneous amendments to guidelines is now open. See website for details. Closing date: 30 November 2023.
Other announcements
Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and The British Academy Knowledge Frontiers Symposium
The British Academy is inviting applications for early career researchers in the humanities and social sciences to attend a research collaboration symposium on the broad theme of ‘Natures, Cultures and Communities’, in partnership with the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. The symposium will take place in June 2024 in Berlin. See website for details. Closing date: 24 January 2024.
OUP Law Teacher of the Year: call for nominations
The Law Teacher of the Year award remains the only national award to recognize and reward all-round law teaching excellence. Applications are open for the 2024 competition. See website for details. Closing date: 15 December 2023.
Call for Written Evidence: Systemic Racism and the Environmental Emergency
The APPG on the Green New Deal is working with the APPG on Race and Community on a new inquiry, exploring the links between systemic racism and the environmental emergency. The inquiry will look at evidence relating to the UK’s role and influence internationally as well as issues within the UK. A call for written evidence has been published, and the inquiry will hold several oral evidence sessions in late 2023. See website for details.
Oxford University Press Law Teacher of the Year: nominations open
Nominations are now open for the Law Teacher of the Year Award 2024. See website for details. Closing date: 15 December 2023.
Bloomsbury Academic Writing Fellowship
The Bloomsbury Academic Writing Fellowship is now open for applications. The scheme aims to help early career academics get their book idea into a form which is ready for publication. If you are of African or African Caribbean Heritage, based in the UK, and have an idea you would like to develop into an academic book but are unsure where to start, this Fellowship is for you. See website for details. Closing date: 30 November 2023.
IVR Book Prize: nominations open
Nominations are invited for the 2024 IVR Prize for the best book on Legal or Social Philosophy. See website for details. Closing date: 15 March 2024.
IVR 'Young Scholar' Prize: submissions reminder
Submissions are invited for the IVR 'Young Scholar' Prize 2024. See webpage for details. Closing date: 15 February 2024.
Academic Mentoring: Professor Didi Herman
Professor Didi Herman has retired from Kent Law School and is now offering confidential help to individuals and universities looking to improve scholarship for publication, mentoring, and the REF. See her website for details.
Professor Herman is now also offering expert consultancy to law schools for advance preparation for REF 2028.