LEPnet.org launched to share knowledge

With support from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Global College recently launched LEPnet— an International Applied Research Learning Network on Poverty and Human Rights—to foster research collaborations and knowledge-sharing on legal empowerment of the poor.

The Applied Research Learning Network on Poverty and Human Rights (LEPnet.org) is a project of The University of Winnipeg Global College. The network stems from the work of the UN Commission on the Legal Empowerment of the Poor which issued its final report in June, 2008 entitled "Making the Law Work for Everyone." The network has been developed to serve as a portal through which a diversity of organizations’ contributions to the field of poverty and human rights are channeled, as well as to be a collaborative space where researchers and practitioners can collaborate on the development and publishing of new research and learning materials.

Following two successful conferences on the Legal Empowerment of the Poor in November 2008, with support from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), The University of Winnipeg Global College committed to developing this network to support the growing community of practice in the field of legal empowerment. By bringing together researchers, practitioners, and students in a common collaborative space, the network portal aims to foster sharing, collaboration, and the development of new research on poverty and human rights.

Much of the LEPnet.org site is set up to make educational materials that are used in the teaching of undergraduate and graduate subjects available on the Web, free of charge, to any user anywhere in the world. This venture continues the tradition in higher education and communities of practice, of open dissemination of educational materials, philosophy, and modes of thought, and will help lead to fundamental changes in the way we utilize the Web as a vehicle for education.

Met with Jin Ho Verdonscot from Tilburg

Finally met Jin Ho Verdonscot at the Imperial Hotel in downtown Kampala today. Jin Ho, a researcher at Tilburg University Law School, has been my virtual counterpart for years. We had a great talk about microjustice and how technology can help with legal empowerment. He is also a part of TISCO, which I blogged about before. Ahh, he inspires me with his recent list of publications:

• Gramatikov, M.A., & Verdonschot, J.H. (2010). Legal needs of vulnerable people: A study in Azerbaijan, Mali, Rwanda, Egypt and Bangladesh. (TISCO Working Paper Series on Civil Law and Conflict Resolution Systems, 009/2010)  Further information
• Gramatikov, M.A., Barendrecht, J.M., Laxminarayan, M.S., Verdonschot, J.H., Klaming, L., & Zeeland, C.M.C. van (2010). A handbook for measuring the costs and quality of access to justice. Apeldoorn | Antwerpen | Portland: MAKLU. Further information
• Verdonschot, J.H. (2009). Delivering objective criteria: Sources of law and the relative value of neutral information for dispute resolution. (TISCO Working Paper Series, 001/2009)  Further information
• Barendrecht, J.M., Kamminga, Y.P., & Verdonschot, J.H. (2008). Priorities for the justice system: Responding to the most urgent legal problems of individuals. (TILEC Discussion Paper No. 2008/011 | TISCO Working Paper No. 001/2008)  Further information
• Barendrecht, J.M., & Verdonschot, J.H. (2008). Objective criteria: Facilitating dispute resolution by information about going rates of justice. (TISCO Working Paper Series, 005/2008)  Further information

Harvard and Stanford Law School Call for Papers

HARVARD LAW SCHOOL AND STANFORD LAW SCHOOL FOURTH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR FACULTY FORUM

CALL FOR PAPERS

Stanford Law School and Harvard Law School have established an International Junior Faculty Forum. The idea behind this is to stimulate exchange of ideas and research, among younger scholars in the academy, from all parts of the world; and to encourage younger scholars in their work. We live today in a global community - especially a global legal community - and it is important to develop legal scholarship on a transnational basis. Scholars in different countries are often divided by barriers of time and space, as well as barriers of different legal traditions and cultures. We hope that the Forum will be a step in the direction of surmounting these barriers. The papers at the 2010 Forum were on a very wide range of subjects, from the treatment of science by the World Trade Organization, to the concept of evil in German and American law, to the role of Islam in the development of national legal system. The young scholars came from many different countries, as did the senior scholars. In all, five continents and a wide range of viewpoints and methodologies were represented.

The sponsors, Harvard and Stanford law schools, are pleased to announce plans for the fourth International Junior Faculty Forum. The Forum will be held in November 17 - 19, 2011 at the Harvard Law School, Cambridge, MA.

In order to be considered for the 2011 International Junior Faculty Forum, authors must meet the following criteria:

• Citizen of a country other than the United States.
• Home academic institution is outside of the U.S.
• Have held a faculty position or its equivalent (including positions comparable to junior faculty positions in research institutes) for less than seven years as of 2011.
• Last degree earned less than ten years earlier than 2011.

Papers may be on any legally relevant subject. We especially welcome work that is interdisciplinary. The papers can make use of any relevant approach; they can be quantitative or qualitative, sociological, anthropological, historical, or economic. The sponsoring schools would like to emphasize that they welcome papers from junior scholars from all parts of the world. No country or group of countries has a monopoly of talent. Please note that already published papers are not eligible to be considered.

The first step is to submit an abstract of the proposed paper. We would like these to be no more than four (4) pages and be in English. Tell us what you plan to do; lay out the major argument of the paper, say something about the methodology, and what you think will be the paper's contribution to scholarship. The due date for the abstracts is January 17, 2011, although earlier submissions are welcomed. Please submit the abstract electronically to both schools-- at Harvard, to Juliet Bowler (jbowler@law.harvard.edu), and at Stanford, to Lisa Woodcock (lwoodcock@law.stanford.edu) with the subject line: International Junior Faculty Forum. The abstract should contain the author's name, home institution, and the title of the proposed paper. Please also send a current CV.

After the abstracts have been reviewed, we will in February invite a number of junior scholars to submit full papers of no more than 15,000 words, electronically (in English) by May 31, 2011. Please include a word count for final papers.

An international committee of legal scholars, who themselves come from across the globe, and represent many different styles and approaches, will review the papers. In the end, about ten of the papers will be chosen for presentation at the conference. And, as before, at the conference itself, two senior scholars, will comment on each paper. After the commentators give their remarks, all of the participants, junior and senior alike, will have a chance to join in the discussion. Meeting junior and senior colleagues, and talking about your work and theirs, may be one of the most valuable - and enjoyable-- aspects of the Forum.

The sponsoring schools will cover expenses of travel, including airfare, lodging, and food, for each participant. Questions should be directed to Juliet Bowler (jbowler@law.harvard.edu) or Lisa Woodcock (lwoodcock@law.stanford.edu).

Another Conference: Emerging Economies and the Rule of Law: Challenges and Opportunities

The 17th Commonwealth Law Conference will take place in Hyderabad, India, Feb. 5-9, 2011. Organizers expect over 1,000 lawyers, judges, and legal academics from 54 Commonwealth countries to attend. The theme of the conference is Emerging Economies and the Rule of Law: Challenges and Opportunities and the diverse business program will cover human rights and the rule of law, corporate and commercial law and the legal and judicial professions.

Website Microjustice Uganda is live!

I am having a blast here managing the Microjustice4All Uganda organization and we now have basic site up: 

http://www.microjusticeuganda.org/web/index.php