The Archers, the Radio, Violence against Women and Changing the World at Teatime

Feminists working on Violence Against Women (VAW) have often been disappointed by the failure of law to produce profound change. Ill-informed and stereotypical views about VAW held by judges, lawyers, law enforcement officers, those in the media and the general public have undermined laws intended to tackle violence including domestic violence. As a consequence, VAW activists have sought new methods to shift the public discourse and facilitate the operation of the law. This article examines how campaigners used a highly publicised storyline on coercive control in the long running BBC Radio 4 soap opera The Archers to circulate feminist knowledge on domestic violence. It discusses the reasons for the success of the activists on this occasion and reflects on the potential of popular culture combined with other forms of activism to embed feminist understandings of VAW and enhance the effectiveness of the law. It argues that popular culture can influence not only the legal professionals and others responsible for implementing and applying the law, but the broader public consciousness of domestic violence and VAW

Women Asylum Seekers in the Current Crisis: A Conversation

To mark International Women’s Day the Research Group for Law, Gender and Sexuality at Westminster Law School held an evening conversation on 10 March 2016 on Women and Asylum. Speakers working in different areas of the asylum system shared their insights and experiences with an audience of staff, students, activists and other visitors. Harriet Samuels (Westminster Law School) chaired the conversation and the speakers were Princess Chine Onyeukwu (The Protection Gap Campaign), Debora Singer (Policy and Research Manager, Asylum Aid), Priya Solanki (Barrister, 1 Pump Court Chambers) and Zoe Harper (Legal Officer, Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association). This article is an edited extract from the transcript of the presentations and wide-ranging discussion, including the question and answer session. The discussion focused on the different steps in the refugee determination process and considered, in particular, the gendering of credibility and how women’s perceived lack of credibility has a significant impact on determinations and processes

Feminist engagement with law in the new millennium

The works presented for the PhD by publication are all connected by a commitment to using law and human rights for feminist ends. They are located within the feminist discourse on the utility of law and human rights, and stress the inherent connection between feminist theory and activism. They counsel against a turning away from law, as suggested by some feminists, and instead set about explaining how existing legal structures and concepts can be made more responsive to women’s lived realities. The thesis demonstrates that law is an important site of power and public discourse where feminism in all its forms needs to have a presence. Several of the publications address feminist challenges to human rights, but advocate feminist participation in the political and legal processes that provide for the development, adoption and enforcement of universal norms. Using examples from the past and present the published works show that feminism is a force that has the capacity to interrupt and to intervene in law and human rights mechanisms. It has the potential to create, adapt and subvert legal principles through dialogic and feminist legal methods

The Full Story of U.S. v. Smith, America’s Most Important Piracy Case

This article explores the seminal United States Supreme Court decision of United States v. Smith (1820). Smith, an early piracy case, has influenced developments in both domestic and international law on piracy, universal jurisdiction, and a range of broader themes. This article is the first to explore the context within which the case arose, as well as the circumstances of the case itself. In addition to the details of the case, the story of the men prosecuted for their cruise aboard the vessel known as the Irresistible in the late spring and early summer of 1819 also offers a window into important issues of the day, including growing federal assertions of power over the states, the roles of Congress and the courts in defining and punishing piracy under the Constitution, theories of punishment, and the power of the press

Condominum Arrangements in International Practice: Reviving an Abandoned Concept of Boundary Dispute Resolution

This Article attempts to revive the consideration of condominium as a possible solution to contemporary boundary disputes. Part I describes specific historic instances of condominia and derives relevant lessons from each instance. Part II notes that some critics of condominium have in fact confused condominium with other forms of joint dominion over territory. This Part proceeds, therefore, to distinguish condominium from these other arrangements. Next, Part III discusses how experiences with common property regimes over common resources (such as water supplies) might inform the contemporary use of condominium. Finally, informed by lessons articulated in Parts I through III, Part IV develops a model for a successful condominium that could be tailored to resolve a contemporary boundary dispute

Condominum Arrangements in International Practice: Reviving an Abandoned Concept of Boundary Dispute Resolution

This Article attempts to revive the consideration of condominium as a possible solution to contemporary boundary disputes. Part I describes specific historic instances of condominia and derives relevant lessons from each instance. Part II notes that some critics of condominium have in fact confused condominium with other forms of joint dominion over territory. This Part proceeds, therefore, to distinguish condominium from these other arrangements. Next, Part III discusses how experiences with common property regimes over common resources (such as water supplies) might inform the contemporary use of condominium. Finally, informed by lessons articulated in Parts I through III, Part IV develops a model for a successful condominium that could be tailored to resolve a contemporary boundary dispute