Legal research about the use of global security lists by Kent Law School lecturer, Dr Gavin Sullivan, is featured in a report to be presented during the 74th session of the UN General Assembly by the UN Special Rapporteur on Counterterrorism and Human Rights this week.
The article ‘Transnational Legal Assemblages and Global Security Law: Topologies and Temporalities of the List’ provides a detailed socio-legal study of the UN ISIL and Al-Qaida Sanctions regime and analyses changes to EU court rules to allow judges to handle intelligence as evidence for the first time. It is cited in the Special Rapporteur’s report on the use of ‘soft law’ in global counterterrorism law, which makes numerous recommendations on incorporating human rights into informal international lawmaking practices.
Dr Sullivan has particular expertise in the area of global security law and governance. He was recently awarded funding from the British Academy (with Alejandro Rodiles of ITAM University Mexico) for a collaborative project entitled Global Security Assemblages and International law: A Socio-Legal Study of Emergency in Motion that examined countering online extremism and informal lawmaking in this area.
He has undertaken research for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and helped draft best practice guidelines for all UN Member States on countering foreign terrorist fighters whilst respecting human rights. Dr Sullivan legally represents individuals targeted by security lists as part of the Transnational Listing Project. His forthcoming book The Law of the List: UN Counterterrorism Sanctions and the Politics of Global Security Law will be published by Cambridge University Press in 2020 as part of their Global Law series.
Dr Sullivan convenes the LLM module Global Security Law at Canterbury and in Brussels during the Autumn term.