Kent Law School Professor Nick Grief and Shona Illingworth (Kent School of Arts) have taken part in a research seminar in Japan with a view to holding the third hearing of the Airspace Tribunal in Hiroshima in 2020.
The Airspace Tribunal is a people’s tribunal that is considering the case for and against the recognition of a new human right to protect the freedom to live without physical or psychological threat from above.
The research seminar, held earlier this month, was hosted by the Centre for Peace at Hiroshima University (CPHU). Other speakers and participants included Professor Noriyuki Kawano (Director of CPHU), Professor Mari Katayanagi (Vice-Director of CPHU), Professor Andrew Hoskins (University of Glasgow) and Professor Renata Salecl (University of London and University of Ljubljana). The moderator was Associate Professor Luli van der Does (CPHU).
The inaugural hearing of the Airspace Tribunal was held in London in September 2018 with the second hearing taking place in Sydney, Australia, in October 2019.
The Airspace Tribunal is part of Topologies of Air, Shona Illingworth’s major new video and sound installation that will examine the impact of accelerating geopolitical, technological and environmental change on the composition, nature and use of airspace. Further hearings are planned across the world including South Africa and the Middle East. Each hearing is being recorded and transcribed to help form the drafting history of the proposed new right.
Professor Grief specialises in international law and human rights. He teaches Public International Law and EU Law at Kent Law School and practises at the Bar from Doughty Street Chambers.
Shona Illingworth is a Reader in Fine Art. She is a Scottish-Danish artist who works across a range of media including video, sound, photography and drawing.