International law scholar Professor Anne Orford to give CeCIL Annual Lecture

International law scholar Professor Anne Orford will examine punitive responses to the current migrant and refugee crisis from a longer legal and social historical perspective for the 2017/18 Centre for Critical International Law’s (CeCIL) Annual Lecture.

The talk on ‘Surplus Population and the History of International Law’ will be held on Kent’s Canterbury campus on Thursday 30 November.

Professor Orford is Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor, Michael D Kirby Chair of International Law, and Kathleen Fitzpatrick Australian Laureate Fellow at Melbourne Law School, where she directs the Laureate Program in International Law. She is a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia, and a past President of the Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law.

Her scholarship combines study of the history and theory of international law, analysis of developments in international legal doctrines and practice, and an engagement with central debates and concepts in related fields, in order to grasp the changing nature and role of international law in contemporary politics. Her publications include International Authority and the Responsibility to Protect (Cambridge University Press 2011), Reading Humanitarian Intervention: Human Rights and the Use of Force in International Law (Cambridge University Press 2003), the edited collection International Law and its Others (Cambridge University Press 2006), and, as co-editor, The Oxford Handbook of the Theory of International Law (Oxford University Press 2016).

Professor Orford’s talk is open to all and will begin at 6pm in Grimond Lecture Theatre 3 with an introduction by CeCIL staff member Professor Donatella Alessandrini. It will be preceded by a reception in Grinond Foyer from 5pm.

Each year, the CeCIL Annual Lecture brings leading figures in the field of international law to Kent to share their cutting edge contributions to international legal thinking. Previous speakers have included Professor Peer Zumbansen (King’s College London), Professor Gerry Simpson (London School of Economics) and Professor Vasuki Nesiah (New York University).

In anticipation of this year’s event, CeCIL is posting a special series of Professor Anne Orford quotes on its Facebook page.

CeCIL is an innovative research centre which aims to foster critical approaches to the field of international law, and other areas of law that touch upon global legal problems. In addition to an annual lecture, CeCIL offers a busy programme of activities for Kent Law School students, including a speaker and films series and workshops for students keen to develop their employability and international law skills. CeCIL also strives to engage students, scholars and practitioners interested in the critical study of international law around the world through developing collaborations and joint research efforts.