OxfordBriefs: The Termly Newsletter of
Oxford Lawyers Without Borders
Volume 1
Issue 1
Michaelmas Term 2013
Speaker Events: Contributed by Caroline Greenfield, General Panel Leader
Peace through International Criminal Justice: Reflections from the ICC Deputy Prosecutor
OxLWOB launched its term with a bang by welcoming James
Stewart, Deputy Prosecutor of the international Criminal Court
for a keynote address on the topic of “Peace through
International Criminal Justice”, in an event co-hosted by Oxford
ICC Student Network and Oxford Transitional Justice Research
group.
James enjoying his tour of Oxford!
James Stewart declared Oxford a Point of Light, as part of the
celebrations commemorating the centenary of the Peace Palace
in The Hague, highlighting the peace through law movement that
led to the construction of Peace Palace, recognising the
contribution that students and academics at Oxford groups make
towards global peace and international justice, and hopefully
inspiring more students to join these movements in the future.
OxLWOB Interim President Brian Chang gave a characteristically entertaining but warm and
thoughtful introduction to the Peace Palace’s history, before James Stewart treated us to a talk on
the ICC’s history, its relationships with UN bodies such as the Security Council, and James’
personal work at various tribunals and his reflections on peace mediation efforts. Members of our
large audience were not afraid to hold back on the big questions (hostility to ICC on the ground,
expense of the court, opaque nature of its investigations, negative fall out from an arrest warrant)
but we heard answers that were did not merely toe the party line. Instead James was convincing
and hopeful yet realistic about solving the problems that face the ICC and its future direction.
The Cherwell enjoyed the event too http://www.cherwell.org/news/college/2013/10/24/oxfordhosts-international-prosecutors This is the first and let’s hope not the last time OxLWOB has got
into the student press!
We still can’t believe that 60 people turned up on Matriculation Day, instead of going for Matriculash parties!
Linklaters ProBono event
Linklaters came to speak to us about the pro bono work City firms get involved in. Attendees were,
I think, surprised to hear about the scale of the firm’s involvements with opportunity for
secondment in a pro bono seat and a convincing ethos of corporate responsibility. The trainees
were very happy to answer wider application questions afterwards but we were attracted by a
firm that set themselves apart from many others with their focus on building up a practice to
include those who cannot afford the magic circle fees. To learn more about Linklaters’ pro bono
work, visit http://www.linklaters.com/Responsibility/Pages/ProBono.aspx
OxLWOB/Bar Soc Pro Bono Panel
Despite the conviction with which we left the Linklaters event, it is widely acknowledged that
attitudes to pro bono need to change and the government and lawyers need to re-think the whole
pro bono framework, particularly in light of legal aid cuts. Our speakers were Felicity Kirk (Pro
Bono director of Lawyers without Borders), James Dixon (Barrister at No.5 Chambers, winner of
Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year 2013) and Shreya Atrey (President, Oxford Pro Bono Publico). All
three were absolutely fantastic and the audience really engaged with questions such as striking
the balance between getting hours in through compulsory schemes versus killing natural
enthusiasm with compulsory work; what we can learn from schemes around the world; the
direction of funds from ‘fat cat’ law firms to other legal causes – analogies with the NHS were
drawn; instilling the idea of responsibility in students and practicing lawyers to take on pro bono
work and more.
Child Soldiers event
Jeremy Cunningham of Amnesty International attracted a sterling turn out for 7 th week with a talk
on Child Soldiers. With considerable experience from time teaching and researching in Northern
Uganda, Jeremy was ideally placed to give us an outline of the LRA and how its and the
government’s activities impacted communities. He tried to give the talk a legal angle but reminded
us that, actually, which section of conflicting human rights conventions was being violated is the
last thing a victim or victim’s family thinks about, and that one of the best ways to introduce good
rules and ideas of citizenship is to get them into schools where there is structure, rules, a fair
discipline system involving student prefects and opportunity. Once again the audience asked
pertinent questions about different methods of post-conflict peace building, truth and
reconciliation, amnesty legislation and comparisons with other areas with history of child soldiers.
Yonotan Berman: Refugee Rights
Yonotan spoke to a small but keen audience on his recent involvement in an Israeli Supreme Court
case. He gave us a detailed history of refugee law in the region, highlighting absurdities like not
recognising people as refugees in administrative terms by not deporting them and so avoiding
classing them as ‘people at risk of persecution if they are returned to their home country,’ before
taking us through the legal issues in the recent SC case of Adam v. the Knesset, which he had been
involved in (accessible at http://elyon1.court.gov.il/files_eng/12/460/071/b24/12071460.b24.pdf)
The government has yet to comply with the court order and is desperately trying to amend its
‘infiltration’ legislation to try and avoid change. This sparked debate among the audience who
came from countries with varying constitutional systems (including Germany, Israel, the UK and
Singapore) which made for heated discussion about which system worked best when tested by
situations such as these.
28TooMany event
28TooMany is a charity working to end female genital mutilation (FGM). Their primary focus is on
research and enabling local initiatives to end FGM in the 28 African countries where it is practiced
though it was shocking to hear that c.30,000 cases of FGM have taken place within the UK. We
were delighted to welcome their Executive Director Ann-Marie Wilson and Health Advisor Jane
Anyaegbunam. A broad and engaged audience questioned why it was such a taboo, the
uncomfortable double standard that we have made FGM illegal but many (including a police man
Ann-Marie met en route) feel it is a ‘cultural thing’ that we shouldn’t disturb and that on the NHS
girls can have type 2 FGM for aesthetic reasons. For more information on 28TooMany’s work, do
visit 28toomany.org
PRO BONO OPPORTUNITY
Such was the level of interest and discussion into an area that has so many questions still to
explore, OxLWOB will be starting a panel in conjunction with 28TooMany in 2014 to help them
conduct research in FGM. If you’d like to get involved, please email brian.chang@queens.ox.ac.uk.
Reflections
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There is a growing interest in the Oxford community in how lawyers can use their skills to
help humanitarian, pro-bono and more international issues. Questions and discussions
after the talks have demonstrated that students are constructively critical in thinking how
best to use their time and intellect to reform structures that are not working as efficiently
as they can
Partnerships with other societies are enjoyable and pave the way for a wider range of
perspectives at a given event
Speakers remain as willing as ever to engage us and give their time generously to share
causes that mean a great deal to them
Anti-Trafficking Panel Updates
Work of the Panel: Contributed by Temisan Boyo, Anti-Trafficking Panel Leader
The Anti-Trafficking Panel has been working with the UN Special Rapporteur for Trafficking in
Persons, Ms. Joy Ngozi Ezeilo, since April 2012. In the past year, we have assisted her by
researching and writing a thematic report on Organ Trafficking as well as country briefing reports
on Morocco and Italy. The Special Rapporteur (SR) presented these reports (in a modified form) to
the UN General Assembly and the Human Rights Council. Most recently, we helped to prepare a
Mandate Review report recognizing the achievements of the SR over the past 6 years and detailing
the continued obstacles and challenges for her successor in 2014. Working with the SR has given
the Panel solid experience in complex research and drafting, and has allowed us to develop a
comprehensive understanding of the causes, forms, consequences and potential solutions for
trafficking around the world, from a legal, criminal justice, and human rights perspective. In all of
these activities, we worked collaboratively with students from the University of Cambridge, under
the umbrella of the Oxbridge Human Trafficking Research Panel.
Sex Trafficking in Oxford event: Contributed by Sarah Challen McKee, Panel Member
This term, the Anti-Trafficking Panel hosted its first ever event, titled "It Happens in Oxford: the
Bullfinch Operation and Trial". We were lucky enough to host Chief Inspector Simon Morton, the
Officer in Chief of Operation Bullfinch and Alistair Grainger, barrister from 13 King's Bench Walk
Chambers and representative of one of the defendants, both of whom gave candid and thoughtprovoking speeches about Oxford's infamous sex-trafficking ring and their respective roles in
proceedings. The case serves as a sharp reminder that human trafficking is a domestic, as well as
an international, problem and so this event was highly informative - both for panel members, as
well as the other members of the audience!
Future Directions: Contributed by Brian Chang, Interim President
After an extremely successful Michaelmas term programme for which I would like to congratulate
and thank all members of OxLWOB committee, we are planning an even more exciting Hilary
Term, which will involve at least one event a week, and our annual conference on 8th March! So do
save the date, and keep an eye out for our Hilary termcard.
In line with our vision of inspiring students to get involved with pro bono work, we will be
launching two student panels (groups) in Hilary Term, which will provide meaningful opportunities
for students to help others.
The first panel, run in collaboration with OxMak, will seek to help students at Makerere University,
Uganda, set up and run a legal aid clinic in the slum area of Katanga, Kampala, where corruption
and domestic violence are rife and there is low access to justice. Students will have opportunities
to conduct research on access to justice issues and how to overcome them and write a report to
OxMak containing their recommendations, or to advise their counterparts at Makerere University
on the design and of a legal aid clinic.
The second panel will be a collaboration with 28TooMany, arising out of our speaker event (see
above) and will give students the opportunity to conduct research directed towards ending female
genital mutilation in African states. If you’d like to apply to join either of these panels, or have
questions about them, please feel free to contact me at brian.chang@queens.ox.ac.uk.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed,
it is the only thing that ever has.” (Margaret Mead)
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