Conference Schedule - 29th June 2015

9.00 Registration Opens/ Refreshments Queen Anne 075 (Council Chamber)

9.30 Welcome, Queen Anne 075 (Council Chamber)

9.45- 11.15 Session I

Sovereignty, Human Rights and Colonialism Queen Anne 038 Chair: Chris Monaghan

Dr Stephen Allen (Queen Mary, University of London) ‘The Chagos Islanders and the UK/Mauritian Sovereignty Dispute over the BIOT’

Dr Ralph Wilde (University College London) ‘Locating the rights of the Chagos Islanders: a case study of the operation of human rights law in colonial territories’

Kinnari Bhatt (University of Greenwich) ‘Who is Chagossian? Indigenous (non) identity in the Chagos context’

Sovereignty, Human Rights and Colonialism Queen Anne 039 Chair: Professor Steven Haines

Dr Kim Wonhee (Korea Maritime Institute) ‘The Scope and Limitation of the Jurisdiction of International Courts and Tribunals in accordance with UNCLOS’

Dr Irini Papanicolopulu (University of Glasgow)'What is a law of the sea dispute? The significance of jurisdictional findings in the Chagos'

11.15 – 11.30 Refreshments, Queen Anne 075 (Council Chamber)

11.30 - 12.30 (Parallel) Session II

Constitutional Issues I Queen Anne 038 Chair: Bill Davies

Professor TT Arvind (Newcastle University) ‘Civic ghosts: Subjecthood and the failure of law in the Chagos litigation’

Chris Monaghan (University of Greenwich) ‘Revisiting Lord Mance’s dissent in Bancoult (No.2) – in the 800th year of Magna Carta’

Roundtable Discussion: Political and Legal dimensions to the Chagos Litigation Queen Anne 039 Chair: Professor Steven Haines

Presenter: David Snoxell (Coordinator of the Chagos Islands (BIOT) All-Party Parliamentary Group and former British High Commissioner to Mauritius (2000-2004) and Deputy Commissioner for the BIOT (1995-1997)) ‘The role of Parliament and litigation in resolving the Chagos tragedy’ Panellists (will include): Iain Orr, former diplomat at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

12.30 - 13.30 Lunch, Queen Anne 063 (Edinburgh Room)

13.30 - 15.00 (Parallel) Session III

Constitutional Issues II Queen Anne 038 Chair: Bill Davies

Professor Margit Cohn (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) ‘Executive Supremacy: the Chagos Case and Non-Statutory Executive Powers in a Comparative Context’

Ronan Cormacain (Consultant Legislative Draftsman, Director, Sir William Dale Legislative Drafting Clinic, PhD Candidate at IALS) ‘Legislative Quality and Chagos Island Legislation’

Dr Tom Frost (University of Sussex) and Colin Murray (Newcastle University) ‘The New Jurisprudence of Empire’

The Marine Protected Area and the Permanent Court of Arbitration Queen Anne 039 Chair: Professor Steven Haines

Professor David Ong (Nottingham Trent University) ‘The Chagos Marine Protected Area (Mauritius v UK) Arbitration: Implications for the International Legal Resolution of the South China Sea Disputes’

Dr Fiammetta Borgia (University of Rome, ‘Tor Vergeta’) ‘The Chagos Archipelago Sovereignty Dispute, Unlawful Marine Protected Area and Its Implications in International Law: From Land Grabbing to Sea Grabbing’

15.00-15.15 Refreshments, Queen Anne 075 (Council Chamber)

15.15-16.15 The Keynote Address: Professor Philippe Sands QC

The Keynote Address: Professor Philippe Sands QC Queen Anne 075 (Council Chamber)

Professor Philippe Sands QC will be delivering the keynote address. Professor Sands QC currently acts for Mauritius in its proceedings on Chagos, and he represented Mauritius in its recent proceedings against the United Kingdom at the Permanent Court of Arbitration. Professor Sands is a Professor of Law and is the Director of the Centre on International Courts and Tribunals at University College London. He is also a member of Matrix Chambers.

16.15 Close

Delegate Bookings - Now Open

Delegates are now able to book their place at the Chagos Litigation: A Socio-Legal Dialogue conference by emailing lawevents@gre.ac.uk. Please note that places are limited and will be allocated on a first-come-first served basis. The conference is free to attend and it is open to academics, legal practitioners and postgraduate students.

Conference updates and the recent PCA decision

Conference Updates

The Chagos Litigation: A Socio-Legal Dialogue has a new twitter account: @Chagos_Dialogue.

The twitter hashtag is #ChagosDialogue.


PCA Decision

The Guardian has reported on the recent decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration's decision of 18th March 2015 in Republic of Mauritius v United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland:

• Bowcott, O & Jones, S. 'UN ruling raises hope of return for exiled islanders', 19th March 2015, The Guardian, available at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/19/un-ruling-raises-hope-of-return-for-exiled-chagos-islanders

The actual decision can be found on the Permanent Court of Arbitration's webpage: http://www.pca-cpa.org/showpage.asp?pag_id=1429

The keynote speaker, Professor Philippe Sands QC, represented the Republic of Mauritius.

Keynote Speaker: Professor Philippe Sands QC

Professor Philippe Sands QC will be delivering the keynote address at the Chagos Litigation: A Socio-Legal Dialogue conference. Professor Sands QC is a leading international lawyer and has written extensively on international law and the Chagos litigation. Professor Sands is a tenant at Matrix Chambers and a Professor of Law at UCL Laws, University College London.

Further details about the Chagos Litigation: A Socio-Legal Dialogue conference are available on twitter via @UoGLaw, @ChrisJ_Monaghan and #ChagosDialogue.

Getting to Queen Anne Building, University of Greenwich

The Chagos Litigation: A Socio-Legal Dialogue conference will be taking place in Queen Anne Building, University of Greenwich.

Travel directions to the Greenwich campus can be found at http://www2.gre.ac.uk/about/travel/greenwich

The campus is five minutes walk from Cutty Sark DLR station and less than fifteen minutes walk from both Greenwich station and Maze Hill station.

There is car parking outside of the Greenwich campus and this costs £2.50 per hour. The nearest car park is on Park Row, opposite Queen Anne Building.

Call for Papers

Call For Papers

The Chagos Litigation: A Socio-Legal Dialogue

Monday 29^th June 2015, School of Law, University of Greenwich

Queen Anne Building, Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich

Keynote Speaker: Professor Philippe Sands QC

This one-day conference The Chagos Litigation: A Socio-Legal Dialogue will bring together academics and legal practitioners to explore the landmark significance of the Chagos litigation from a number of distinct and interconnected perspectives. The Chagos litigation refers to the cases brought by the former inhabitants of the Chagos Archipelago and the Republic of Mauritius against the United Kingdom. The claim by Mauritius concerned the sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago and the legality of the Marine Protected Area. The Permanent Court of Arbitration has recently ruled that the creation of the Marine Protected Area was inconsistent with the United Kingdom’s international law obligations. The cases brought by the former inhabitants were concerned with inter alia the decision to remove and prevent their return to the Chagos Archipelago.  The conference aims to facilitate a dialogue that brings together academics and legal practitioners who are interested in the different aspects of the Chagos litigation and the wider issues that emanate from this litigation, in order to address these issues from a socio-legal perspective. The conference is hosted by the School of Law and the Human Rights and Social Justice Research Group at the University of Greenwich.

Th keynote speaker is Professor Philippe Sands QC. Professor Sands QC is a leading international lawyer, who is acting as counsel for Mauritius for the proceedings on Chagos and represented Mauritius before the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

Conference Themes: Papers are welcome from those with an academic or professional interest in the issues raised by the Chagos litigation. Papers may be on any aspect of the Chagos litigation, including the constitutional and human rights implications, judicial decision-making, domestic administrative law, legal history, and international law. Papers may be on one particular aspect or alternatively may seek to address broader themes. The conference is free to attend for both presenters and delegates.

Instructions for Presenters: The deadline for the submission of abstracts will be 17^th April 2015. Abstracts will need to be between 200-300 words in length. Presenters will have twenty minutes each excluding time for questions. Notice of acceptance will be made by 1^st May 2015. Please submit abstracts to Chris Monaghan at c.monaghan@gre.ac.uk. It is anticipated that a selection of the papers delivered at the conference will be published as an edited collection. All papers presented at the conference are potentially eligible for inclusion in such a volume.

Further Information: Bookings for delegates will be opened in May 2015.  If you would like any further information please contact the conference organiser Chris Monaghan at c.monaghan@gre.ac.uk   

       #ChagosDialogue @UoGLaw