October 19 – 21, 2016
Belfast, Northern Ireland

This international conference will bring together NGOs, community activists, litigators, academics and funders to reflect on how strategic litigation can transform lives and enable people and communities to realise their rights.

Register Now

A joint project of Law Centre (NI), Social Change Initiative and The Atlantic Philanthropies.

---

Conference purpose

With speakers from different geographic and legal settings, the conference aims to explore:

• Lessons learnt from the use of test case litigation to date
• Strategic litigation as a tool for promoting social justice
• Models and approaches to supporting strategic litigation

Conference programme

Wednesday 19 October
The conference will be opened by a senior legal figure.

Plenary sessions

• How can strategic litigation deliver transformative change? International perspectives
• Recent research findings on strategic litigation
• Drinks and conference dinner

Thursday 20 October

Plenary sessions

• Using transnational and quasi-judicial fora
• The ‘right’ time and the ‘right’ case

Issue-focused workshops to include:

• Slavery and forced labour: ending impunity
• Asylum seekers and refugees
• Children’s rights
• Disability rights
• Environmental rights
• Litigating for social rights: the case of equal access to quality education
• Poverty and social welfare rights
• Health rights
• Litigating for the prohibition of violations: the case of custodial torture

Friday 21 October

Plenary sessions

• Models and approaches to supporting strategic litigation
• Making sure the outcome makes a difference: protecting wins

Law Centre (NI) Social Justice Lecture
This event will be followed by the Law Centre (NI) Annual Social Justice Lecture: Social Justice and Human Rights, with The Rt Hon. the Baroness Hale of Richmond DBE. To ensure your place at the lecture, please make a separate reservation (see below under ‘Conference Cost’).

 Confirmed speakers

• Judith Stein, Executive Director, Centre for Medicare Advocacy, USA
• Nurina Ally, Executive Director of the Equal Education Law Centre, South Africa
• Baher Azmy, Legal Director of the Center for Constitutional Rights, USA
• Nick Grono, Chief Executive Officer of the Freedom Fund, Australia
• Nicolette Naylor, Ford Foundation, South Africa
• Erika Dailey, Open Society Justice Initiative, USA
• Christina Swarns, Litigation Director, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, USA
• Shubhaa Srinivasan, Partner, Leigh Day, UK
• Melissa Murray, Project Manager and Solicitor, PILS Project, Northern Ireland
• Free Legal Advice Centres (FLAC) representative, Republic of Ireland
• Henderson Hill, Executive Director of the Death Penalty US 8th Amendment Project, USA
• Erica Emdon, National Director of probono.org, South Africa
• Irene de Vos, Senior Legal Researcher and General Counsel, Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa
• Michael Farrell, Appointed Member of the President of Ireland’s Council of State and  Member of the Council of Europe, European Commission against Racism and Intolerance, Republic of Ireland
• Mary Meg McCarthy, Executive Director, Heartland Alliance National Immigrant Justice Center, USA
• Amy Rose, Head of Strategic Litigation, Client Earth
• Sophie Earnshaw, Child Poverty Action Group, UK
• Julia Zelvenska, European Council on Refugees and Exiles
• Children’s Law Centre, Northern Ireland
• Gail Birkbeck, The Atlantic Philanthropies

Register Now