ABA2020

Call for Papers

Call for Submission

The concept of “right” has been a prevailing theme throughout the human history, even the emergence of “human rights” is relatively recent. The concept of “human rights” may be traced back to the birth of modern state, to the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries human and citizen rights declarations, and further, to the twentieth century human rights declarations and conventions. Finally, one may also argue that “human rights” have acquired its true meaning as a “movement” in the last quarter of the twentieth century. In fact, while the positivistic view of human rights demotes the concept to the regulation by domestic and international laws, a philosophical and political approach sees in it, a mediation of economic and political conflicts until the last quarter of the twentieth century. In the context of the latter, the “human rights” appear as some sort of a social and political program in the 1970s.

On the one hand, the “human rights” is related to all sorts of political forms, in which economic and social demands are expressed through concepts; such as human needs and human dignity. On the other hand, legal conception refers to the legal norms and their practical application. While lawyers mostly tend to deal only with the legal aspect of the concept, the concept of “rights advocacy” is more useful to close the gap between these positivist and idealist conceptions of human rights. At the same time, the practice of professional lawyers in the field of human rights is of great importance both for human rights demands and the application of the norms.

With their varying methods, contemporary authoritarian governments may well be the perpetrators of inequity and injustice, being yet ostensible champions of human rights. Advocating for human rights in the authoritarian settings has its proper risks, but it also comes with its special moral incentives. As we are greeting the twentieth anniversary of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, the decision of the Council of Europe to devise a European Convention on the Profession of Lawyer is an expression of the importance of this issue.

In the face of the political and economic turmoil at national and international levels, Ankara Bar Association has decided to devote XI###sup/sup### International Congress on Law to be held in 2020, in Ankara, to human rights and rights advocacy.

The main goal of the Congress is to establish an international platform where human rights and rights advocacy will be evaluated from an interdisciplinary perspective, and its challenges and problems will be discussed. For this purpose, it is expected that experts from the national and international community consider and discuss the concepts of human rights and rights advocacy from a legal as well as political, economic, sociological and philosophical point of views, and propose new agendas by determining the current situation in Turkey and in the world.

The XI###sup/sup### International Congress on Law of Ankara Bar Association welcomes papers from different disciplines under the main theme of “Human Rights and Rights Advocacy”. 

Themes of Congress

The themes presented below are determined as the main area of interests of the Congress titled “Human Rights and Rights Advocacy.” The Congress is open to contributions within the framework of these themes. 

• Philosophy of Human Rights
• The Rule of Law and Democracy in respect of Human Rights
• The Crisis of Human Rights Protection Mechanisms
• Critical Approaches to Human Rights
• Populism / Authoritarianism in International Relations and Human Rights
• Human Rights under “Security State” Conditions
• Human Rights Movements
• International Standards of Rights Advocacy
• Bar Associations as Human Rights Organization
• History of Lawyers’ Struggle
• Sociology of Lawyer as a Profession
• Lawyer as Rights Holder

Method of Evaluation

It is possible to participate in the Congress by papers in Turkish or English. In addition to this, a group of participants can jointly propose special sessions, and poster presentations are also welcomed in the Congress. 

The evaluation will consider the relevance of the submission with the themes of the Congress, the originality and consistency of the ideas presented. 

The submissions should include the followings

• A maximum of five hundred words
• Five keywords related to the content of the paper,
• Full title and a short biography (up to one hundred and fifty words) of the author,
• The contact details of the author. 

Abstracts and full texts must be sent to: ###a href="mailto:kurultay2020@ankarabarosu.org.tr">kurultay2020@ankarabarosu.org.tr

The Rules and Guidelines of the Congress is available at www.ankarabarosu.org.tr/hukukkurultayi/2020