
We are pleased to announce that Dr Koldo Casla and Dr Fikayo Taiwo of the Essex Law School made successful applications for the 2022 YERUN Research Mobility Awards!
Young European Research Universities Network (YERUN) is a network of young research universities in Europe seeking to have a true impact on the role and nature of academic pursuit. The competitive Research Mobility awards support early career researchers to establish new research collaborations within the YERUN network while providing a platform to promote multidisciplinary research.
Dr Koldo Casla will work alongside Marion Sandner (PhD candidate at Antwerp University) on the meaning of solidarity and responsibility in global politics and in international law, and the relationship between these two ideas and social rights.
Solidarity is one of the unifying principles of a society. But does solidarity have a role in the international society? How is solidarity recognised in international human rights law? What are the implications of the recognition of solidarity within nations and between nations? In other words, if we are bound by solidarity, what do we owe each other, and what does this mean for human rights, and for social rights in particular? These are some of the key questions Koldo and Marion will be busy with in the next few months.
Dr Fikayo Taiwo will work with Martin Munu (PhD candidate at Maastricht University) on access to justice, regional economic integration and electronic commerce (e-commerce).
As access to justice is a sustainable development goal (SDG), the researchers will investigate the extent to which the nascent Agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) dispute resolution mechanism advocates this SDG for e-commerce disputes. Given the increasing popularity and complexity of e-commerce and the societal peculiarities on its availability and use across the continent, as well as the inspiration drawn from the World Trade Organisation Dispute Settlement Understanding (WTO-DSU), the researchers will consider any gaps in WTO rules and case law covering e-commerce with the objective of drawing any possible lessons for promoting access to justice under the AfCFTA, and contributing towards sustainable, inclusive socio-economic development in Africa.
The collaborations will last until the end of 2023. We look forward to announcing their findings. Watch this space!