Koen De Feyter Memorial Lecture Series

On 20 September 2024, Professor Koen De Feyter passed away. Unexpectedly. Professor De Feyter was an inspirational scholar. He published widely on human rights and development cooperation, the rights of indigenous peoples, human rights and business, and the right to development. His driving force was his quest for justice, in particular for indigenous peoples, local communities and the Palestinian people. Professor De Feyter brought people together and built global communities that became intellectual homes for so many scholars.

Professor De Feyter was a driving force in the establishment of the LDRN. He was also the LDRN’s chair until mid-September 2024. His contribution to the establishment of a global approach to law and development and an infused global justice agenda into law and development was significant. His work will continue to inspire the Network’s research and practice.

In this lecture series, four colleagues from different parts of the world, who have closely collaborated with professor De Feyter, will commemorate his life and legacy.

Date

Room

Name

Affiliation

Lecture title

Wed 26/2

SC 002

Daniel Matthew

National Law University-Delhi

Balancing Scales: Human Rights Considerations in Investment Arbitration

Thu 13/3

SC 103

Carol Ngang

National University of Lesotho

State’s Entitlement to Assert the Right to Development: An Enquiry into the Unsettled Controversy

Tue 18/3

SC 103

Dana Farraj

Birzeit University/Burgundy University

The Right of People to Self-Determination between a Legal Interpretation and an Emancipatory Perspective

Wed 26/3

SC 002

Liliana Lizarazo Rodriguez

Brussels School of Governance

Koen De Feyter and the Evolution of Law and Development in the 21st Century 

The lecture series is a joint initiative of the Law and Development Research Group and the Faculty of Law of the University of Antwerp.

Practical information

Each lecture starts at 5 p.m. and will end latest at 7 p.m.

Venue: University of Antwerp Stadscampus, Building s.C. Grote Kauwenberg 2, 2000 Antwerpen. 

The lectures will also be available through live-stream via this link: https://lnkd.in/eiVXtNaj.

Registration is not necessary.

If you have any questions, please contact the Law and Development Research Group (lawanddevelopment@uantwerpen.be).

Call for Papers: FD UFMG – LDRN 7th General Conference

About the Conference

The increasing integration of global legal policies and institutions with local institutions has generated a growing interest among governments, legal professionals, policymakers and academics in analysing the role of law and possible reforms to address development challenges and promote inclusive growth. Over the past 75 years, research into Law and Development has shown that legal systems are fundamental in addressing the challenges of economic development, growth and distributive equality, not only in countries of the Global South, but throughout the world. This interdisciplinary field of study draws on several disciplines, including economics, sociology, political science, cultural studies and, of course, law itself.

The Law and Development Research Network (LDRN) and the UFMG Faculty of Law (FDUFMG) are honoured to announce the 7th General Conference, taking place at the Faculty of Law of the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil, between 15 – 18 July 2025.

The Conference will provide a unique opportunity for academics from Latin America to present their ideas on the region’s development challenges with scholars from other parts of the Global South and North. In addition, the Conference will promote the formation of academic and research partnerships between the participating academics and institutions.

A workshop for emerging scholars, aligned with the conference theme, is being planned. Further details will be communicated in due time.

Conference Theme: Extractivism, Development and Human Rights

The Conference will discuss a wide variety of themes and subjects relevant to neo-extractive development, human rights, law and development, including the following areas:

        • Extractivism, land, natural resources and development;
        • Indigenism/Indigenous cosmovision and development;
        • Access to justice, strategic litigation and development;
        • Development, nature and human rights;
        • International law, institutional governance and development;
        • Financial institutions, corporate capture and corporate responsibility in the context of law and development;
        • Democracy, digitalisation and law and development;
        • Disability rights and development;
        • Suffering, injustice and the dialectic of law and development;
        • Post development, maldevelopment, sustainable development;
        • Law and human rights in settler states.

The Conference welcomes applications from a wide range of researchers and encourages submissions concerned with children’s rights, gender, health, race, poverty, inequality and discrimination as relevant to the theme.

Call for papers

FDUFMG and LDRN reserve the right to select the papers for final presentation at the conference. The papers will be grouped into panels (approximately 20 simultaneous sessions), four papers per panel, in addition to the opening and closing sessions.

In addition to the general call for individual papers, we also encourage individuals to organise their own panels, including fully formed panel proposals, by coordinating with colleagues, preferably from LDRN partner institutions, along the theme of the conference. This will allow for more cohesive panels and will foster greater collaboration among participants, which is one of the key aims of the LDRN Conference. The organisers reserve the right to make changes to the panel allocation.

We also encourage the proposals of ‘Practitioner Conversations’ and ‘Book Launch Conversations’. The organizing committee will determine date and time of these presentations as soon as the demand is defined.

The possibility of online participation may be explored in exceptional cases.

Selection Criteria

The selection process will be conducted by a group of academics specialised in the interdisciplinary field of law and development. The assessment criteria will be based on: abstract quality; relevance to law and development and the theme of the conference; geographic diversity; and balance between senior and junior researchers. Participants must be university professors, PhD holders or doctoral candidates. Exceptionally, we may consider submissions from researchers at LDRN partner institutions who hold a masters’ or an undergraduate degree. Preference will be given to in-person presentations; however, online presentations will be considered in exceptional circumstances.

Guidelines for Submission

Abstracts may be submitted in English, Spanish, or Portuguese. The maximum word limit is 500 words for individual submissions and 750 words for co-authored submissions. Each abstract must be linked to a specific track and include four keywords. The submission deadline is 24 January 2025. Abstracts received after the submission deadline may be rejected. The submission must include a disclaimer stating that the article is original and has not been previously published or is currently under consideration elsewhere. All submissions will undergo a plagiarism check.

Abstracts should be followed by an outline of the article (more details concerning the date and format will follow once all abstracts have been reviewed). 

The abstract should be formatted in font size 12 with 1.5 line spacing for the main text and automatic spacing between paragraphs. Footnotes should be in font size 10 with single line spacing. Both the main text and footnotes must adhere to the 2012 edition of the Oxford Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA). Co-authorship is allowed, and the abstract must be submitted in PDF format.

Abstracts may be submitted online using this form: https://forms.gle/TTvAHqu79nR2Yt2Y8

Accepted abstracts will be notified by email by 14 February 2025. Please provide a valid e-mail address.

Venue, Accommodation & Visa

The Faculty of Law of the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) will be the main venue for the Conference. The Faculty is in the city centre and is close to the bus connection to Belo Horizonte International Airport (CNF). We regret our inability to provide accommodation and cover the travel costs of all participants.

Nearby hotels and accommodation: Belo Horizonte Plaza Hotel, Dayrell Hotel & Centro de Convenções, and Ibis Belo Horizonte Liberdade are some of the hotels in the vicinity of the Faculty that the participants can book themselves for their stay in Belo Horizonte.

The conference organizers are prepared to provide a letter of support to assist with the visa application process if needed.

Registration Fee

The registration fee for the Conference is US$100 for international participants and R$500 for local participants. All local PhD candidates, masters’ and undergraduate students may participate in the Conference at R$250. All international PhD candidates, masters’ and undergraduate students may participate in the conference at US$50. In exceptional circumstances, a fee waiver is possible, subject to the discretion of the organising committee. A link for online payment will be provided.

Conference Organising Committee

Fabiano Teodoro Lara (UFMG); Edilson Vitorelli (UFMG);  Ricardo Ruiz (UFMG); Diogo Coutinho (University of São Paulo); C. Ignacio de Casas (Universidad Austral); Joanna Botha (Nelson Mandela University); Sam Adelman (University of Warwick); Gamze Erdem Türkelli (University of Antwerp).

Conference e-mail: 7LDRN.BR@GMAIL.COM

*** All abstracts must be submitted via this form: https://forms.gle/TTvAHqu79nR2Yt2Y8

IN MEMORIAM: PROF KOEN DE FEYTER – ON BEHALF OF THE LAW AND DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH NETWORK

It is with deep sadness that the Law and Development Research Network (the LDRN) mark the passing of Koen De Feyter on 20 September. Koen was a professor of international law and dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Antwerp, where he completed his doctorate. He was previously attached to the Human Rights Centre of the University of Maastricht, the Institute of Development Policy of the University of Antwerp and served as the Academic Coordinator of the European Master in Human Rights and Democratisation (Venice, Italy). He is a former Chair of Amnesty International Belgium (1998-1999).

Koen was an expert in human rights and North-South relations, socio-legal research in non-Western countries such as Bolivia, China, DRC, India, Palestine, and law and development generally. He worked with the UN Human Rights Council on the recognition of a right to development. He was a driving force in the establishment of the LDRN. Koen was also the LDRN’s informal chair until mid-September 2024. His contribution to the establishment of a global approach to law and development and an infused global justice agenda into law and development was significant. His work will continue to inspire the Network’s research and practice.

Koen’s output was substantial. His publications include World Development Law (2001), Human Rights and Social Justice in the Age of the Market (2005), Out of the Ashes: Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations of Human Rights (2006, co-ed.), Economic Globalisation and Human Rights (2007, co-ed.), The Right to Development : a treaty and its discontents (2016), and the Encyclopaedia of Law and Development (2021, co-ed.) Koen was instrumental in ensuring the involvement of scholars from across the globe is the compilation of the Encyclopaedia, a work which involved many of the Network’s partners as co-editors and co-authors. This collaborative approach epitomises Koen – as a person and as a scholar. He also published numerous articles in journals such as the Loyola University of New Orleans Human Rights Review, the Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights and the Africa Legal Aid Quarterly.

The Network (the LDRN) extends its deepest condolences to Koen’s family. He was a remarkable individual and scholar who inspired and guided many across the globe. Koen’s influence will endure through his body of work and the lasting impact he made on the students, researchers, and the colleagues he engaged with throughout his career. We will miss you, Koen, and will ensure that your legacy is reflected in the Network’s work in the future.

To ensure that everyone who knew Koen has the opportunity to attend the funeral taking place this Friday, 27 September, at 15:00 CET, a livestream will be provided, which you can access via this link: https://storycatchers.live/uitvaart-koen-de-feyter/. This link may be shared with others within your network who knew Koen.

Please note that the University of Antwerp has made available a Condolences Registry that his colleagues, students and friends from all over the world could sign to be delivered to Koen’s family.