GPI and HRPLC organised Roundtable with Council of Europe experts

On 10 May 2023, the Global Policy Institute and the Human Rights and Public Law Centre of the Durham University welcomed Council of Europe delegation during their short visit to Durham to conduct an interactive session for students and a roundtable “Application of Human Rights in the New Digital Environment”. The delegation was represented by Mr Tigran Karapetyan, Head of Transversal Challenges and Multilateral Task Force Division, and Mr Lee Hibbard, Representative of Human Rights and Biomedicine Division.

Prior to the events, Council of Europe representatives met with the faculty of the Law School and the School of Government and International Affairs, discussing possible collaboration and Council of Europe initiatives on the academic track, such as HELP (Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals) and OCEAN (Open Council of Europe Academic Networks).

During the visit, Mr Karapetyan and Mr Hibbard hosted an open interactive session for students about the main mission, mandate and activities of the Council of Europe, the distinctive features of the organisation and the operations carried out by its directorates. The session was chaired by Dr Eva Maria-Nag, Executive Editor of the Global Policy Journal and Founding Member of the Global Policy Institute. The meeting was concluded by question-and-answer short session, allowing students to converse with the experts in an informal environment.

This was followed by the expert Roundtable entitled “Application of Human Rights in the New Digital Environment”, where the Council of Europe representatives jointly with the scholars and academic staff of the Durham University discussed several topics related to the contemporary challenges to ECHR law and its application to non-standard regulatory environments, as well as procedural issues over attribution of responsibility and best forms of regulation within the Council of Europe mandate. The participants of the Roundtable enjoyed thematic presentations by Dr Eleni Frantziou, co-organiser of the visit, Co-Director of the Human Rights and Public Law Centre and Associate Professor in Public Law and Human Rights, Dr Jane Rooney, Assistant Professor in International Law and Member of the Human Rights and Public Law Centre, and Dr Dimitrios Kagiaros, Assistant Professor in Public Law and Human Rights. The Roundtable was chaired by Dr Kyriaki Nanou, co-organiser of the visit, Co-Director of the Global Policy Institute and Associate Professor in European Politics in the School of Government and International Affairs.  

The visit of the Council of Europe delegation was concluded by the projections of future collaboration between the organisation and the academic staff of the University.
The Global Policy Institute and the Human Rights and Public Law Centre thank all academics and students for their active participation and valuable contribution,  as well as the Council of Europe delegation for the fruitful work and visit!