May 2025 – University of Bristol Law School Blog

The international legal implications of supporting Israel, in light of the ICJ’s provisional measures and advisory opinion

Posted on May 20, 2025 by foluke.adebisi

by Dr. Kathryn Allinson, Lecturer in Law, University of Bristol

*Destruction in the Gaza Strip, Palestine. Image by Hosny Salah, a Palestinian photographer living in the Gaza Strip. Follow him on Pixabay*

The UK government is currently in the High Court defending its ongoing supply of fighter jet components to Israel. The legal dispute centres on the government’s choice to exclude F-35 parts while halting 30 arms licenses to Israel in September 2024. The F-35 plays a crucial role in Israel’s operations in Gaza, enabling the deployment of highly destructive missile strikes. An incident on July 30 resulted in the deaths of 90 Palestinians and injuries to over 300. The lawsuit contends that the UK government’s policy violates the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria, which prohibit the sale of arms to nations where they could be used in violation of international law. (more…)

Free Prior and Informed Consent as a collective right against business interests: insights from indigenous peoples in Southeast Asia

Posted on May 9, 2025May 8, 2025 by foluke.adebisi

by Isabel Inguanzo Associate Professor Department of Political Science & Administration, University of Salamanca, Spain.

In this blog post Professor Inguanzo evaluates the efficacy of free, prior and informed consent for protecting indigenous people against appropriation of ancestral land for business enterprise. (more…)

‘We kill this thing’: making sense of Marikana

Posted on May 8, 2025May 7, 2025 by foluke.adebisi

Bill Dixon Professor of Criminology, University of Nottingham.

In this blog, Professor Dixon examines the events surrounding the Marikana Massacre and provides insight into the role of violence in facilitating corporate profit and political power. (more…)

Combatting Human Rights Impacts in Mining in Sierra Leone

Posted on May 7, 2025May 8, 2025 by foluke.adebisi

This blog features a conversation between Solomon Moses Sogbandi and Jane Rooney. Solomon discusses the impact of Amnesty International Sierra Leone’s report on MEYA mining human rights abuses; the reform of the Mines and Minerals Act 2009; the Koidu Limited Mining Company in the Kono District; and what is, if any, the UK’s role in combating human rights abuses in mining in Sierra Leone. (more…)

Criminal law in Tanzania: policing and the extractive industry

Posted on May 6, 2025 by foluke.adebisi

by Tito Magoti an Advocate of the High Court of Tanzania,

In this blog post, Tito Magoti exposes the weaknesses in the criminal justice system in Tanzania for redressing victims of police brutality in the extractive industry. (more…)

Introduction to Extractive Industry and Foreign Security Network Blog Series

Posted on May 6, 2025 by foluke.adebisi

Dr Lee McConnell is a Senior Lecturer in International Law at the University of Bristol Law School and the primary investigator on the Arts and Humanity Research Council Research Networking Scheme AH/W0072X/1 project, Extractive Industry and Foreign Security Network. Dr Jane Rooney is a Co-investigator and Associate Professor in International Law at Durham Law School. Our Project Partner is the NGO Rights and Accountability in Development.

The Extractive Industry and Foreign Security Network is an international, multi-stakeholder, interdisciplinary research network that investigates adverse human rights impacts arising from the interactions between UK-based extractive industries and the security forces in foreign States.

This blog series distils discussions that took place during the three workshops and two public engagement events from 2023-2024 funded by the AHRC. This series is published alongside a commissioned contribution in a forthcoming Debates and Dialogue Section of the Social and Legal Studies Journal. (more…)