Call for Papers | 14th SOAS Law PhD Colloquium 2022: Law, Media and Rights

“Freedom of the press is not an end in itself but a means to the end of achieving a free society.” Felix Frankfurter, US Supreme Court Judge 1939-1962

Law and the media are social institutions which are inescapably interlinked. The law restricts and facilitates reporting, in both broadcasting and social media, affecting both the rights of individuals and the freedoms of society at large. On its part,  the media brings political accountability to lawmaking, legal processes and legal systems. Both shape and are shaped by societal values, beliefs and history in different and important ways. Because only a small proportion of the public has direct experience with courts or the legal system, public knowledge and perceptions of the law and legal system are largely dependent on their portrayal in the media. At the same time, lawmakers, the police and the courts constantly deal with crimes and civil wrongs committed on or connected with individuals and the media – such as defamation, privacy and incitement, and cybercrime.

“Freedom of discussion is in England little else than the right to write or say anything which a jury of twelve shopkeepers think it expedient should be said or written.” A.V. Dicey, British Jurist 1835-1922

The scope of traditional media has also expanded greatly from the chatter of the town square and of conventional outlets such as newspaper, television and radio to the internet and social media.  The relationship between law and the media has never been as complicated as in this current era where ‘news’ sources are so varied and fast moving, where journalists who expose ‘the truth’ are under threat more than ever, and mistrust in news sources is at an all time high. How we move forward has led to heated debates on law and policy and how we reshape the relationship between law and media, whilst protecting fundamental rights.

This Colloquium invites submissions that discuss how the law interacts to the media and social media. We invite submissions related to this theme in broad and creative ways including (but not limited to):

• law and the media as accountability tools
• how law shapes the media and vice versa
• media coverage of legal issues, pretrial publicity, crime reporting and contempt, courts and television and cameras in court
• how the law and the media create or impact cultural norms and beliefs
• issues relating to regulation and taxation of social media companies and platforms
• cybercrimes relating to fundamental freedoms
• exceptions to freedom of information (such as Official Secrets laws) and how they impact accountability
• media narratives of the law, legal processes and the legal system
• law and censorship, defamation and privacy
• poetry, fiction, nonfiction and law as other forms of narrative and expression
• law and hate speech, antisemitism, Islamophobia and (violent) extremism

This one-day Colloquium on Tuesday 7th of June 2022 aims to bring together doctoral researchers from the UK and across the globe to present their work in a supportive and collaborative environment. Participants will get a chance to present their research and receive feedback from leading academics in their field. Participants should be registered in a PhD Programme (or other research degrees). Participants need not necessarily be registered in the Law department. Participants from journalism, sociology, political science and related subjects are particularly encouraged to make submissions.

Submission of Abstract:

The Colloquium welcomes abstracts of no more than 500 words by Friday 18th March 2022 to soaslawphdcolloquium@gmail.com . Submissions should be accompanied with the name of applicant, current degree programme, year/stage of PhD, name of institution and contact details.