Economic, Social and Environmental Rights Unit
Our Economic, Social and Environmental Rights Unit undertakes research, teaching, training and consultancy work on economic, social and evironmental rights, which are becoming ever more prominent in human rights law scholarship and practice around the globe.
The economic, social and environmental rights (ESER) expertise within the University of Nottingham School of Law, HRLC encompasses a wide range of issues, such as international, regional and domestic human rights law, the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, health, disability, children's rights, housing and social welfare, sustainable development, public finance and inter-generational justice.
As such, this unit is exceptionally well-placed to take a leading position with regard to ESER research. Reflecting the key themes in contemporary ESER scholarship, the Unit focuses on interdisciplinary work and seeks to engage with a broad spectrum of stakeholders, including:
- governments and other state actors
- practitioners
- advocates
- national human rights institutions
- human rights scholars
- both inter- and non-governmental organisations
Unit Head, Professor Aoife Nolan, has worked with, and acted as an expert advisor to, a wide range of international and national organisations and entities working on human rights issues. These include national governments, the Council of Europe, UN agencies, international NGOs such as ESCR-Net and the Right to Education Project, and multiple national human rights institutions.
People
Unit Head
Professor Aoife Nolan, Professor of International Human Rights Law, who body of work includes extensive publications in relation to children's rights and economic and social rights, as well as on constitutional law.
Unit members
- Professor Peter Bartlett, Nottinghamshire Healthcare Trust Professor of Mental Health Law
- Professor Jeff Kenner, Professor of European Law
- Zinhle Koza, PhD candidate
- Professor Annamaria La Chimia, Professor in Law
- Dr Nell Munro, Assistant Professor in Law
- Dr Victoria Miyandazi, Assistant Professor in Law
- Dr Marianthi Pappa, Associate Professor in Law
- Professor Sangeeta Shah, Professor in Law
- Dr Eliza Varney, Associate Professor in Law
She has also been invited to provide input into the work of the UN Special Rapporteurs including those working on the right to adequatehousing, extreme poverty and human rights, climate change and human rights, the right to development, and the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation. She has also advised UN treaty bodies on ESR issues, including the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. She is President of the European Committee of Social Rights, the leading European economic and social rights monitoring mechanism.
Projects
Unit members are involved in an array of ESER-related activities domestically and internationally. These include our featured project, Advancing Child Rights Strategic Litigation, which focuses on Litigation which seeks to bring about positive legal and social change in terms of children’s enjoyment of their rights.
Advancing Child Rights Strategic Litigation
Led by Professor Aoife Nolan, the three-year project will deepen practice and research collaboration synergies between academic and advocacy partners in the area of child rights strategic litigation.
Publications, news and events
As one of the six research units within the HRLC, you can find all our unit publications, news and events on the publications, news and events pages.