Charlesworth and Chinkin re-examine the boundaries of international law

In 2000 ‘The Boundaries of International Law: a feminist analysis’ shone a spotlight on the status of women in human rights and international law.

The authors, Hilary Charlesworth and Christine Chinkin, took a critical look at the development of international law, arguing that the absence of women had produced a narrow and inadequate jurisprudence that legitimated the unequal position of women rather than confronted it.

They called for the boundaries of international law to be redrawn to create more equitable status of women in society.

15 years’ on, Charlesworth and Chinkin revisit their ground-breaking feminist analysis as part of the Women, Peace and Security Conversations series produced by the London School of Economics Centre for Women, Peace and Security. What has been achieved, and what challenges remain?

The seminar will be held 6.30pm - 8.00pm on Tuesday 15 December 2015, followed by a reception.

Hilary Charlesworth is Professor of International Law and director of the Centre for International Governance and Justice at the ANU. Christine Chinkin is emerita professor of International Law and founding Director of the Centre for Women, Peace and Security at LSE.

Professors’ Charlesworth and Chinkin have collaborated on projects relating to women and international law since they met in Australia in the 1980s. In 2006 they were jointly awarded the American Society of International Law’s Goler T Butcher Medal in recognition of ‘outstanding contributions to the development or effective realization of international human rights law’.

The event is generously hosted by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.