Dr Irene Antonopoulos and Dr Eugenio Vaccari discuss their research and social justice issues in the areas of human rights and environmental protection on one side, and treatment of debtors and creditors in insolvency on the other.
The Rights and Freedoms Research Cluster within the Department of Law and Criminology at Royal Holloway, University of London engages in impactful, multi-disciplinary research. The cluster provides a forum for its members to share ideas and information, as well as to support each other’s research.
The cluster members have expertise, which spans through a variety of disciplines and subjects. In this news article, we have uploaded some recent interviews with two newly appointed lecturers at the Department of Law and Criminology: Dr Irene Antonopoulos and Dr Eugenio Vaccari. These interviews show the links between the cluster members’ research and social justice issues in the areas of human rights and environmental protection on one side, and treatment of debtors and creditors in insolvency on the other.
In the first video, Dr Antonopoulos speaks of the bi-directional intersection between human rights and environmental change, and how this affects the way the law is shaped. Dr Antonopoulos also makes reference to her previous research based on the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights, by discussing the extent to which such jurisprudence has shaped the relationship between human rights and environmental change. Dr Antonopoulos also speaks of her past work at the Council of Europe, where she looked at the social right aspects of environmental degradation, before covering the most current topics of her research.
In the following video, Dr Antonopoulos speaks of the connection of her work with social justice issues, with particular reference to how environmental issues raised by grassroot movements are now leading to an evolution of the case law in the area. She also speaks of private players’ corporate responsibility issues, as well as the impact of recent judicial decisions for the evolution of human rights and environmental law, on a domestic and transnational perspective. Finally, Dr Antonopoulos voices her concerns about polluting actions, as well as the responsibility of states to prevent them from happening, or to limit the negative consequences on the environment.
On the other hand, Dr Vaccari specialises in commercial and insolvency-related matters. In the video uploaded below, Dr Vaccari speaks of the meaning of “insolvency”, as well as the current and most topical issues experienced by companies in economic or financial distress. The video also mentions comparative aspects of his research, as well as the issues faced by hospitals and local public entities facing financial difficulties and budget cuts.
Dr Vaccari also explores in deeper details the consequences associated with the opening of an insolvency or restructuring procedure, from the perspective of both creditors and debtors. Insolvency law is a mechanism for changing the way contracts operate. As a result, research needs to be carried out to determine on the basis of which criteria parties should be allowed to amend the terms and conditions of executory contracts. As a result, Dr Vaccari explores in the last part of this interview the corporate responsibility issues associated with insolvency practice.
The interviews were recorded with the technical help of Kasandra Matthews, a researcher working at the Department of Law and Criminology at Royal Holloway, University of London on this project. The interviews form part of a video-based research project under the supervision of Prof Jill Marshall who leads the Rights and Freedoms research cluster and who received competitive funding through the Reid Research Fund to undertake the project.
