I was fortunate to visit the Max Planck Institute of Comparative Public Law and International Law in Heidelberg, Germany last week, for two engagements.
On Tuesday 13 October 2026 I presented a seminar on draft work pertaining to how built urban infrastructure features in international human rights law and humanitarian law, based on my recent background paper for the interim report of the International Law Association’s committee on urbanisation and international law. I received some stellar feedback, for which I am extremely grateful.
Then, on behalf of the School of Law at Wits University, I was co-organiser of a conference entitled “Human Rights: Rising under Distress? The African Court at 20”, held at the Institute on Wednesday 14 October 2026. The conference used the event of the recent 20th birthday of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights to reflect on the successes of, and challenges facing international and regional human rights institutions in the current social and political climate. Culminating in an evening panel featuring the Judge President of the African Court alongside a Justice of the European Court of Human Rights and the Deputy President of the German Constitutional Court, the event sparked fruitful, insightful and timely dialogue between scholars of the African, European and Inter-American human rights systems.
