Liora Lazarus

Liora’s expertise sits at the interface between security, the rule of law, and human rights. She came to the Peter A. Allard School of Law in 2020 after a twenty year career at the University of Oxford. During here time at Oxford she was Head of Research at the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights, Fellow in Law at St. Anne's College, and Associate Professor in Law. She remains a Supernumerary Fellow of St. Anne’s College, Oxford, and was recognized as Professor in Human Rights Law at Oxford in October 2020.

Background

Born and raised in South Africa, she studied African Economic History at the University of Cape Town and Law at the London School of Economics and Political Science. She completed her DPhil in Law at Balliol College at the University of Oxford in 2001, where she was a Jowett Scholar. From 1994-95 she was a Fellow of the Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law, Freiburg, Germany.

Academic work

Liora’s first monograph, Contrasting Prisoners’ Rights (OUP) and article ‘Conceptions of Liberty Deprivation’ (Modern Law Review) shaped the field of prisoners’ rights. Subsequently, her research has focused primarily on the broader relationship between security and fundamental rights.  The results of this scholarship have been disseminated in a range of journal articles including International Legal Materials and The Federal Law Review, book chapters in edited collections such as The Philosophical Foundations of Human Rights and the Max Planck Encyclopedia in Comparative Constitutional Law (OUP), and blog sites such as EJIL talk and Opinio Juris. The themes are also reflected in two collections which she co-edited: Security and Human Rights and Reasoning Rights (Hart Publishing). 

Liora is the founding and lead editor of the book series Hart Studies in Security and Justice, articles editor of the Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, and a member of the editorial boards of the Journal of Human Rights Practice and the Max Planck Encyclopedia for Comparative Constitutional Law. She was previously the book review editor on the European Human Rights Law Review. She has attracted significant research funding (individually and jointly) over the course of her career. This includes a British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship, the Oxford Martin Programme on Human Rights for Future Generations, and the Policy and Evidence Centre on Modern Slavery from the United Kingdom Research and Innovation Fund.

Expert Advisory Work

Over her career, Liora has complemented her academic work with expert legal advisory work. Most recently, Liora acted as an Independent Expert on the Council of Europe working group which produced the report ‘Respecting human rights and the rule of law when using automated technology to detect online child sexual exploitation and abuse’. Prior to this, Liora had published a number of major public reports for inter alia: the UK Ministry of Justice (2007 and 2009), the UK Stern Review on the Handling of Rape Complaints (2010), and the European Union Parliament (2011).

Alongside these reports, Liora has submitted work to a range of public inquiries including the Basque Working Group on the Treatment of Political Detainees in light of the ETA ceasefire (2014) and the UK Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Committee on the Draft Modern Slavery Bill (2014). Liora has also advised on national compliance to the Lanzarote Committee of the Council of Europe and the European Commission on norms applicable in the EU area of freedom, security, and justice (AFSJ).

Liora also co-founded and led Oxford Pro Bono Publico (OPBP) with colleagues at Oxford, and has supervised the publication of thirteen OPBP reports on a range of issues connected to her academic expertise. 

Teaching and public lectures

During her time at Oxford, Liora created three new human rights courses at the undergraduate and postgraduate level, and also supervised forty graduate students at the Masters and Doctoral level in her field of expertise.  Many of her supervisees have gone on to become leaders in their fields both within academia and the legal profession.  At Allard, Liora teaches Transnational Law in the first year of the JD, and has developed two research seminar courses:  International Human Rights Law and Security and Human Rights. 

Liora has been invited to guest lecture, and deliver a number of public lectures, in areas related to her work. These include the Barbara Aronstein Lecture at Columbia Law School, New York; the Global and Comparative Public Law Colloquium at New York University; the Centre for African Studies, Harvard University; the Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge; the Institute of British Studies, Humboldt University, Berlin; the University of New South Wales Law School, Sydney; the Basque Human Rights Congress; and the University of Strasbourg Institute for Advanced Study.

Associations

Liora is a Visiting Professor at Goldsmiths, University of London, and an Associate of the Berlin Institute of Cultural Inquiry.  She held the Douglas McK Brown Visiting Chair in Law at the Peter A. Allard School, UBC in 2018. Previously she has held visiting fellowships at the Gilbert and Tobin Centre for Public law at the University of New South Wales Law School, Sydney, and a research association at the Faculty of Law, University of Cape Town.

Research and Publications

To learn more about my research, please visit my PURE Research profile. You can also access my publications on the following sites: 

• Allard Research Commons / bepress Legal Repository Search
• UBC Library Faculty Publications Database
• SSRN (Social Science Research Network)
• HeinOnline

Respecting human rights and the rule of law when using automated technology to detect online child sexual exploitation and abuse https://rm.coe.int/respecting-human-rights-and-the-rule-of-law-when-using-automated-techn/1680a2f5ee

L Lazarus, Shreya Atrey, Stefan Theil and Elizabeth Stubbins-Bates and others, A Preliminary Human Rights Assessment of Legislative and Regulatory Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic across 11 Jurisdictions (Bonavero Institute of Human Rights 2020)

L Lazarus, 'Constitutional Scholars as Constitutional Actors' (2020) Federal Law Review (forthcoming)

L Lazarus, 'Insecurity and Human Rights' in Dapo Akande, Jaakko Kuosmanen and Dominic Roser (eds), Human Rights and 21st Century Challenges: Poverty, Conflict and the Environment (Oxford University Press 2020)

L Lazarus, 'Preventive Obligations, Risk and Coercive Overreach' in L Lavrysen and N Mavronicola (eds), Coercive Human Rights (Hart Publishing 2020)

L Lazarus, 'Securitizing Sustainable Development? – the coercive sting in SDG 16' in Markus Kaltenborn et al (ed), SDGs and Human Rights (Springer 2020)

L Lazarus, 'Brexit in the Supreme Court: when populists attack the rule of law, we all lose' (2019) The Conversation

L Lazarus, 'El terrorismo y la inseguridad de los derechos humanos' in Jon-Mirena Landa Gorostiza and Enara Garro Carrera (eds), Retos Emergentes de los Derechos Humanos: ¿Garantías en Peligro? (Tirant Lo Blanch 2019)

L Lazarus, 'Secrecy as a Meta-Paradigmatic Challenge' in Benjamin Goold and Liora Lazarus (eds), Security and Human Rights (Hart Publishing 2019)

Benjamin Goold and L Lazarus (eds), Security and Human Rights (2nd end Hart Publishing 2019)

L Lazarus and Benjamin J. Goold, 'Security and Human Rights: Finding a Language of Resilience and Inclusion' in Benjamin J. Goold and Liora Lazarus (eds), Security and Human Rights (Hart Publishing 2019)

L Lazarus, 'Doing Violence to the Rule of Law' (2018) Douglas McK Brown Lecture, Peter Allard School of Law, University of British Columbia

L Lazarus and Jessie Blackbourn, 'Intelligence and the Criminal Law in England and Wales' in Matthew Dyson and Benjamin Vogel (eds), The Limits of Criminal Law (Intersentia 2018)

L Lazarus, 'Do Human Rights Impede Effective Counterterrorism?' (2017) U.K. Const. L. Blog

L Lazarus, 'Human Rights and Counterterrorism' (2017) OxHRH Blog

Tom Lowenthal and L Lazarus, The Right to Effective and Guilty Pleas in Criminal Courts: A Comparative Report for Reprieve (Oxford Pro Bono Publico 2017)

L Lazarus, 'The Right to Security' in (ed), Max Planck Encyclopedia of Comparative Constitutional Law (Oxford University Press 2017)

Ndjodi Ndeunyema and L Lazarus and others, A Report on Reparations and Remedies for Victims of Sexual and Gender Based Violence (Oxford Pro Bono Publico 2016)

L Lazarus, 'Introductory Note To United Nations Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right of Anyone Deprived of Their Liberty to Bring Proceedings Before a Court ' (2016) 55 International Legal Materials

L Lazarus, 'Is the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention Decision on Assange ‘So Wrong’?' (2016) U.K. Const. L. Blog

L Lazarus, 'The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention decision on Assange: ‘ridiculous’ or ‘justifiable’?' (2016) EJIL: Talk

L Lazarus, 'United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention Decision on Assange: The Balanced View' (2016) Opinio Juris

L Lazarus, 'WGAD & Assange' (2016) Counsel Magazine

L Lazarus and Natasha Simonsen, 'Democratic Deliberation and Judicial Review' in Murray Hunt (ed), Parliament and Human Rights: Redressing the Democratic Deficit (Oxford University Press 2015)

Z Vermeer, P Abel, L Lazarus and R Amarnath and others, Submission to the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee, House of Commons, Consultation on‘ A New Magna Carta?’ (Oxford Pro Bono Publico 2015)

L Lazarus, 'The Right to Security' in Rowan Cruft, Matthew Liao and Massimo Renzo (eds), The Philosophical Foundations of Human Rights (Oxford University Press 2015)

L Lazarus, Chris McCrudden and Nigel Bowles (eds), Reasoning Rights: Comparative Judicial Engagement (Hart Publishing 2014)

Miles Jackson, Tamas Szigeti and L Lazarus, Report for Hungarian Civil Liberties Union on Comparative Hate Crime (Oxford Pro Bono Publico 2014)

Eirik Bjorge, Vrinda Bhandari, Eleanor Mitchell, Kate Mitchell and L Lazarus, Report for UN Special Rapporteur on Arbitrary Detention on Rights of Persons Deprived of their Liberty (Oxford Pro Bono Publico 2014)

L Lazarus, Written Submission to Joint Committee on the Draft Modern Slavery Bill ( 2014)

Kate Mitchell, Tamas Szigeti and L Lazarus, Comparative Study for Blackstone Chambers on Mass Surveillance and Civil Liberties (Oxford Pro Bono Publico 2013)

L Lazarus and Ryan Goss, 'Criminal Justice under the UK Human Rights Act: dynamic interaction between domestic and international law' (2013) Singapore Academy of Law Journal

L Lazarus, 'How about a British Bill of Rights?' (2013) The Ship 57

L Lazarus, Benjamin Goold and Caitlin Goss, 'Control without Punishment: Understanding Coercion' in Jonathan Simon and Richard Sparks (eds), Handbook of Punishment and Society (Sage Press 2012)

L Lazarus, 'Positive Obligations and Criminal Justice: Duties to Protect or Coerce' in Julian Roberts and Lucia Zedner (eds), Principled Approaches to Criminal Law and Criminal Justice: Essays in Honour of Professor Andrew Ashworth (Oxford University Press 2012)

L Lazarus, 'The Right to Security - Securing Rights or Securitizing Rights' in Dickinson et al (ed), Examining Critical Perspectives on Human Rights (Cambridge University Press 2012)

L Lazarus, 'Rights Persuasion: A response to Jeremy Waldron' in Kate Tunstall (ed), Self Evident Truths?: Human Rights and the Enlightenment (Bloomsbury 2012)

L Lazarus, Adam Tomkins and Helen Fenwick, 'Terrorist asset-freezing - Continuing flaws in the current scheme' (2011) 25 International Review of Law, Computers and Technology 117

Sandra Fredman, Chris McConnachie and L Lazarus, Memorandum for the Legal Resources Centre (South Africa) on Comparative Hate Speech Law (Oxford Pro Bono Publico 2011)

Alecia Johns, Hayley Hooper and L Lazarus, Report for JCHR - Supplementary Comparative Research on the use of Secret Evidence in the United States (Oxford Pro Bono Publico 2011)

Anne Carter, Nabiya Syed, Ryan Goss and L Lazarus, Report for JCHR - The Use of Secret Evidence in Judicial Proceedings: A Comparative Survey (Oxford Pro Bono Publico 2011)

Laura Hilly, Lawrence Hill-Cawthorne and L Lazarus, Submission to British Bill of Rights Commission - Reconciling domestic superior courts with the ECHR and the ECtHR (Oxford Pro Bono Publico 2011)

L Lazarus, 'The Composition of the UK Bill of Rights Commission' (2011) UK Constitutional Law Group Blog

L Lazarus, Cathryn Costello, Nazila Ghanea-Hercock and Katja Ziegler, The Evolution of Fundamental Rights Charters and Case Law (European Parliament Directorate General for Internal Policies 2011)

L Lazarus, A Tomkins and H Fenwick, Submission in response to HM Treasury: Public Consultation: Draft Terrorist Asset-Freezing Bill (Cm 7852) ( 2010)

L Lazarus, The Human Rights Framework Relating to the Handling, Investigation and Prosecution of Rape Complaints, Annex A to the Stern Report on The Handling of Rape Complaints (UK Ministry of Justice 2010)

L Lazarus, 'Inspecting the Tail of the Dog' in Melissa McCarthy (ed), Incarceration and Human Rights (Manchester University Press 2010)

Miles Jackson, Patricia Jimenez Kwast and L Lazarus, Memorandum for Reprieve UK and Clive Stafford Smith on Kiyemba v Obama (Oxford Pro Bono Publico 2009)

L Lazarus, Benjamin Goold, Rajendra Desai and Qudsi Rasheed, The Relationship Between Rights and Responsibilities (Ministry of Justice Research Series 18/09 2009)

Jennifer Robinson and L Lazarus, Report for the UN Special Rapporteur on Business and Human Rights - Obstacles for Victims of Corporate Human Rights Violations (Oxford Pro Bono Publico 2008)

L Lazarus, 'Report for UN SR on Business and Human Rights - Obstacles to Justice and Redress for Victims of Corporate Human Rights Abuses ' (2008) Oxford Pro Bono Publico

L Lazarus, 'Civilizing Security by I Loader and N Walker' (2008) Public Law Winter [Review]

L Lazarus, 'The President, The Prosecutor, and the Secular Priest: corruption, politics and the courts - Jacob Zuma v National Director of Public Prosecution' (2008) Oxford Legal Studies Research Paper No. 46/2008

L Lazarus, 'Mapping the Right to Security' in Benjamin J Goold and Liora Lazarus (eds), Security and Human Rights (Hart Publishing 2007)

L Lazarus, BJ Goold and G Swiney, Public Protection, Proportionality and the Search for Balance (Ministry of Justice Research Series 10/07 2007)

L Lazarus and BJ Goold (eds), Security and Human Rights (Hart 2007)

L Lazarus and BJ Goold, 'Security and Human Rights: The Search for a Language of Reconcilliation' in Benjamin J Goold and Liora Lazarus (eds), Security and Human Rights (Hart Publishing 2007)

L Lazarus, 'Conceptions of Liberty Deprivation' (2006) 69 Modern Law Review 738

Veronika Fikfak and L Lazarus, Legal Research to assist with the drafting of Amendments to the Law on Criminal Procedure of Bosnia-Herzegovina (Oxford Pro Bono Publico 2005)

L Lazarus, Contrasting Prisoners' Rights: A Comparative Examination of England and Germany (OUP 2004)

Sarah McCosker, Ben Saul, Deborah Sandler and L Lazarus, Privileged Memo for Clive Stafford Smith for US v AL QOSI (Oxford Public Interest Lawyers 2004)

L Lazarus, 'Delivering Rights: How the Human Rights Act is Working by J Jowell and J Cooper' (2004) Public Law Winter [Review]