International human rights and justice

The relationship between international human rights frameworks and criminal justice systems, the effectiveness of global monitoring mechanisms, and the human rights dimensions of transnational crime are among the topics explored within this research theme. ICPR studies examine how international human rights standards are implemented and enforced across different jurisdictions, and consider the human rights impact of criminal laws, policies and practices. The projects also examine the challenges of accountability and oversight in complex international contexts.

Current projects

Birds in the Cage? How administrative litigation reshapes political control in Xi's China

Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran

Reconsidering universality: human rights activism in East Asia

Publications

Ma, C. and Cheng, Chao-Yo (2026) Embedded courts under campaign-style enforcement: How top-down reforms reshape conditional justice in China. International Review of Law and Economics 86 (106331), ISSN 0144-8188.

Address by Mai Sato (2026) at a special session of the UN Human Rights Council to address the deteriorating human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Mai Sato (2025) A/80/349: Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran UN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights.

Mai Sato (2025) A/80/349: Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran Persian translation ترجمه‌ی فارسی UN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights.

Mai Sato (2025) A/HRC/58/62: Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran. UN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights.

Mai Sato (2025) A/HRC/58/62: Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Persian translation ترجمه‌ی فارسی UN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights.