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The ERC Advanced Grants support excellent researchers, who are leaders in their field, in undertaking ambitious and ground-breaking research projects.

Marie-Bénédicte Dembour, Professor of Law and Anthropology at the ¹ú²ú̽»¨ Business School, aims to provide insight for the future benefit of victims of human rights abuses and human rights bodies with her DISSECT project.

This 60-month study will examine the rules and practices which govern the treatment of evidence in international human rights adjudications.

Marie-Bénédicte, who has double training in law and in anthropology, said: “I’m very grateful to have received this grant and excited about embarking on what is vital and unprecedented research.

“DISSECT is urgently needed by victims of human rights abuse who are seeking redress and don’t know exactly what evidence is required from them, as well as human rights bodies at risk of losing their legitimacy if they cannot demonstrate they are acting logically, consistently and fairly.

“With concerns about ‘truth decay’ in wider society, DISSECT is a timely study that will enable new insights about evidence, truth and power.

In her abstract for the project, Marie-Bénédicte writes: “Evidence is at the heart of adjudication, and adjudication at the heart of the international protection of human rights. Yet evidence in international human rights (IHR) adjudication has never been comprehensively studied.

Professor Marie-Bénédicte  Dembour

DISSECT will also investigate the political uses of the international human rights evidence system, including dismissals of politically sensitive complaints on the pretext they are not sufficiently evidenced by the victim.

Marie-Bénédicte’s findings will identify ‘best’ and ‘worst’ practices and enable her to generate specific recommendations.

Marie-Bénédicte said that she hopes the research will allow international human rights evidentiary regimes to be studied as a “social phenomenon” rather than as purely legal instruments.

Andrew Church, Associate Pro-Vice Chancellor for Enterprise and Research, said: “I am very grateful especially to Marie-Bénédicte and to many other colleagues for their immense work on this excellent bid.

“Marie-Bénédicte’s inspirational insights into the challenges faced by international human rights courts were central to this outstanding success for the university.”

This project has received funding from the (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. Grant agreement No: 834044.