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James Sweeney

Professor, Lancaster Law School, Lancaster University
Prof. James A. Sweeney's research is about the after-effects of conflict: principally human rights in transitional democracies, and the rights of refugees. His monograph, 'The European Court of Human Rights in the post-Cold War Era: Universality in Transition' was published in hardback by Routledge in November 2012, and in paperback in 2014. His work on the human rights of failed asylum seekers was cited by the House of Lords in the case of R (on the application of M) v Slough BC [2008] UKHL 52, by the Court of Appeal in R. (on the application of SL) v Westminster City Council [2011] EWCA Civ 954, and most recently in R. (on the application of Refugee Action) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2014] EWHC 1033 (Admin). In the latter case Home Secretary Theresa May was found to have acted irrationally by freezing the level of cash support to be provided to asylum seekers to meet their essential living needs, for the financial year 2013/14, at the rates which had applied since 2011.

Prof. Sweeney has acted as an expert advisor to the Council of Europe in relation to freedom of assembly projects in Armenia, Azerbaijan (with the Venice Commission), Georgia, and Kosovo. In March 2011 he delivered human rights legal training to judges of the Ukrainian Supreme Court as part of a UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office project. Likewise in 2013 and 2014 he convened a series of workshops on human rights and judicial interpretation for the Constitutional and Supreme Courts of Kosovo, on behalf of the FCO. Throughout 2009 he acted as an expert advisor to the EU's Committee of the Regions as it prepared its Opinion on reforms to the Common European Asylum System.

Prof. Sweeney joined Lancaster University Law School in 2013. Prior to that, he has worked at Durham, Newcastle and Hull. From 2011-2013 he was Deputy Director of Durham Global Security Institute.

Why have so few atrocities ever been recognised as genocide?

May 30, 2025 11:50 am UTC| Insights & Views Life Politics

An intense argument is raging over whether what has been happening in Gaza since October 2023 is an act of genocide. It is the subject of a case being heard in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in which South Africa...

Economy

India–US Trade Deal: Digital Tax Removal and $500 Billion Purchase Commitment Signal Major Policy Shift

India has agreed to remove its digital services tax and committed to purchasing more than $500 billion worth of American goods under a recent trade agreement with the United States, according to a White House fact sheet...

Asian Currencies Edge Higher as Dollar Retreats Ahead of Key U.S. Data

Most Asian currencies strengthened on Tuesday, tracking an overnight pullback in the U.S. dollar as its recent rebound lost momentum ahead of a busy week of key American economic data. While regional foreign exchange...

Japan Weighs Using Foreign Exchange Reserve Surplus to Fund Food Tax Cuts

Japans government is considering whether surplus funds from its massive foreign exchange reserves could be used to help finance planned cuts to the food sales tax, according to comments made Tuesday by Japanese Minister of...

Russia Condemns U.S. Sanctions as Cuba Faces Critical Fuel Crisis

Russia has warned that Cubas fuel situation has reached a critical point, blaming intensified U.S. sanctions for deepening the islands economic crisis and pledging continued solidarity with Havana and Caracas. Moscow also...

U.S. Stock Futures Steady as Investors Await Key Jobs and Inflation Data

U.S. stock futures were little changed on Monday evening as investors grew cautious ahead of key economic data releases later this week, following a mostly positive close on Wall Street. Futures tied to the SP 500 slipped...

Politics

Trump Administration Moves to Repeal EPA Climate Endangerment Finding

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is reportedly preparing to repeal a key Obama-era scientific determination that has long served as the legal foundation for federal regulation of greenhouse-gas emissions....

U.S. Issues New Shipping Guidance for Strait of Hormuz Amid Rising Iran Tensions

The United States has issued new guidance for commercial vessels navigating the Strait of Hormuz, one of the worlds most critical maritime chokepoints for global oil and gas shipments, as tensions persist between...

Hong Kong Leader Defends 20-Year Sentence for Jimmy Lai

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee said on Tuesday that media tycoon and prominent democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai deserved the 20-year prison sentence imposed by a court earlier this week, arguing that the punishment...

Trump Administration Plans Chip Tariff Exemptions for Big Tech Amid AI Data Center Push

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is reportedly planning to exempt major technology companies such as Amazon, Google, and Microsoft from upcoming tariffs on semiconductor chips, a move aimed at supporting...

U.S. Appeals Court Allows Trump Administration to End TPS for Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua Migrants

A U.S. appeals court in California on Monday temporarily lifted a federal judges order that had blocked the Trump administration from ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for nearly 89,000 migrants from Honduras, Nepal...

Science

SpaceX Pivots Toward Moon City as Musk Reframes Long-Term Space Vision

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has revealed a significant shift in the companys near-term space exploration strategy, announcing that SpaceX is now prioritizing the development of a self-growing city on the Moon rather than focusing...

SpaceX Prioritizes Moon Mission Before Mars as Starship Development Accelerates

Elon Musks SpaceX is shifting its near-term space exploration strategy, choosing to prioritize a return to the Moon before pursuing missions to Mars, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report citing sources familiar...

NASA and SpaceX Target Crew-11 Undocking From ISS Amid Medical Concern

NASA has confirmed that the agency, in coordination with SpaceX, is targeting no earlier than 5 p.m. Eastern Time (2200 GMT) on Wednesday, January 14, for the undocking of the SpaceX Crew-11 mission from the International...

Neuralink Plans High-Volume Brain Implant Production and Fully Automated Surgery by 2026

Elon Musks brain-computer interface company Neuralink is preparing for a major expansion, announcing plans to begin high-volume production of its brain implant devices and transition to a fully automated surgical procedure...

Jared Isaacman Confirmed as NASA Administrator, Becomes 15th Leader of U.S. Space Agency

The U.S. Senate has officially confirmed billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman as the new NASA administrator, making him the 15th leader in the agencys history. The confirmation, which took place on Wednesday, marks...

Technology

Salesforce Workforce Reduction Affects Fewer Than 1,000 Roles Amid Ongoing Restructuring

Salesforce has reportedly reduced its workforce by fewer than 1,000 employees earlier this month, according to a Business Insider report published on Monday. The report cited a person familiar with the matter, though...

Alphabet Plans Rare 100-Year Sterling Bond to Fund AI Expansion

Alphabet is preparing to issue a rare 100-year sterling bond as part of a broader multi-currency debt offering, marking a notable move to expand its long-term borrowing strategy to support growing investments in artificial...

Amazon Explores AI Content Marketplace With Media Publishers

Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) is reportedly in discussions with media publishers about launching a new artificial intelligence content marketplace designed to connect news organizations and digital content creators with companies...

Taiwan Says Moving 40% of Semiconductor Production to the U.S. Is Impossible

Taiwan has firmly rejected calls from the United States to relocate a large portion of its semiconductor manufacturing capacity, with senior officials stressing that the islands chip industry cannot be uprooted. Taiwan...

Samsung Electronics Shares Jump on HBM4 Mass Production Report

Samsung Electronics shares surged on Monday following reports that the South Korean tech giant is set to begin mass production of its next-generation HBM4 memory chips, a key component in artificial intelligence hardware....