Japan Federation of Bar Associations

HRC and School of Law conclude prestigious agreement with the Japan Federation of Bar Associations

During his visit to Tokyo in January 2011, HRC Director Professor John Packer met with the Japan Federation of Bar Associations (JFBA) President Mr. Kenji Utsunomiya to conclude an agreement by which JFBA will support each year one Japanese practising lawyer to come to Essex to pursue an LLM in International Human Rights Law and one practising lawyer to spend a term or two as a visiting scholar conducting individual research. This agreement is only the fourth of its kind with JFBA, with Essex joining three American Schools of Law (NYU, U Cal at Berkeley, and U of Illinois). The JFBA scholarships are exclusively to study Human Rights Law at Essex, and will be effective from academic year 2012-13. While visiting JFBA, Professor Packer delivered a talk for Japanese lawyers about the increasing importance of international human rights law for Japan and for Japanese interests in the world.    

[In the photo from right to left: Mr. Toshiteru Shibaike (LL.M International Human Rights Law Alumnus and Japanese Lawyer), Ms. Ayano Kanezuka (Lawyer), Professor John Packer (HRC Director), Mr. Futoshi Toyama (Deputy Director Office of International Affairs of JFBA) and Dr. Sanae Fujita (HRC Associate)]

JFBA English webpage - JFBA News
JFBA Leaflet - Japanese Version

About Japan Federation Bar Association (JFBA) Leaflet

More than 30,000 lawyers belong to JFBA and this leaflet provides them information about the agreements which JFBA holds with 3 US Universities and the University of Essex.  It contains stories of people who studied at these Universities. For the University of Essex, Mr. Toshiteru Shibaike (LLM International Human Rights Law alumnus and practising Japanese Lawyer) and Dr. Sanae Fujita (LLM and PhD alumna and Associate of HRC) provide their stories on the lives of LLM and PhD (research) respectively; Professor Nigel Rodley adds a greeting. 

Mr. Shibaike explains that after he worked as a member of JFBA's international human rights committee and the Tokyo based international human rights NGO 'Human Rights Now' (http://hrn.or.jp/eng/outline/), he strengthened his desire to develop and deepen his professional knowledge and skills regarding international human rights law. He decided to come to Essex as it is well-known and rich with a variety of modules in human rights taught by experienced and renowned Professors. He explains how the courses are run with active discussion and demanding coursework. He also mentions that he enjoyed life in the UK with his family. 

Dr. Fujita explains the history and character of the Essex Human Rights Centre (HRC), LLM, MA courses, variety of research and activities by HRC, as well as possible activities with which a visiting researcher can engage. One of these activities is a Human Rights Doctoral Affiliates Network where PhD students who research human rights issues from different departments discuss and exchange opinions.  She also recommends actively contacting people and attending conferences and meetings to expand the research network and be exposed to different point of views.