Key research themes
1. How do fundamental rights influence and integrate within private law frameworks?
This research area focuses on the incorporation and impact of fundamental human rights—traditionally conceived as protections against state power—within the private law sphere, including contract, tort, and property law. It examines theoretical justifications, practical legal developments, and comparative perspectives on the constitutionalisation of private law, highlighting the tensions between individual freedom, private autonomy, and state intervention.
2. What are the conceptual foundations and theoretical debates surrounding the nature and meaning of rights?
This research theme explores the philosophical, jurisprudential, and conceptual analyses of 'rights,' including various theories such as interest theory, will theory, entitlement and claim perspectives, and the definitional controversies underpinning the discourse on rights. The theme addresses how rights are understood as legal, moral, or social constructs, their normative significance, and the challenges in reconciling differing interpretations.
3. What is the interplay between rights discourse, societal crises, and the common good in contemporary contexts?
This theme investigates how rights, particularly fundamental human rights, interact with social, economic, and political crises; the ensuing impact on democratic processes; and the conceptual grounding of rights in relation to the common good. It explores critiques of rights inflation, the challenges of balancing rights with social cohesion, and the philosophical debates about rights’ roles in pluralistic societies.