Postdoctoral position in international law and human rights - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

Lund University is a full-scale and research-intensive university, and the only Swedish university to be part of the strong international networks League of European Research Universities (LERU) and Universitas 21 (U21). Lund University has partner universities in close to 70 countries and attracts more international students than any other higher education institution in Sweden.

The Faculty of Law is characterised by internationalisation, the intertwining of education and research, interdisciplinarity, as well as close and boundary-crossing collaboration with wider society. The Faculty’s research environment and PhD-education are markedly international and, alongside the professional law degree, the Faculty offers several international Master’s programmes.

Lund University and the Faculty of Law offer an inclusive work environment that fosters development within the broader dynamic research and innovation area of the Öresund region.

Subject

One postdoctoral position in international law and human rights.

Subject description

This postdoctoral position is connected to the Raoul Wallenberg Visiting Chair in Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, hosted by the Faculty of Law at Lund University and the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (RWI) and funded by the Marianne and Marcus Wallenberg Foundation.

The Visiting Chair is held consecutively by a number of outstanding and leading international scholars. The project and the Visiting Chair – and the postdocs, research environment, and multitude of activities connected to it – seek in novel ways to explore, analyze and secure the future of human rights. To this end, the project also aims to promote a new generation of talented and innovative human rights scholars, advocates and policymakers.

The postdoc shall carry out a research project on the future of human rights which shall address current challenges within one or several of the three main research areas within the framework of the Raoul Wallenberg Visiting Chair, namely:

• rise of authoritarianism and populism;
• technological change, digitalization and AI; and,
• state of emergency and the erosion of the rule of law

Research projects that focus on the research areas of the rise of authoritarianism and populism and state of emergency and the erosion of the rule of law, respectively, are particularly encouraged. 

In addition to this postdoc, to be employed at the Faculty of Law, one postdoctoral researcher has been employed at the RWI.

The postdocs will collaborate closely with each other and with the Visiting Chairs and other researchers in the area of international law and human rights at the Faculty of Law and RWI. Besides carrying out an independent research project, the postdoc shall also engage in other research and research-related activities connected to the Visiting Chair.

Duties

Mainly research but work duties include teaching for up to a maximum of 20 percent of working hours and external engagement.

Teaching staff employed as a postdoc are offered the opportunity to undertake further training in teaching and learning in higher education of at least three weeks within the scope of their employment.

The researchers and teachers at the Faculty are expected to contribute to a dynamic research environment as well as to other Faculty activities, and to perform work primarily in the workplace provided by the Faculty.

Qualifications

A person shall be qualified for appointment as a postdoctoral fellow who has been awarded a doctor’s degree in legal science or a degree deemed equivalent to a doctor’s degree in legal science. Evidence substantiating that these qualifications requirements have been met must have been received at the latest three working days after application deadline´s expiration. An applicant who has completed a doctoral degree no more than three years before the application deadline´s expiration is primarily eligible. Where special grounds exists, the doctoral degree can have been completed earlier.

Special grounds include leave of absence due to illness, parental leave, positions as elected representative in trade union organisations, mandatory service in connection with total defence preparations, or comparable circumstances, and practical training or other services/tasks of relevance for the advertised position.

For a post doctor at Lund University, the general qualification requirements concern being suitable for and having the ability in general that is needed to satisfactorily carry out the duties of the appointment in question.

Assessment criteria

The assessment criteria for the current post are a good ability to develop and carry out high-quality research and teaching skills. The primary focus of the assessment shall be on research expertise.

Attention will be paid to the submitted plan of the research project.

Attention will be paid to the applicant’s subject knowledge of international law and human rights.

A very good oral and written proficiency in English is a requirement.

Application process

The application shall include:

• personal letter (in the English language)
• a brief curriculum vitae (CV) (in the English language)
• copy of the doctoral degree certificate
• certificates from other experiences and competencies relevant for the employment position
• a plan of the research project (including plan of publications) the candidate wants to pursue as a postdoc (max. 5 pages) (in the English language)
• list of the PhD thesis and two other academic texts the candidate wishes to submit for assessment
• the PhD thesis and two other academic texts
• short description of teaching qualifications (in the English language)

Please note that documents submitted or drawn up as a result of this vacant employment position (such as applications, expert opinions and minutes) as a general rule are public. The documents may thus (with the exception of documents that are classified as confidential) be read upon request.

Duration

Fixed-term employment, two years. The appointment can be extended if special grounds exist.

Conditions

The position is based on a collective agreement between the social partners (trade unions and employer's organisation) dated 19 November 2021.