Assistant Professor of Law
Netherlands Institute of Human Rights
Utrecht University
The Netherlands
[email protected]
Read Julie’s May 2021 and November 2020 Spotlights on Language, Culture and Justice.
I am an assistant professor of law based at the Netherlands Institute of Human Rights at Utrecht University. In 2018 I defended my PhD, titled “Every Organ of Society: Exploring the Role of Social Institutions in the Effective Implementation of International Human Rights Law.” This research investigated the role of cultural norms and actors as effective agents in the domestic implementation of international law.
As part of my doctoral research, I assisted the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women with its 65th session in Geneva in 2016, and undertook field research in Java, Indonesia, in 2017. My PhD was awarded the Max van der Stoel Prize in Human Rights in 2019.
I am currently co-editing a book project, with Brianne McGonigle Leyh, looking at the intersections of law and culture and the International Criminal Court. For this edited volume, my chapter looks at the potential role of Islamic law in the cases before the ICC. I am further preparing a chapter for another volume that looks more broadly at Islamic law norms and tools relating to contemporary international humanitarian law.
I have published and presented broadly on a range of international law topics. I currently teach in the bachelor’s and master’s programmes, including Public International Law, International Criminal Law, Transitional Justice, and International Human Rights Law. I have also given guest lectures and workshops on a variety of topics in Europe and worldwide.
Prior to academia, I practiced law as a qualified solicitor, including spending almost two years with the Registry of the International Criminal Court and three years as a lawyer with the Australian Government Solicitor. In addition to the PhD, I have three degrees: a BA and an LLB (honours) from the University of Melbourne, Australia, and an LLM (cum laude) from Utrecht University.
Areas of Interest
- Human rights
- Culture and law
- Victim rights
- Reparations
- International criminal justice
Relevant Publications
- Fraser, J.A. (11-03-2019). Challenging State-Centricity and Legalism: Promoting the Role of Social Institutions in the Domestic Iimplementation of International Human Rights Law. International Journal of Human Rights, (pp. 1-19) (19 p.).
- Fraser, J.A. (01-12-2019). In Search of New Narratives:The Role of Cultural Norms and Actors in Addressing Human Rights Contestation. In Rosemarie Buikema, Antoine Buyse & Antonius Robben (Eds.), Cultures, citizenship and human rights (pp. 175-195) (21 p.). Routledge.
- Fraser, J.A. & Mc Gonigle, B.N. (20-06-2019). Transformative Reparations: Changing the Game, or More of the Same? Cambridge International Law Journal, 8 (1), (pp. 39-59) (21 p.).
- Fraser, J.A. & Prudon, H.H.M. (2017). Integrating Human Rights with Local Norms: Ebola, Burial Practices and the Right to Health in West Africa. Intercultural Human Rights Law Review, (pp. 71-114) (43 p.).
- Fraser, J.A. & David Contreras, V.M. (2017). A Legal Pluralist Approach to the Use of Cultural Perspectives in the Implementation and Adjudication of Human Rights Norms. Buffalo Human Rights Law Review, 23 (75), (pp. 75-118).
- Contreras Garduno, Diana & Fraser, Julie (2014). The Identification of Victims Before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the International Criminal Court and Its Impact on Participation and Reparation: A Domino Effect? Inter-American and European Human Rights Journal, 7 (1-2), (pp. 174-203 ).
More Information
- Utrecht University profile page
- Follow Julie Fraser on Twitter.