| Research Interests | Drawing on interdisciplinary scholarship, in her new book, The Purchase of
Human Rights (Oxford University Press, contract review), Professor Relis
questions how the current proliferation of international human rights has
shaped case processing systems at grassroots levels. She has conducted
legal empirical research on international human rights violation cases of
violence against women, processed in formal courts, lok adalats and
quasi-legal non-state justice regimes (mahila panchayats and nari adalats)
in eight states of India. Subsequent to several fieldwork trips, and
supervising 8 teams of research assistants working in seven languages, the
book includes data from over 400 interviews (with victims, accused,
families, lawyers, mediators, arbitrators and judges), questionnaires and
case hearing observations. The book examines how, if at all, international
human rights laws and norms (e.g., CEDAW) have permeated the processing of
these cases, comparing how receptive the different spaces of lower courts
versus quasi-legal regimes are to claims made from the international
sphere. The manuscript further examines the theoretical ideas informing
these processes (e.g., norm diffusion theory, universalism versus cultural
relativism, restorative justice, and feminist critiques of mainstream
human rights paradigms) and how these ideas are understood by those on the
ground. |
| Teaching Interests | Tamara Relis teaches courses in International Human Rights Law and in
Global Conflict Resolution. Her first book, Perceptions in Litigation and
Mediation: Lawyers, Defendants, Plaintiffs and Gendered Parties, based on
her PhD dissertation, was published by Cambridge University Press (New
York, 2009 & 2011 paperback). Her recent essay, Human Rights and Southern
Realities, 33(2) Human Rights Quarterly 509-551 (May, 2011) provides a
sample of her new book's data, findings and interview excerpts (see Parts
I, III & IV). |
