Call for papers: Tax Justice and Human Rights Research Collaboration Symposium
We invite paper proposals for a Tax JusticeÌýand Human Rights Research Collaboration Symposium, to be held at the McGill Faculty of Law, Montreal, Quebec, from Wednesday to Friday, 18-20 June, 2014.
The symposium will explore the fundamental connections between taxation and human rights by providing a forum for collaboration among emerging scholars, established academics, civil society organization representatives, tax justice advocacy groups, tax policy makers, and researchers from around the world. The symposium seeks especially to bring developing-world perspectives into the discourse and to foster scholarly work for dissemination both within and beyond the academic setting.
The plurality of experience, in terms of training, background, country of origin, and area of expertise, will ensure that discussions and activities at the conference will have real-world impact. Indeed, there is a need within the tax-policy world for more cross-pollination between academic researchers and on-the-ground decision-makers. The connections and networking that we envision will take place at this conference should allow for meaningful discussions for years to come.
Paper proposals must be between 300-500 words in length and should be accompanied by a short résumé.
Please submit your proposal to the conference convener Professor Allison Christians, at allison.christians [at] mcgill.ca.
Deadline for submissions: 30 April 2014. Successful applicants will be notified in early May 2014.
An initial 3-5 page sketch of the paper must be submitted byÌýthe end of May for circulation among panelists and feedback from the conference committee, but completed papers are not required; rather, we seek a readiness to collaborate and develop new heuristics for thinking about taxation and human rights.
Conference fees for presenters will be covered by the conference organizers; travel and accommodation bursaries may be available to scholars and tax justice advocates from the Global South in connection with support from the Tax Justice Network,ÌýÌý, and other partners.
Visit the Symposium's page on the Stikeman Chair in Tax Law website.
Conference background
For most people, taxation is an obligation to be endured as a matter of civic duty, and tax policy is either something politicians use to garner political support or something experts engage in as a technical exercise. But in fact, taxation is a major determinant of the allocation of rights and resources within and across societies. Accordingly, in the resulting dialogue about what humans owe one another in a global society, conversations about tax policy inevitably become conversations about human rights. This fundamental connection between taxation and rights will be explored at a three-day conference, set to take place at Ï㽶ÊÓƵ in June 2014. The conference will consist of: an Emerging Scholars Symposium, which will focus on new research from graduate students and early career academics; and a Tax Justice and Human Rights Research Symposium, which will showcase the latest in interdisciplinary scholarship from leading established academics and provide an opportunity for informational sharing and multi-stakeholder dialogue between advocates and academics.
A large emphasis is placed on the training of young scholars in this dynamic and ever-changing field. The Emerging Scholars Symposium aims to bring together graduate students and early career researchers in the field of tax studies to present, observe, and get immediate feedback on their research about topics that occur at the intersection of tax justice and human rights. The concentration of expertise at the three-day conference will allow emerging scholars to receive one-on-one mentorship from established academics by having an individual reader assigned to each emerging scholar's paper and presentation, as well as an audience of academics, activists, and international development organizations looking to connect to new and progressive researchers in the infancy stages of their careers.
As a whole, the three conference events will create an environment that connects promising emerging scholars, established academics, and graduate students with civilian society organizations, advocacy groups, policy makers, and researchers from around the world with a specific emphasis on bringing developing-world perspectives into the discourse and preparing scholarly work for dissemination outside of the academy.
In sum, the proposed conference will add distinctive value by bringing together perspectives from both the Global North and South, by providing a stepping-stone for emerging scholars, and by actively seeking new ways to disseminate research to audiences outside of the academy. Additionally, the conference will bring together various stakeholders in tax justice policy, such as Canadian and international academics, students, non-governmental organizations, and civil society organizations.
This plurality of experience, in terms of training, background, country of origin, and area of expertise, will ensure that discussions and activities at the conference will have real-world impact. Indeed, there is a need within the tax-policy world for more cross-pollination between academic researchers and on-the-ground decision-makers. The connections and networking that we envision will take place at this conference should allow for meaningful discussions for years to come.