'Private’ property, public force: the legal regulation of campus encampments    

About the talk:

Appeals to the courts by Canadian universities for court orders compelling seemingly reluctant police to clear Palestine solidarity encampments have raised questions about the legal status of university encampments generally – and the use of injunctions specifically. While universities do not need injunctions to clear encampments, a court order that purports to balance the interests of protestors and university administrators provides a veneer of legal legitimacy to subsequent removals of students from campuses. Responses to the deployment of police on campuses to enforce trespass notices – especially when force is used – highlight the allure of such a veneer to universities but do little to clarify the lines of authority or power involved. Accordingly, challenging the criminalization and legal regulation of encampments means challenging the notions of private property that underlie the repression of collective action.   

About the speaker:

Irina Ceric (she/her) is an Assistant Professor at the University of Windsor Faculty of Law. She holds a PhD from Osgoode Hall Law School. Her research lies at the intersection of law and social movements, with a particular focus on the regulation and criminalization of dissent by movements for social and environmental justice and Indigenous sovereignty. Irina is also a longtime community activist and legal support organizer and educator, having worked with movements in Canada and the US since the late 1990s. Prior to shifting into academia, Irina practiced criminal and clinical law in Toronto and Vancouver. 

About the seminar series: 

The Joint Legal Studies Seminar Series features biannual seminars showcasing a range of legal studies scholarship.  The series is hosted by the Departments of Sociology and Legal Studies at the University of Waterloo and St. Jerome’s University.  

For more information:

Please contact Drs. Honor Brabazon (honor.brabazon@uwaterloo.ca), Allison Chenier (achenier@uwaterloo.ca), and Andrea Quinlan (andrea.quinlan@uwaterloo.ca) with any questions.  

This seminar is available online only, via Zoom (please register here).