The Open University is one of the UK’s most recognisable higher education institutions, not least because of its long time partnership with the BBC. Right from the OU’s inception as a ‘university of the air’ OU educational content has been broadcast into the homes of the nation, often during the small hours of the morning. The advent of video recorders and iPlayer means that OU students no longer have to stay up past their bedtime to benefit from this content, but the OU / BBC partnership remains an important way in which the University engages with the wider public.

his guest blog is by Nabeela Siddiqui. She is pursuing her Master’s in Law from the Department of Legal Studies at University of Madras, India. She is also working on a project titled ‘Humara Kanoon’, under the supervision of Supreme Court Lawyer Avani Bansal at Avani Bansal Chambers (ABC). Lately, she also interned at AALCO (Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization) and the Supreme Court of India.

This guest blog is by Open University law student and Open University Law Society Officer for Scotland, Lidia Dancu.

Modern slavery and human trafficking are burning issues both at home and abroad and it appears surprising that, in 2017, slavery can still pose a challenge. Criminalising the enslaving and trafficking of people does not appear to be a sufficient deterrent.

The Open University has long been an important route for students who are in prison to access higher education. The Open Justice team is currently working to develop opportunities for OU students in prison to take part in pro bono activities. In the following guest post an OU law student reflects on his experience of studying whilst in prison.

Our second guest blog is by Open University law student Lidia Dancu.

If you would be interesting in contributing a guest blog, please contact us at open-justice@open.ac.uk

Human Rights Day is celebrated each year on 10 December. It marks the day on which, in 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and it is observed in diverse ways around the world.

The Open Justice Team are delighted to introduce the first in a series of guest blogs. This post is by current Open University law student, Mohan Ramcharan.

If you would be interesting in contributing a guest blog, please contact us at open-justice@open.ac.uk

Work is continuing apace on our Open Justice project and we hope to have plenty more to share in the next few months. In the meantime, members of the Open Justice team have also been attending various events, including a great day on supervising university law clinics, so we thought we’d share some thoughts about how these work.

Last week, Open Justice attended the Avocats San Frontieres (ASF) conference in Brussels to discuss how lawyers can work to bring about social change. There were more than 250 participants, from 15 different countries who shared experiences and ideas on how to increase access to justice and considered the link between legal problems and the broader issue of sustainable development. The conference was an opportunity to promote the work of Open Justice and meet with organisations who will support the development of our project.

We are pleased to be able to publish a guest post ‘Lawyers in Government’ by James Coupe.

James is a former OU law student and offers some comments on his experience studying law with the OU to give some additional background to his article.