Freek van der Vet (PhD, Sociology, University of Helsinki) is a University Researcher at the Erik Castrén Institute for International Law and Human Rights, University of Helsinki, Finland. He is the Principal Investigator of the research group the “Toxic Crimes Project” (funded by the Kone Foundation and Academy of Finland), which examines the push for accountability for the destruction of the environment during armed conflict. He studies international litigation at regional human rights courts, legal mobilization under authoritarianism, and the protection of human rights lawyers in dangerous environments. His academic work appeared in Law & Society Review, Law and Social Inquiry (forthcoming), The International Journal of Human Rights, Social & Legal Studies, Human Rights Review, Review of Central and East European Law, and Europe-Asia Studies. He previously had postdoctoral positions at the University of British Columbia and the University of Helsinki and was a visiting research fellow at iCourts, the Center of Excellence of International Courts at the University of Copenhagen.
Research Areas: Human Rights, Mobilizing Human Rights Strategies, International Courts, Law and Society, Environmental Harm
Selected Publications
‘When They Come for You’: Legal Mobilization in New Authoritarian Russia. Law & Society Review (2018) 52:2, 301-336.
Holding on to Legalism: The Politics of Russian Litigation on Torture and Discrimination before the European Court of Human Rights’ Social & Legal Studies (2014) 23:3, 361-381.
Seeking Life, Finding Justice: Russian NGO Litigation and Chechen Disappearances before the European Court of Human Rights Human Rights Review (2012) 13:3, 303-325.
