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Christopher Gevers appointed new Director of Wits Centre for Applied Legal Studies

- Lee-Anne Bruce

A University selection committee has appointed Dr Christopher Gevers to the position of Director at the Centre for Applied Legal Studies

The Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS), Wits School of Law and Wits Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management are pleased to announce that Dr Christopher Gevers has been appointed as the new Director of CALS. We are thrilled to have the prominent academic joining our team in this leadership role and look forward to working with him from January 2025.

Dr Gevers holds a PhD from Melbourne Law School, a Masters in Human Rights from the London School of Economics and Political Science and an LLB from the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, where he has taught international law, human rights and legal theory since 2009. Dr Gevers is also a Senior Fellow at Melbourne Law School, and has held fellowships at the University of Oxford and Harvard Law School. He has published widely in the fields of international law, constitutional law and human rights and his research interests include Pan-Africanism, decolonisation, Critical Race Theory and Third World Approaches to International Law. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the South African Journal on Human Rights.

In addition to his experience as an academic, as a practitioner Dr Gevers has advised litigants and participated in cases involving international law in domestic courts in South Africa and abroad, as well in the International Court of Justice. This includes the first ever prosecution of the crimes against humanity of apartheid, as well as litigation concerning reparations for apartheid, corporate liability for aiding and abetting human rights violations, the application of human rights in armed conflict, and domestic and international responsibility for crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide.

We welcome the appointment of Dr Gevers and look forward to learning from his many areas of expertise. We believe his research record, transnational approach to litigation and advocacy, and his reputation in legal practice will enhance CALS’ participation in international impact litigation and benefit our School and Faculty.

“The School of Law welcomes the appointment of Dr Gevers to this leadership position within our School,” says Prof Engela Schlemmer, Head of the Wits School of Law. “As the new Director, he will be tasked with focusing CALS on its intellectual project and research that has the potential to impact society, and in ways that benefit student learning and strengthen its connection to the School of Law.”

“Dr Gevers has a vision for CALS that includes integrating cutting-edge academic research into CALS, and leveraging his existing international networks at both academic and practice levels,” says Prof Jason Cohen, Dean of the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management. “He will also be well-placed to integrate CALS’s work with the School, particularly at the postgraduate level with courses that adopt an applied legal studies approach.”

Dr Gevers says he is “humbled and excited by the opportunity to contribute to the work of CALS, which has been at the forefront of innovative, social justice-oriented legal research and practice for almost 50 years”.

For more information, please contact:

From the Centre for Applied Legal Studies

From the Wits School of Law

From the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management

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