The ‘Rights, Powers and Societies’ Research Federation

The research is organised around five major overarching themes, or ‘Axes’, the content of which is defined in collaboration with the FED’s member research units and evolves to respond to the demands of dynamic and, by its very nature, evolving research:

• Axis 1: Justice
  
  Practical and theoretical studies of the judicial system and the ways in which justice is administered across the various branches (constitutional, criminal, civil, social, etc.).
• Axis 2: Fundamental Rights
  
  A traditional area of legal research at Aix-Marseille University.
• Research Area 3: Law, Crises and Economic and Social Regulation
  
  Study of the evolution of regulations and intervention mechanisms addressing societal issues, particularly in response to crisis situations.
• Research Area 4: Legal Systems, Identities and Integration
  
  Comparative constitutional law, international and European law, foreign legal systems, Mediterranean law and regions, globalisation.
• Area 5: Energy, the Environment and Sustainable Development
  
  Building on the ‘Alternative Energies’ research area, this area has evolved to better meet the requirements of interdisciplinarity and the creation of an ‘Environment’ research cluster within Aix-Marseille University

Beyond these research areas, where collaborative projects may continue to emerge, the cross-cutting theme of governance has been selected and will be explored over the next four years through the ‘Young Researchers’ calls for proposals for the organisation of FED 4280-accredited conferences (the first edition to be launched in 2023).

The FED structures its policy into several strands to support, coordinate, facilitate or accredit scientific projects (conferences and publications) and mobilises its human and financial resources for this purpose. It thereby encourages the development of projects that fall within its priority cross-cutting research areas, encourages interdisciplinary approaches and the strengthening of scientific collaborations between laboratories, and, finally, helps to facilitate the pooling of scientific expertise within its Units and beyond, thereby enhancing the profile of research in law and political science.

The key elements of this policy are:

1 Targeted research monitoring and support for Units in their projects

Comprising two strands (scientific and financial), this monitoring system provides Units and researchers with a comprehensive and continuously updated overview of research activities (conferences, study days, calls for papers, etc.) and available funding to support individual or collaborative research projects in law and political science within its Units (calls for proposals, grants, contracts, awards, etc.). It also offers personalised support in the search for funding, partners or project development. For collaborative and cross-disciplinary projects involving various research teams, the Federation may, in line with its objectives, coordinate these initiatives.

2 A projects policy: ‘Early-career researchers’ call for proposals for the organisation of FED 4280-accredited conferences

From 2023 onwards, a new strand of FED 4280’s scientific policy – specifically focused on early-career researchers – will be rolled out with financial support from the FDSP.

Focusing on the theme of governance – a theme that will be explored over the next four years – young researchers (Assistant Professors appointed within the last five years and recent PhD graduates in law) from at least two member units of the Federation will have the opportunity to organise a major conference bearing the ‘FED 4280’ label.

In addition to the required standards of excellence, the winning project must meet requirements relating to collegiality, interdisciplinarity within law and beyond (dialogue with the social sciences and humanities), innovation in methodology (both in the organisation of conferences and in the dissemination of knowledge), and the promotion of research output (publication of the proceedings in the Federation’s eponymous series at PUAM and deposit in HAL AMU).

3 Support for conferences and publishing: the annual campaigns

Launched in 2014 by the FED, annual campaigns to support the research activities of its Units (events and publishing) are organised to foster the development of inter-laboratory and interdisciplinary collaboration. Since 2019, a joint scheme between the Faculty of Law and the Federation, managed by the FED, has further strengthened the financial support provided for organising conferences and promoting collective and individual scientific output through funding for publication in the FED’s eponymous series.

Consequently, this project-based funding has helped to support around fifty events and some twenty publications, reflecting the full diversity and richness of research as well as its excellence.

4 Support for the promotion of research: the DPS series at PUAM

Because the promotion of research in law and political science is essential and is achieved primarily through individual or collective publications, the Federation is developing a robust policy. To this end, it launched its own eponymous series at the Aix-Marseille University Press (PUAM) in 2013.

As a preferred platform for works receiving publishing grants as part of the Federation’s annual campaigns, this series is more broadly intended to bring together academic publications from various disciplinary perspectives, centred on legal and political sciences but also extending beyond them, resulting from inter-laboratory collaborative work or offering interdisciplinary academic perspectives on major, emerging or innovative societal issues.

It thus includes conference proceedings (Doctoral Students’ Days, Conferences of the Doctoral School for Mediterranean Legal Scholars, etc.), individual or collective works, and even theses.

The 21 works published to date – including the latest, *Juristes et réformes* (edited by Jean-Baptiste PERRIER and Éric GASPARINI) – can be viewed and ordered via the PUAM website in the DPS Collection.

5 Support for the Faculty’s research policy

The FED plays an active role in research and helps to coordinate and support various initiatives and events, particularly those forming part of the Faculty of Law and Political Science’s national and international partnerships and networks.

In addition to the administrative coordination of procedures and support mechanisms for research projects involving departmental classification, the FED has been providing support:

• since 2018, for the PhD Students’ Days: these events, designed to support early-career research in law, are organised jointly by the Faculty and the ‘Legal and Political Sciences’ Doctoral School ’ (ED 67) with organisational and financial support from FED 4280.

4 May 2022 – ‘Lawyers and Reforms ’ day

18 June 2021 – ‘Law and Social Innovation’ day

7 June 2019 – ‘Rethinking Democracy and its Forms of Expression’ Day

22 June 2018 – ‘ Changes in the Justice System ’ conference

• Since 2017, as part of the annual events included in the partnership formalised by a 2018 agreement between the FDSP and its partners in the judicial sector, renewed in 2022: ‘The Faculty at the Palais’ (updates on major reforms), ‘Law Night’ (4 October each year) and the ‘Entretiens Portalis’ (annual symposium):

9 June 2022 – symposium ‘ The Role of the Judge ’

13 June 2019 – symposium ‘ Law and the Environment ’

1 June 2018 – symposium on ‘Law and Digital Technology ’

19 May 2017 – symposium ‘The Judicial Judge and Proportionality Review’

• at the Doctoral School for Mediterranean Jurists (EDJM)

  The FED is expanding its international activities here, having been responsible since 2018 – following the election of the Dean as scientific director of the EDJM – the administrative management and coordination of this Euro-Mediterranean doctoral network, which brings together the law faculties of 14 universities around the Mediterranean, including the Faculty of Law and Political Science at Aix-Marseille, where the network was founded in 2008.
  
  In this capacity, it coordinates the organisation of the annual conferences, which are hosted in turn by the member universities; organises and oversees the Aix-based editions of these meetings; and helps to promote doctoral mobility – particularly incoming students to the FDSP – by acting as a liaison between doctoral students, research units and AMU’s administrative services.

  Thus, following on from 2013, the Faculty of Law and Political Science at Aix-Marseille hosted the 10th edition of the EDJM Conference in 2018: 19 university delegations from both sides of the Mediterranean, including those from the Doctoral School of Middle Eastern Law (EDDMO), gathered for three days of sessions comprising doctoral workshops, a methodology conference and a scientific symposium centred on the theme ‘Law and civilisation in the Mediterranean: towards a common legal culture? ’.

• to more forward-looking events or meetings
  
  The Federation can offer its assistance and support in organising meetings, forums for exchange and reflection, such as the 2019 Conference on Legal Research, featuring distinguished guest speakers.