Fighting the Behemoth: law, politics and human rights in times of debt and austerity

Contributor(s): Zoe Konstantopoulou | Greece is at the forefront of questions connecting human rights protection, debt and austerity. Zoe Konstantopoulou will share her insights on the fight to secure social rights. Zoe Konstantopoulou (@ZoeKonstant) was President of the Greek Parliament and a politician of the Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA), and is a practicing lawyer. She was elected to the post of President on 6 February 2015 with a record number of 235 out of 300 votes, making her the youngest Speaker in the history of the Hellenic Parliament. As Speaker, she worked to expose the truth around the debt and human crises in Greece. She holds a law degree from the University of Athens, a Master’s in Law from Columbia University with a focus on International Law, Human Rights and Criminal Law and a DEA from the University of Paris 1 (Panthéon la Sorbonne) in European Criminal Law and Criminal Policy in Europe. In her legal practice she is active in the fields of criminal law and human rights. She is a member of the Athens and New York Bars. Margot Salomon (@Margot_Salomon) is associate professor in the Centre for the Study of Human Rights and Department of Law. The Centre for the Study of Human Rights at LSE (@LSEHumanRights) is a trans-disciplinary centre of excellence for international academic research, teaching and critical scholarship on human rights. LSE Law (@lselaw) is an integral part of the School's mission, plays a major role in policy debates & in the education of lawyers and law teachers from around the world.