Miriam Aziz is a visiting professor in law, health and human rights at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies, as well as a visiting scholar at Columbia Law School in New York. She is currently working on two separate-yet related- projects in the context of Global Law and Human Rights: Global Health Law and Global Copyright Law. Her main expertise lies in Global, Public and Administrative Law and Human Rights.
From the outset, I was primarily interested in the law of the European Union (E.U.) and citizenship rights in the context of E.U. constitutionalism, which has been underwritten by the tensions between intergovernmental arrangements and supranational institutions. While the E.U. consists of member states with diverse legal systems, little is know about the interaction between the evolution of E.U. constitutionalism and the legal systems and cultures of the member states, and between the E.U. and the United States.
I have published widely on E.U. constitutionalism, whilst at the same time continued to build my expertise in Health Law; this stems from my doctoral thesis on the regulation of human experimentation. Indeed, I have always been fascinated by the minutiae of the legal implementation of E.U. policies in a comparative context. The evolution and implementation of health policies have traditionally been the responsibility of the nation state. The last quarter of the twentieth century, however, saw a gradual shift towards globalization of law that has strayed beyond the predominance of single state governance.
There have been two main consequences: first, those to whom legal norms are directed are not confined within national borders, and, second, those who shape policies are no longer drawn from a parochial pool but, rather, from a society that is relatively unconcerned with political boundaries. This globalization is particularly evident within the European Union, which has inspired my research agenda as an attempt to consolidate expertise in E.U. constitutionalism, governance, and citizenship by conducting a comparative constitutional and administrative analysis at the micro-level of E.U. health policy.
Although I was trained in the United Kingdom, I have also conducted research, taught and practiced law in Germany, Italy, France and the United States (I am fluent in German, Italian and French). I learned a great deal from this 'multi-jurisdictional' experience which both provoked and enabled me to reflect outside of my intellectual "comfort zone," so to speak.
I am also a professional musician (view her website here), which has inspired my research on Global Copyright Law. Historically speaking, the dissemination of music was such that borders were always permeable. There is a tension between music and dance, which are inherently international, and copyright, which was ostensibly developed in domestic legal systems that originally arose in the context of piracy cases where composers stole melodies or other musical aspects of a piece which was in the public domain of other countries. This led to the adoption of the United States' 'international' Copyright Act of 1891.
I adopt a transversal approach, however, by addressing overarching legal issues and dilemmas that both unify and divide subjects which cut across the state borders that arise in the context of the music business. I consider the need of all actors in the music business to think differently both about the law, which is underwritten by the tension between administration, adjudication and dispute settlement of artists' rights and which is embedded in overlapping spheres of regulation. Copyright law provides a useful case study of the need to think creatively about ways of administrating artists' rights globally, so that it is efficient and equitable. I consider the need to engage with Global Copyright Law in context in such as way that is able to meet the demands of the adaptive capacity of the law, those who implement it and not least those who seek to rely on the rights contained therein.
External links:
International Human Rights Program at the Josef Korbel School
Global Health Affairs Certificate program at the Josef Korbel School
