The development of international law is closely interwoven with colonialization and imperialism. Colonial violence was frequently covered up, and injustices were incorporated into a legal system. Imperial continuities persist in today's international law, as well as in international economic and trade structures.

ECCHR works on de- and postcolonial criticism of the law to point out and overcome colonial structures in current international law: What does this mean for the way we approach current law? Does international law today still contribute to exploitation, violence, and social, political as well as cultural exclusion? How could the law be used to counter (post)colonial injustices?

The first symposium of the Koloniales Erbe/Colonial Repercussions event series, organized by ECCHR in collaboration with Akademie der Künste in January 2018 in Berlin, opened a first public space for discourse on this project. It traced how violence has been rendered invisible, and injustice became law.

Legal experts from all over the world not only discussed the colonial crimes of the European states and the question of reparations but also structures of colonial power relations, which continue to impact science, art and society today.

The program included talks and panels with Antony Anghie, Christian Bommarius, Williams Chima, Luis Eslava, Kranti LC, Gesine Krüger, Christophe Marchand, Mnyaka Sururu Mboro, Ester Muinjangue, Makau Mutua, Obiora Chinedu Okafor, Bernadus Swartbooi, Celine Tan, Liesbeth Zegveld and others.

Artistic interventions like the jazz performance by Congolese author and Junge Akademie fellow Fiston Mwanza Mujila, the video works O Sacudimento da Casa de Torre (2015) by Brazilian artist Ayrson Heráclito and Im Schiffbruch nicht schwimmen können (2011) by Akademie member Marcel Odenbach reflected on the global ramifications of decolonialization in today’s society.

Find more information on the other events of the series Koloniales Erbe/Colonial Repercussions here.