Human Rights Colloquium: Lawyering under Authoritarianism: The Iranian Experience

This FAU CHREN Human Rights Colloquium will be held on 12 November 2025 from 6 to 7:30 pm and will feature Afrooz Maghzi as speaker and Prof. Dr. Eva Pils as chair.

Description

This presentation examines the evolution of cause lawyering in Iran as a case study of legal advocacy under authoritarian rule. Iranian lawyers have long defended political dissidents, advanced rights, and contested repression, yet their work unfolds within a legal order designed to both enable and constrain activism. Drawing on socio-legal debates on authoritarian legality, the talk highlights the paradoxical opportunities that make legal advocacy possible, while also tracing the state’s strategies of suppression—from judicial control and parallel courts to harassment, disbarment, and exile. By situating Iran within broader authoritarian contexts, the analysis shows how lawyers navigate between repression and possibility, and how their engagement has influenced social and political movements in contemporary Iran. The Iranian experience also offers insights into the dilemmas and strategies of lawyering under conditions of rising authoritarianism worldwide.

Speaker Bio

Afrooz Maghzi is an Iranian lawyer, socio-legal scholar, and human rights activist. She holds a PhD in Law from Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg in cooperation with the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, and has been a Visiting Fellow at Harvard Law School. She previously worked with the FAU Research Centre for Islam and Law in Europe (EZIRE) and is currently affiliated with the Irish Centre for Human Rights in Galway. Her research focuses on lawyering, gender, minority rights, and human rights in authoritarian contexts, with a particular focus on Iran.

Disclaimer/Media Notice

Photos and/or videos may be taken during this event for FAU CHREN’s documentation and public outreach (e.g., website, social media). By attending, you consent to this use — unless you inform us otherwise in advance or during the event. If you do not wish to appear in photos or videos, please let the organizing team know in advance or upon arrival.