Mohammad Reza Khabook
Reza was born in Tehran, Iran and obtained his LL.B from Shahid Beheshti University (Tehran, Iran) in 2016. He also completed his LL.M in Public Law by working on “the Conflict between Fundamental Rights and Public Interest in light of Exceptionalism” as his thesis at Shahid Beheshti University in 2018. Later, in 2020, by researching on “Deprivation of Citizenship Right of Foreign Terrorist Fighters; Case Study of the UK and Germany”, he graduated from a joint master`s degree in International Security Studies at Sant`Anna School of Advanced Studies of Pisa and the University of Trento as a fully granted student. He joined the Academy for European Human Rights Protection at the University of Cologne in Summer 2021.
Areas of research
- Human Rights Protection
- Counter-Terrorism
- State of Emergency
- Comparative Constitutional Law
- Rule of Law
Current research project
Reza wrote his doctoral thesis on emergencies in the rule of law during the Corona pandemic. In this thesis, he researched how the health emergencies in Germany, the United Kingdom and Iran could be reconciled with the rule of law.
Description
During the Coronavirus pandemic, various governments or cities have declared a state of emergency. Despite much research on the state of emergency, we lack a focused theory of the topic in the context of pandemic and health emergencies more generally. The aim of this project is offering a significant contribution to the field by examining the reactions of the UK, Germany and Iran against the Covid-19 pandemic through the lenses of the rule of law principles.
The formal features of emergency law are usually part of constitutional texts. Moreover, various conventions, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) have related regulations. Article 4 of the ICCPR and Article 15 of the ECHR allow governments to derogate from their obligations regarding certain rights. Hence, the formality of emergency law, which talks about “constitutional norms determining the procedures for initiation, execution and termination of the emergency powers”, in all cases of emergencies is clear. On the other hand, the "material emergency law" which implies to “ad hoc created norms on the basis of emergency powers granted by formal emergency law” in a general view and particularly in case of the health emergency is not clear.
Therefore, this PhD project would investigate the complement of formal and material emergency laws in case of the health emergency with the rule of law principles.
Publications
Book chapters:
- Khabook, M.R. and Yavari, A. (2017), The Notion of Human Security and its influence on Support of Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
Articles:
- Komitaki, M. B., & Khabook, M. R. (2020). Nexus between exceptionalism and rule of law in the light of 'governmentality'. International Journal of Human Rights and Constitutional Studies, 7(3), 171-192.
- Khabook, Reza, Application of the Precautionary Principle in Dealing with Future Pandemic Diseases: The Dilemma of Legality and Legitimacy Under the Rule of Law, in: Utrecht Law Review, 20(3), p. 10-25, 2024.
Blogposts:
- Khabook, Reza, Iran’s Appointment as the Chair-Rapporteur of the UNHRC Social Forum: Politicisation of Subsidiary Expert UN Human Rights Bodies, Völkerrechtsblog, doi: 10.17176/20230608-110936-0.
- Sharifzad, Shiva & Khabook, Reza (6 February 2023), Emergency Derogation or Curtailment of Human Rights?: A Critical Analysis of Iran’s Internet Shutdowns, Völkerrechtsblog, doi: 10.17176/20230206-112958-0.
- Van de Graaf, Cathérine & Khabook, Reza (28 January 2022), Ali Riza v. Switzerland: No Jurisdiction for the Court of Arbitration for Sport?, Strasbourg Observers.