Student research topics
We have a strong postgraduate research community, with projects covering many different areas of legal research. Outlined below are a number of research topics currently being explored by our students. You can also view a list of recently completed PhDs.
Louise Hague
The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council as the Final Court of Ecclesiastical Appeals from c. 1832 to 1883
The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) was established in 1833 as a direct consequence of the reforms suggested by the Royal Commission on Ecclesiastical Courts, which published its special report in 1832. The JCPC replaced the Court of Delegates as the court of final ecclesiastical appeal under the Judicial Committee Act 1833. Following prolonged debate about the proper character and composition of ecclesiastical appellate jurisdiction, numerous reform initiatives, and a number of causes celebres, the Royal Commission on Ecclesiastical Courts tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to settle the matter once and for all in its 1883 report. Louise's thesis examines what factors and considerations shaped the foundation of the JCPC as the final court of ecclesiastical appeal, perceptions of its work, composition and authority, and proposals for the reform of ecclesiastical appeals in the period from 1833 to 1883.
Louise is a Teaching Fellow in the Law School and commenced her doctorate after completing LLM in Legal History at Reading. She recently presented a research seminar for the Forum for Legal and Historical Research at Reading.
Amy Jackson
What is Law? Unveiling the Critical Legal Pluralist Question
Amy's thesis aims to make a novel contribution to international scholarship through broadening the traditional outlook to include space for discussion of the role of individuals as legal subjects. Her project examines the extent to which that outlook might be informed through legal pluralist analysis. The concept of global legal pluralism has been used to analyse the role of international organisations and corporations in international law. Legal pluralism, however, remains a controversial concept opposed by international scholars. Nevertheless, this thesis aims to provide a theoretical foundation for the development of legal mechanisms which will accommodate the contemporary role of the individual appropriately.
Amy holds a studentship from the University of Reading Graduate Schools of Social Sciences and Arts and Humanities. She is an Associate Tutor in Criminal Law at the University of Sussex. Amy has recently published a book review in the Journal of Legal Pluralism and has an article forthcoming in the Osgoode Hall Law Journal. She has made numerous conference presentations in the last two years, including delivering papers at graduate conferences at Osgoode Hall Law School (York University, Toronto), the University of Aberdeen, King's College London, and the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London.
David Leary
The Security Council's Response to Terrorism and the Balance Between Liberty and Security under International Law
David's research will examine the relationship between obligations created by the UN Security Council in response to the threat posed by terrorism and the balance between liberty and security as reflected under international human rights, humanitarian and refugee law. He will explore the degree to which the Council's 'legislative' approach following the events of 11 September 2001, generating universally binding legal norms without geographic or temporal limitation, may influence or encroach upon existing standards under international law, or inhibit their development, with particular regard to rules restricting the preventive detention of terrorism suspects and prohibiting their expulsion where there exists a risk of mistreatment or torture overseas.
David holds a Graduate Teaching Assistantship in the Law School and teaches on the Legal Skills module in the LLB. He assisted with the preparations for a conference held by the School of Law regarding the recent conflict between Russia and Georgia and the implications of these events for the international legal order. David did his undergraduate Law degree at the University of Bristol and his LLM International Business Law at the University of Liverpool.
Jen Newton
A Legal Framework for Detection and Attribution of Climate Change Costs
Jen's research will focus on the development of scientific techniques for detection and attribution of climate change that will be applicable in the legal sphere. In the United States a number of legal actions have been launched using civil mechanisms against alleged contributors to climate change with a view to obtaining damages or other remedies. The success of these actions has been mixed with the courts struggling to deal with scientific uncertainty and in particular issues of causation and attribution. Jen will attempt to develop tests for use in tort-based climate change litigation, which are suitable for the detection of climate change, and where there are effects, for determining whether and how these should be attributed to defendants in these cases.
Jen holds an inter-disciplinary studentship with her work based in both the Law School and Department of Meteorology. She gained a BSc in Geography from the University of Leicester in 2004 and an Msc in Applied Meteorology and Climatology from the University of Birmingham in 2005. Since then she worked for the Environment Agency, and then the Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat) in Birmingham gaining experience in government regulation and policy development.
Peter Orji
The Evolution of Regulatory Framework for E-Commerce - Metamorphosis of Traditional Principles
This research aims at examining the response of the law to technological advancement in the virtual market in relation to contract formation. It will assess the relevance and applicability of established principles of contract law to the electronic environment, the adaptation of inapplicable rules, and the evolution of new rules where none existed. The work reviews cases of contracts formed offline that might pose legal difficulty to online dealings, and examines the practical approach to circumventing the problems. It extensively attempts reviewing cases decided under various new rules for virtual trading, tracing the link between such new rules and the pre-existing ones.
Peter also researches and presents conference papers in Legal Theory and Jurisprudence, as linked to his core area of research. His publications include a co-authored article, "The Evolution of International Criminal Jurisdiction: The International Criminal Court in View" (2004) 2(1) Benin Journal of Public Law 115-131.
Joy Reddy
Non-State Actors and the Law of Non-International Armed Conflicts
Joy's research addresses the difficulties of a practical application of the law to non-international armed conflict, and specifically to the conduct of non-State actors engaged in such conflict. Undertaking a teleological evaluation of international humanitarian law in its application to the conduct of non-State actors in non-international armed conflicts, the project examines the classification of non-international armed conflicts, the binding nature of this law on non-State actors, the compliance by non-State actors with the law of non-international armed conflict, and enforcement of the law.
Joy is a graduate of the University of Arkansas where she completed a BA Spanish & Anthropology and then completed the LLM International Law & World Order at the University of Reading. Joy's doctoral work is undertaken with the support of a Leverhulme Trust studentship under the Liberal Way of War research programme and a Modern Law Review scholarship.
Olugu Ukpai
Beyond 'Amputating A Healthy Limb' Argument: Female Genital Cutting (FGC): Problems and Prospects of Its Socio-Legal Abolition in South-Eastern Nigeria.
Olugu's thesis investigates the failure of the Nigerian judiciary to creatively take a progressive stance against cases involving the practice of FGC and gender equality. An analysis of the Court's first decade of gender jurisprudence has failed to address the "woman question". During that period, the judiciary demonstrated failure in applying with matters relating to socio-religious and cultural practices against women. The thesis asks, what formal legal strategies will be most effective in bringing an end to FGC in Nigeria?
Olugu has published two books, Men's Perspectives on Female Genital Cutting in South-eastern Nigeria: From Another Point Of View (VDM Verlag Dr. Mller, 2009) and Female Genital Cutting In The Company Of Men: A Guide To Current Debate: De-Theorizing Hegemonic Ideology of African Men Towards The Practice of FGC (Lambert Academic Publishing, 2010). He has a peer-reviewed article forthcoming in rnkrind: A Journal of African Migration (2010). His recent conference presentations include a paper delivered at the Xn Foundation's annual International Conference of Nigerian Students (Kent University, 2010). He is a regular contributor to online news media regarding Nigerian issues.
Stuart Davis
Cross-Border Recognition of Gay Marriages and Civil Partnerships in the European Union
Stuart's research looks at the extent to which a gay marriage or civil union validly entered into in one Member State is or should be recognised and given effect in another Member State. He will first look at developments in federal systems such as the US, Canada and Australia and consider if these provide a basis or comparison for the resolution of conflicts over recognition. He will then focus on the situation in the EU, considering in particular whether a failure by a Member State to accord recognition is consistent with obligations under the EU treaties or case-law, and whether the failure of the European Institutions to provide for mutual recognition is itself consistent with EU law.
Stuart has an LL.B. (European) from the Universities of Exeter and Aix-Marseille III, and a postgraduate diploma in European Law from the Europa-Institut in Saarbrcken. He trained as a solicitor at a large City firm, and spent six months as a stagiaire in the European Commission's Legal Service as winner of the Law Society European Bursary. Since qualification Stuart has worked for various law firms and international corporations.
Alex Dymock
Abject Intimacies: Disgust, Sexuality and UK Law
Alexandra's research focuses on the legal governance of sexuality in the UK and the law's relationship with disgust, questioning why some sexual practices are held to be abject and disgusting, whilst others are not. Her work aims to provide an important contribution to an emerging field of study examining the intersection of emotion and law. She is employing the methodologies of affect theory to textual analysis of UK laws through three case studies where the social mechanism of disgust appears, or is specified to be, in use.
Alex holds a University of Reading Social Sciences Studentship and comes to the school of Law from an interdisciplinary academic background. She holds a BA in English Language & Literature (Leeds) and an MA in Gender & Culture (Goldsmiths, University of London). She has worked for the pressure group, Backlash, since 2005, and has presented her research at a number of conferences and seminars at University of Exeter, Queen Mary University of London, University of Cambridge, Southbank University and University of Leeds among others. She has a chapter forthcoming in Lisa Downing (ed) Reading 'Bitchy Jones's Diary': Feminism, BDSM and the Female-Authored Sex Blog, Palgrave, 2011. Alex is also teaching some seminars on the Jurisprudence module in the LLB.
Nora Honkala
Forced Marriages, International Law and the Rights of Women Seeking Asylum
Nora's thesis examines the extent and the ways in which the domestic application of international law plays a role in the protection of asylum seeker women's rights in forced marriage cases. Her socio-legal project employs a critical feminist human rights approach to evaluating gender and asylum issues in the UK. Through the examination of legislative measures, gender sensitivity of decision-makers and the current political and social climate and their possible effects and implications to women asylum seekers, she seeks to analyse whether and how the existing law is adequate for the protection of asylum seeker women's rights. Her research includes an empirical study of the cases regarding forced marriage in the Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) and Court of Appeals.
Nora is from Finland and she did her LLB in Australia at the University of Melbourne and her LLM in International Law and World Order at the University of Reading. She holds a South East Doctoral Training Centre ESRC studentship. She is also one of the tutorial leaders for LLB Legal Skills.
Stephen Samuel
Diplomats, Practitioners, Scholars: A Study of the Multiple Roles Played by International Lawyers in Public International Law
Steve will be studying international lawyers in their many guises from diplomats to judges. The term "international lawyer" is often used by experts and the general public alike. Yet, both the term and the people that identify themselves with those terms have neither been clearly defined nor understood. Comprising theoretical and empirical methodologies, his thesis proposes some new ways in which this highly specialised and influential actor of the international legal system can be understood.
Steve is a Singaporean who first joined Reading for the LLM in International Law and World Order programme. Along with his doctoral work, he tutors in the International Law Mooting module and regularly works as a research assistant for different academic staff in the School.
David Yuratich
Conceptions of Democracy at the European Court of Justice
In recent times, the European Union (EU)'s perceived democratic deficit has become a major legal and political issue. Accordingly, many models for making the EU more democratic have been proposed. David's thesis contributes to this debate in two ways. Its bulk asks how the European Court of Justice (ECJ) envisions democracy or democratic legitimacy in the EU, focusing on representative, republican, deliberative and rights-based approaches to democracy. Because the ECJ plays a major role in shaping the EU polity, its jurisprudence is a strong indicator of which models are feasible or practical. With this in mind, the second part of his thesis uses these findings to assess the appropriateness of several models of democratic legitimacy.
David holds a University of Reading Social Sciences Studentship. As an undergraduate he studied history at the University of Exeter before converting to law. He commenced his doctorate in 2010 after completing the LLM European Union Law at Reading. In addition to his research, he teaches on the LLB Constitutional Law module.
Wanni Teo
EU external co-operation on counter-terrorism: a fundamental rights perspective on information sharing
Wanni's research examines the EU's external co-operation in policing and security matters, specifically the sharing of information about individuals between the EU and third countries to counter-terrorism and organised crime. The project uses cross-border information sharing arrangements such as airline passenger data transfers as case studies, investigating the protection of the rights to privacy and non-discrimination in such activities. It examines the pro-active policing measures employed by the EU and its Member States, including the gathering, processing and transfer of personal information in the context of law enforcement co-operation with private entities. Wanni's research seeks to contribute to the debate about government use, sharing and control of individuals' information.
Wanni comes to the Law School after several years practice in legal policy, human rights and counter-human trafficking. Wanni completed her Master and undergraduate degrees at Australian universities. Her research is undertaken with the support of a University of Reading Social Sciences Research Studentship. She is one of the tutors for the LLB Legal Skills.
Athanassios Skourtis
The Application of a More Economics-based Approach (MEA) and Behavioural Economics in EU Competition Law
Athanassios' research will examine the relationship between the European Commission's "More Economics-Based Approach" to EU Competition Law and the emergence of Behavioural Economics in Antitrust Analysis. The progressing "economisation" of EU Competition Law has been heavily criticised regarding its alleged methodological lacunae and lack of contours, its bringing about a "de-legalisation" of competition law, its compatibility with EU primary law and ECJ jurisprudence, and its affecting legal certainty. Behavioural Economics challenges the basic assumption that all economic players are absolutely rational and claims to be able to detect the antitrust-relevant limitations and biases in human decision-making and to employ the latter in a systematic and predictable manner. Is Behavioural Economics an appropriate tool to inform EU Competition law and policy and address the aforementioned issues and possible shortcomings?
Athanassios studied law at undergraduate level at the University of Athens and obtained an MBLT Degree (Master in Business Law & Taxation) from the University of Mannheim and a Postgraduate Diploma in EC Competition Law (distance learning) from King's College London. He currently holds a scholarship for his doctoral research from the Academy of Athens. Athanassios has been a member of the Athens Bar Association and worked as a lawyer in Greece since 2002.
Damian Gonzalez-Salzberg
Rethinking discrimination law: A queer analysis of the category-based approach to discrimination based on gender, sexual orientation and gender identity.
Damian's research aims to analyse the relevance given by the Law to individual's genitalia and its consequences regarding the enjoyment of rights without discrimination. The work will examine and deconstruct the development of the category of sex, created through the legally regulated division of individuals in two distinctive groups. Working within the theoretical framework of Queer Theory, the research will conduct a study of the historical evolution of discrimination based on gender, sexual orientation and gender identity, in order to study how the legislation, resting on the category of sex, has constructed these categories by giving and depriving them of legal consequences.
Damian is an Attorney-at-Law from Argentina, where he has worked on Human Rights Law for both an NGO and the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights. He has been a GTA in International Law at the University of Buenos Aires and has worked on legal and political research both in academia and in a think tank. Damian's legal work has been published in peer-reviewed journals and collective works. Besides his Law degree (UBA), he has an MA in Public Administration and Public Policy (York) and an MA in International Relations (IBEI). Damian holds a University of Reading Social Sciences Studentship.
Michelle Johnson
Theories of Conscience in English Law: 1520-1640
Michelle's research addresses the relationship between the concepts of conscience and equity in early modern English law. The term 'equity' can refer to a moral concept or a cluster of legal practices. The current literature covering the development of early modern equity largely focuses on the latter understanding of equity, charting its development via an examination of so-called 'equitable' institutions. Michelle's thesis distinguishes itself by focusing rather on the history of the ideas which shaped early modern equity, especially the notion of 'conscience'. The thesis explores the implications of the fact that early modern lawyers saw 'equity' as linked to morality in general and specifically to the natural law tradition (i.e. as promoting the idea that all forms of public law are ultimately based on God's law discerned via human reason) as the authority behind all publicly administered law. In consequence, the thesis will demonstrate how professional practices reflected moral and religious thinking.
Michelle is a graduate of the University of Edinburgh where she completed an LLB. Michelle then completed an MA in Law by Research at Queen Mary, University of London. Michelle's Ph.D is undertaken jointly in the School of Law and the Department of Politics.
Jonathan Nash
Rights to Light: An Equilibrium of Rights
Light is of fundamental importance to us our lives and the way we live them. In England, where new building developments are proposed, there is a system of material considerations to protect the amenity of neighbouring land by Local Authorities at planning, and rights to light at law. These govern on the one hand the inherent right to utilise land, and on the other, the protection of the access to light to neighbouring land. Jonathan's research examines the relationship between the relevant property rights acquired, the contrast between planning and law, and considers how the right to utilise land is balanced with the protection of neighbouring land.
Jonathan is a graduate if the University of Greenwich where he completed his LLB. He is also a Director of his own company that specialises in legal and planning matters relating to natural light. Jonathan has contributed to the Watts Pocket Handbook (2007, RICS Books) and published an article in Butterworths' Property Law Newsletter,'The 45 Rule' (2010) 2(9) PLN 7-8.
Recent successfully defended PhDs
- Clemens Rieder (2012): Cementing Solidarity in EU Health Care Law: The Role of Rights and the ECJ
- Tim Moorhead (2011): Values and Legal Order: The Institutional Role of the European Court of Justice
- Rosalynd Roberts (2011): The Relationship between the International Criminal Court and the United Nations Security Council
- Anan Al Sheik Haidar (2010): Regionalising International Criminal Justice with Particular Reference to the Middle East
- Francis Grimal (2009): Threats of force: International Law and Strategy
- Anneke Smit (2008): The Limits of Housing and Property Restitution and Return: Case Studies of Georgia and Kosovo
- Becca Sampson (2008): Childrens' Rights as International Law
- Richard Austen-Baker (2006): The Relational Contract Theory of Ian Macneil: An and the work of Ian MacNeil
Patricia Rosochowicz (2006): Deterring Cartel and Abuse of Dominant Position Activity in the European Union: A Comparative study