Law MPhil

Our academic research is respected internationally for its rigour and significance. We are committed to contributing, through the excellence of our research and policy work, to critical exploration of the role of law in promoting (or inhibiting) social justice. We take as the inspiration for our legal investigations core values such as equality and citizenship, participation and exclusion, vulnerability and social responsibility – whilst also reflecting upon how such values are themselves constructed and critiqued.

Overview

Our Department hosts eight Research Clusters, which are crucial in supporting the building of external partnerships, providing a platform for knowledge exchange, and coordinating timely responses to current legal and policy developments.

The Charity Law and Policy Unit (CLPU) carries out research into the legal issues facing charities and third sector organisations, often with a strong empirical element and leading to proposals for legal and regulatory reform, which have made important contributions to policy change in this field. Examples are the unit's path-breaking work on charity mergers, disputes in the charitable sector, the legal structure of charities, housing the mentally vulnerable, and charities and equality legislation.

International Criminal Law (ICL) has become one of the most prominent aspects of international law. The International Criminal Court and other tribunals have captured the imagination of the public, and international criminal justice has become a much commented-upon scholarly topic. However, more recently, the engagement with international criminal law has also been marked by a sense of disillusionment. Increasingly, scholars, activists and practitioners are drawing attention to international criminal law’s biases and blind spots, as well as its role in perpetuating unequal global power relations.

The European Children's Rights Unit (ECRU) works alongside many external members from a range of academic, non-governmental and other research-driven organisations, to pursue a participatory, interdisciplinary research ethos into children's rights. Its focus is on the European (including comparative) dimension and is particularly distinctive in exploring the interplay between different levels of governance and the impact of those interactions on children's rights.

The Health Law and Regulation Unit (HLARU) supports research and knowledge exchange activities in the field of health law and regulation. HLARU brings together a range of experts pursuing cutting-edge, impactful research into current legal, regulatory and policy dilemmas in healthcare. Our members’ expertise encompasses a wide range of health law topics, including medical malpractice, patient capacity and consent, reproduction, professional regulation, children and medicine, research ethics, and mental health. We are committed to conducting world-leading legal and policy research which will make a significant original contribution to health law scholarship and enhance the quality of public debate in a particularly controversial field.