Leicester Law School
News archive 2024
Browse news stories published by the Leicester Law School in 2024.
29 November 2024
Legal Advice Clinic wins Teaching Excellence award at the Citizens Award 2024
The Legal Advice Clinic won a Teaching Excellence Award in the University’s Citizens Awards, in which the University recognises staff talent, hard work and dedication. The award was for their Vacation Scheme which runs between June and September.
In 2024, the Clinic received over 100 applications from students to participate. Students who carried out clinic work were then offered a bursary (funded by benefactors or by the University employability funds). The bursary is intended to make the Scheme more inclusive, so students are more likely to be able to afford to take part. The Scheme allows a diverse range of students to participate, including those who cannot undertake pro bono work during term time due to studies, work and other commitments.
As a teaching law firm, the Legal Advice Clinic offers these opportunities to students who might be reluctant to participate or find it difficult to find legal work experience. The work they do, then allows them to support their applications and interviews when they apply for placements or jobs. Unsuccessful candidates receive feedback on their application and CV, helping them to improve for future opportunities.
The Legal Advice Clinic team of Laura Bee, Poonam Chudasama, Afsha Sharif, Edward Jones, Steve Evans and Suzanne Xiao were thrilled to receive this award and the recognition for the work they do. The Clinic is such an integral part of the Law School and University, and continues to grow in client numbers and outreach work.
22 November 2024
Law School Associate Professor Cited in Landmark Supreme Court Ruling
Pascale Lorber, Associate Professor in Employment Law, has been cited by the Supreme Court in a landmark case concerning trade union rights.
The case, Secretary of State for the Home Department v Public and Commercial Services Union, revolved around a government decision impacting union members' ability to pay their dues via salary deductions. Pascale's expert commentary on the Court of Appeal decision (overturned by the Supreme Court) was referenced by Lord Sales and Lady Rose in their deliberations.
This recognition highlights the significant impact of her research. The Supreme Court's decision, hailed as a landmark victory for trade unions, underscores the importance of academic scholarship in shaping legal interpretation and safeguarding employee rights.
Pascale Lorber's cited article, "Check off, variation of contract and collective voice: Secretary of State for the Home Department v Cox," can be found in the Industrial Law Journal (2023) 52(4) ILJ 944. https://doi.org/10.1093/indlaw/dwad029
20 November 2024
‘How New Digital Technologies are Challenging and Changing Private Commercial Law’
Professor Francois du Bois
Professor du Bois of Leicester Law School will deliver this talk as part of the newly formed Private and Commercial Law research cluster.
Event Details
Open to: All Leicester Law School staff and students
Date and time: 20 November 2024, 2.00pm–3.00pm (postponed from 6 November 2024)
Location: Gimson Room, Fielding Johnson Building (Maps and directions)
More information: Professor Peter Jaffey
Private and Commercial Law Research Cluster event
23 October 2024
‘From Panacea to Dirty Word? Convergence and Divergence in ESG in International Perspective’
This is an online cluster meeting with Prof Thilo Kuntz of Heinrich-Heine-University Dusseldorf
Abstract
ESG has been the talk of the day in corporate law for the last ten to twenty years. Far-reaching initiatives like the EU Green Deal and the UK Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution have engendered extensive legal frameworks, eg laws concerning disclosure of nonfinancial information and supply-chain regulation. Additionally, so-called "soft law", promulgated by the OECD and other NGOs, has gained a strong foothold in company practice and has been minted into hard law by courts.
Consequently, corporate fiduciary law has become more transnational and international. Concomitantly, safe harbors like the business judgment rule weaken, to the detriment of directors. Recently, however, ESG has been drawn into the "culture wars" in the US, with strong headwinds both on the federal and on the state level. This portends an increasing divergence between the US and Europe (possibly including the UK). Given the importance of US investors in Europe, this may lead to trouble for European companies.
Thilo Kuntz holds the Chair in Private Law, Commercial, and Corporate Law and is Managing Director of the Institute of Corporate Law at Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Germany. Previously, he was a tenured professor of law (chair) at Bremen University and Bucerius Law School, Germany. He was a Visiting Professor at Notre Dame Law School (2021) and UCLA School of Law (2024).
His research lies in Fiduciary Law, Corporate Law, Comparative Law, Law and Economics, and Private Law Theory. Kuntz received his First State Exam (JD/LLB equivalent) in 2003 and his PhD in law at Justus-Liebig-University of Giessen in 2008, his LL.M. at the University of Chicago Law School in 2007. His habilitationsschrift was awared the most prestigious German prize for scholarly work in corporate law in 2014.
He is the sole editor of the ‘Research Handbook in Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance’ (Edward Elgar 2024) and co-editor of books on ‘Corporate Purpose, CSR and ESG: A Trans-Atlantic Dialogue’ (OUP 2024, with Jens-Hinrich Binder and Klaus J. Hopt), ‘Transnational Fiduciary Law’ (CUP 2024, with Seth Davis and Gregory Shaffer) and on ‘Methodology in Private Law Theory’ (OUP 2024, with Paul B. Miller).
Event Details
Open to: All
Date and time: 23 October 2024, 4.00pm–5.30pm
Location: Online
More information: Professor Peter Jaffey
Private and Commercial Law Research Cluster event
19 August 2024
Global South Network Holds First Annual Meeting
The Global South Network (GSN) celebrated its first year with a successful Annual General Meeting (AGM) on July 23rd, 2024.
After opening remarks by GSN founder, Dr. Nauman Reayat, the keynote speech was delivered by University of Leicester Vice Chancellor Prof. Nishan Canagarajah. The keynote was part of the network's initiative to inspire people to bridge the gap between the Global North and Global South. Prof. Canagarajah also launched the GSN website.
The second session addressed challenges and solutions for postgraduate researchers from the Global South.
GSN accomplishments in just a year, include over 60 knowledge exchange activities, a convener team, an advisory committee, a YouTube channel, editorial boards, and public engagement initiatives. Across these 12 months the network has given equal coverage to the legal issues in Afghanistan, Ukraine, and Palestine.
Learn More: Meeting highlights (four minutes) and further session details on the GSN website.
GSN is the only early career researcher led network actively bridging divides in the Global South through knowledge exchange and inclusivity.
26 June 2024
Leicester Law School PGR Conference 2024: A Record-Breaking Success
The Leicester Law School PGR Conference 2024, themed 'Law in Times of Change: Global Trends in Justice', was a resounding success. Head of the School praised the conference as the biggest one yet, with a record number of participants and sessions.
The conference, which took place on 27 June 2024 at the Leicester University Campus and online, saw a total of 41 presenters from various disciplines, including Company Law, Immigration and Asylum, Human Rights, and more. Notably, 26 presenters came from outside the Leicester Law School, with 7 presenters from outside the UK. The conference featured the total of 12 panel sessions in 3 parallel streams on topics such as Sustainability and Environmental Law, Digital Law and AI, and the Rule of Law.
A highlight of the event was the keynote speech by Dr Iris Lightfoote, CEO of The Race Equality Centre, who addressed pressing issues of social justice and importance of anti-racism work.
The success of the conference is attributed to the hard work and dedication of the organising committee, which included Kasandra Silcott, Ruijue Gu, Xin Wang, Ewa Karolina Garbarz, and Mandeep Singh. Additionally, the support of staff members was instrumental in ensuring the smooth running of the event. Many thanks to all academic staff who got engaged in the Conference.
Overall, the Leicester Law School PGR Conference 2024 brought together young researchers, and academic experts to discuss and debate the most pressing global issues facing various fields of law.
20 June 2024
Leicester Law School students excel in prestigious mooting competition
Leicester Law School students, Oliver Dales and Amy Cross reached the final of the ESU/ Essex Court National Mooting Competition held at the Royal Courts of Justice on 20 June 2024.
After beating Manchester Metropolitan University in the semi-final, Leicester Law School's Amy Cross and Oliver Dales reached the finals of the prestigious mooting competition, narrowly missing out to Greenwich University. Though runners-up, they impressed judges, Mrs Justice Cockerill, Mr Justice Foxton and Hugh Mercer KC, with their strong advocacy skills.
The students secured valuable prizes for themselves (Scarman Shield £750) and the Law School (£500). Both Amy and Oliver were awarded mini pupillages at Essex Court.
The competition (formerly known as the Observer Mace) is now in its 54th year and the most prestigious national mooting competition. 52 teams entered the competition this year that took place over six rounds so it was a major achievement to reach the final.
23 May 2024
Law School Academics discuss Feminist Methodology with European judges
Loveday Hodson and Troy Lavers explore how to make international judgments more just and inclusive.
Following from a successful workshop with Judges from the Hague in 2023, Dr Loveday Hodson and Dr Troy Lavers as well as other authors from their book Feminist Judgments in International Law organised a successful meeting on 17 May with and judges from the European Court of Human Rights to discuss how feminist ideas can shape judgment writing.
Judges from the European Court of Human Rights and academics from Leicester and beyond came together to explore how feminist methodology can be used by judges when deciding the outcome of cases. Using examples taken from a book edited by Drs Hodson and Lavers, participants explored how adopting different approaches to judgment writing can lead to very different outcomes in international cases.
Topics of discussion included abortion rights, domestic violence, gender identity, freedom of expression and bans on wearing headscarves. The discussion had wide-reaching implications for thinking about how to make international judgments more just and inclusive. Further discussions and events with feminist academics and judges to follow.
The organisers wish to thank the funders, the Rapid Response Scheme from the Economic and Social Research Council Impact Acceleration Account. Also we were grateful to be partnered with Institut Carré Malberg at Strasbourg University; the seeds of this partnership were sown at a CELI-organised meeting between the Institut and Leicester Law School.
16 May 2024
CELI Director appointed to Advisory Board of Leading Journal in European Law, May 2024
Professor Katja Ziegler was invited to join the Advisory Board of European Public Law
European Public Law is a leading journal in the area of European and comparative public law, including the implementation of EU law in the Member States, published by Kluwer. It is a longstanding journal founded in 1995 by doyen of the discipline, Professor Patrick Birkinshaw, now emeritus professor at Hull University.
Professor Ziegler commented: “I am honoured and thrilled to be joining the distinguished advisory board and to be given the opportunity support the journal into the future under the capable leadership of its editors-in-chief, Professor Carlo Panara and Dr Mike Varney. It is a crucial time for scholarship in European law in the UK and the journal must play its part to maintain and develop it into the future.”
15 May 2024
Staff Distinctions May 2024
Congratulations to the following staff:
- Teresa Rowe and Steve Evans who received the Leicester University Law Society (LULS) Staff Appreciation Accolade for their outstanding contributions to the society.
- Legal Advice Clinic who received a pledge from Sir Nick Green for £30,000 (£15,000 this year and £15,000 next year).
- Joycelin Eze-Okubuiro who was invited as a guest speaker by the University of Birmingham Business in its Decolonisation Project on 27 March 2024, and delivered a paper on 'Reflection on decolonial pedagogy in the higher education: Are the benefits one-sided?'
- Rufat Babayev who published his book Private Autonomy in EU Internal Market Law: Parameters of its Protection and Limitation by Hart in April.
8 May 2024
Law School's CREHL Research Centre Thrives with Seminars and New LLM Programme
The Centre for Research in European Human Rights Law (CREHL) at the University's Law School is solidifying its position as a hub for health law research and development.
Seminar Series
The CREHL Research Seminar Series invites renowned external speakers to present their health law research.
The series launched with Professor Jose Miola (co-director) and has since hosted Professor Jean McHale (University of Birmingham) on hospital discharge conditions.
Upcoming talks feature Professor Sara Fovargue (University of Sheffield), Dr Imogen Jones (University of Leeds), and Dr Craig Purshouse (University of Liverpool).
Supporting internal research
A new "CREHL - Work in Progress" Seminar Series allows members to present ongoing research and receive feedback from colleagues.
In semester one, Dr Alison Slade with ‘Intellectual Property Contract Terms to Enhance the Public Interest’) and Dr Danielle Watson with ‘Legal Personhood Status for Dissociative Identity Disorder Personae’ sought feedback on their respective research projects.
New LLM Programme in Health Law
Reflecting CREHL's research focus, a new LLM in Health Law program has been approved and is now accepting applications for September 2024.
This program delves into health law broadly, with a particular emphasis on health inequalities.
7 May 2024
Global South Network: Fostering Research and Engagement
The Global South Network (GSN), led by Dr Nauman Reayat, is dedicated to promoting research and knowledge exchange on issues related to the Global South.
Their recent activities include:
- International Conferences on ‘Law, Society, and Academia in the Global South’ and ‘Rethinking Research and Teaching on International Law’.
- ‘PhD in Progress’ Series with over 40 presentations from PhD researchers across 22 universities. These seminars provided a platform for interdisciplinary discussions on socio-legal matters impacting the Global South.
- Blog initiative with nine peer-reviewed blogs published to date.
- UK-wide PGR Community to connect PhD students across diverse fields.
- A coaching/mentoring program that has already helped one applicant secure a full international fee waiver for PhD studies.
27 March 2024
How Constructive Strategies would benefit Curriculum Decolonisation
Dr Joycelin Eze-Okubuiro invited as guest speaker on Decolonisation
Dr Joycelin Eze-Okubuiro was invited by the University of Birmingham Business School as a guest speaker in its Decolonisation project on 27 March 2024. The theme of the event was ‘Decolonisation Across Universities: Strategies, Challenges and Outcomes’. The project aims to bring diverse scholars to share their findings and insights to enhance collaboration and best practices in decolonisation initiatives among universities.
Dr Eze-Okubuiro, made a presentation titled ‘Reflection on decolonial pedagogy in higher education: Are the benefits one-sided?’. She raised discussion on foundational issues of decolonisation and how practical strategies could be beneficial to all stakeholders in the educational system and the society.
She recommended constructive strategies that could be adopted in decolonisation designs in the educational system and the need to avoid unconscious bias or patronising situations during implementation processes. The presentation promoted a balanced view on decolonisation approaches that would be ‘inclusive and beneficial’ to all. Members of the Birmingham Business School Decolonisation Project with Dr Eze-Okubuiro includes Dr Alice Ronson, Dr Browen Burton and Dr Sharin McDowall-Emefiele.
She recommended constructive strategies that could be adopted in decolonisation designs in the educational system/avoid unconscious bias or patronising situations during implementation processes promoted a balanced view on decolonisation approaches that would be ‘inclusive and beneficial’ to all.
18 March 2024
Leicester University Law Society Celebrates Achievements at Awards Night 2024
The Leicester University Law Society (LULS) hosted its annual awards evening on March 18th, 2024, marking a successful year and recognizing outstanding contributions.
This year's event saw a special collaboration with fellow law societies, including Pro Bono, Pan African Law, Women in Law, Sports and Entertainment, and Canadian Law. The ceremony acknowledged both staff and courses, with nominations coming directly from students. Erica Naylor and Reena Kaur were commended for their exceptional efforts in organizing the event, ensuring a memorable celebration for all.
Award Highlights
Education Excellence Awards:
Best Course for First Year: Tort Law
Best Course for Second Year: Criminal Law
Best Course for Third Year: Employment Law
Education Excellence Awards - Lecturers:
Best Lecturer for First Year: Nicky Jackson & Arwen Joyce (joint award)
Best Lecturer for Second Year: Dan Bansal
Best Lecturer for Third Year: Oxana Golynker
LULS Staff Appreciation Accolades:
Outstanding Contributions to the Society: Steve Evans & Teresa Rowe (joint award)
Outstanding Dedication to Aspiring City Lawyers: Masood Ahmed
The collaborative effort with fellow societies and the recognition of both staff and students solidified the awards evening as a celebration of the entire Leicester Law School community.
15 March 2024
Special issue of Industrial Law Journal explores migration and exploitation in employment
Arwen Joyce and Bernard Ryan edited a special issue of the Industrial Law Journal published in March 2024.
Professor Bernard Ryan and Dr Arwen Joyce edited a special issue of the Industrial Law Journal (Volume 53, Issue 1, March 2024) addressing exploitation in the employment sphere involving migrant workers. The aim of the issue was to contribute to policy debates related to regular migration under restrictive regimes, forced labour, labour trafficking, and the vulnerability of migrants.
The papers in the issue were first presented at a workshop hosted at the University of Leicester in September 2022 and sponsored by the Modern Law Review called ‘Migration and Exploitation in Employment: Concepts, Designs and Responses’.
In this special issue, papers by Dr Maayan Niezna (University of Liverpool), Dr Arwen Joyce, and Dr Natalie Sedacca (Durham University) explore concepts and patterns of labour exploitation, empirical research on the experiences of migrant workers, and civil society responses to exploitation.
The special issue editors are grateful to all the academic and civil society participants who contributed to the workshop discussions and to Professor Simon Deakin, Editor in Chief of the Industrial Law Journal, for his editorial support. All the papers in the issue have been published open access on the journal’s website.
14 March 2024
Staff distinctions March 2024
Congratulations to the following staff:
- Dr Eki Omorogbe who has been nominated for the Justitia Awards 2024. The Justitia Awards honor outstanding women in all legal professions. This international recognition has been awarded by The Women in Law Initiative since 2019.
- Abbie Hampton and Valentina Dimitriou (former staff member) for passing their vivas and PhD.
- Rossana Deplano who featured as one of the eight external experts who have influenced the latest White Paper on Space Data Ethics by the US Space Council’s Advisory Group and she was mentioned in The Times article on asteroid mining.
11 March 2024
Migrant workers in the UK at risk of severe exploitation
Research led by Dr Inga Thiemann highlights structural risks in the UK’s agriculture and care visa regimes.
A new report, ‘UK agriculture and care visas: worker exploitation and obstacles to redress’ out today is the latest in a string of damning evidence showing migrant workers are being made vulnerable to exploitation and in some cases, modern slavery, due to hostile immigration policies and the risks inherent in sector-specific work visas. Since the end of free movement and skills shortages that followed, there has been an increase in the use of restrictive, sector-specific visas which effectively tie workers to their employers and make it virtually impossible to change jobs without risking their right to live in the UK.
The full report and research summary can be found here.
Led by principal investigator Dr Inga Thiemann (Leicester University), a team consisting of Dr Manoj Dias-Abey (Bristol University), Dr Natalie Sedacca (Durham University), Dr Joyce Jiang (York University) and Prof Konstantinos Alexandris-Polomarkakis (Royal Holloway), the NGOs Focus on Labour Exploitation (FLEX), The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI), Southeast and East Asian Centre (SEEAC) and Kanlungan Filipino Consortium (Kanlungan) conducted the research for the report. The research has been funded by the Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre.
16 February 2024
Research Cluster news
Human Rights Research Cluster
Professor Brice Dickson, Professor Emeritus at Queen's University Belfast and former Leicester Law School academic spoke on 13 December 2023 to his latest book: ‘International Human Rights Monitoring Mechanisms: A Study of their Impact in the UK’ (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2022). The book examines the engagement of the United Kingdom with international human rights monitoring mechanisms how these mechanisms work in practice and whether they have any identifiable impact on how human rights are protected in the UK.
Dr Ahmed Almutawa, a visiting scholar at Durham Law School delivered ‘The Arab Court of Human Rights, the right of direct individual petition, and lessons from the European Court of Human Rights’ on 14 February 2024.
Law and Theory Cluster
Dr Robert Craig, University of Bristol, delivered ‘Nietzsche and Exclusive Legal Positivism’ on 1 November 2023.
Private Law Cluster
Dr Haward Soper, an honorary research fellow, presented his recently published (Singapore Journal of Legal Studies) ‘What is a Relational Contract? Does Coherence Lurk Amongst Shapeshifting Incidents and Grandiloquent Language?’.
Professor David Campbell of Lancaster University discussed topics from his latest book ‘Contractual Relations: A Contribution to the Critique of the Classical Law of Contract’ (OUP, 2022) and also on restitution as a contract remedy.
Dr John Hartshorne led a discussion of Fearn v Board of Trustees of the Tate Gallery, the recent controversial Supreme Court decision on nuisance concerning the viewing gallery at the Tate Modern.
2 February 2024
Staff distinctions January 2024
Congratulations to the following staff:
- Priscilla Vitoh and Satwant Kaur for passing their vivas.
- Dr Mark Searl and Shahab Saqib who were awarded Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy, and Laura Bee who was awarded a senior fellowship.
- Dr Ruth Brittle who was interviewed on Radio Nottingham as an asylum expert to comment on the Safety of the Rwanda Bill in December 2023.
- Professor Carole McCartney who was interviewed by The Guardian on the subject of Police to be able to run face recognition searches on 50m driving licence holders.
26 January 2024
Impact activities
- Professor Sally Kyd took part as a panel member in the webinar, “Road Crime and the Myth of the Lifetime Sentence” organised by RoadPeace, 24 January 2024.
- Mr Masood Ahmed was invited by the Law Society of England and Wales to share his views on the landmark Court of Appeal decision of Churchill v Merthyr Tydfill (concerning mandatory ADR) and the potential impact on English civil justice. Masood has also been appointed to the Advisory Committee of the Procedural Law Unit at the University of Nicosia (Cyprus) who research civil procedure and dispute resolution both within Cyprus and the wider EU.
- Dr Alan Desmond delivered a presentation to the UN Committee on Migrant Workers titled ‘Five Measures to Promote Ratification of the UN ICRMW’ as part of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 75th Anniversary on 7 December 2023.
- Dr Inesa Kostenko presented ‘Civilian/Military Use of Satellite Tech in Russian-Ukrainian War’ to the Symposium on Space Policy & Law held at the University of Portsmouth on 15 January 2024.
- Professor Carole McCartney delivered CPD training on expert evidence for Criminal Bar Association, 22nd November 2023 and a presentation for the Law Commission on Retention of Evidence at the Home Office, 18 January 2024.
- Dr Rossana Deplano joined the leadership team of the Institute for Space, where she acts as the Co-Lead for the Life in Space Research theme.
- Dr Shahab Saqib attended as a board member a meeting with the pan European organisation against racism, ENAR, 8-11 February 2024.
- Dr Sarah Fox represented the EU (Europol) in a panel discussion relating to drones (invited Homeland Security event), London, September 2023 and chaired at an EU (Europol group) plenary two-day event as part of an expert working group relating to technology and policing, November 2023.
19 January 2024
Funding/funded research activity
The Subcommittee of the Education Committee (chaired by Dr Eki Omorogbe) obtained Teaching Development funding for the Black Students Satisfaction Gap Research Project, 18 January 2024.
- Dr Rossana Deplano received a ESRC IAA award (ca£1,500) to organise the second International Space Law Seminar Series at Rey Juan Carlos University in Madrid (Spain), 26-31 May 2024. The event is organised in collaboration with CELI.
- Dr Nataly Papadopoulou and Professor Liz Wicks continue their involvement in the LIAS-supported interdisciplinary working group on ‘Deliberate Dying’ with plans to resubmit a large funding application later this year.
- Dr Sarah Fox was awarded funding by Brill Publishing to present her research on ‘Space’ and transport (two-day event) in the Netherlands, September 2023.
Read news stories from 2023