Professor Peter Cumper

I am a Professor of Law at Leicester Law School. I have taught Law at universities in the United States, Italy and Hong Kong and have also previously undertaken research as an academic visitor at the Universities of Minnesota (USA) and Malaya (Malaysia). Prior to joining Leicester Law School, I held Lectureships at Hull University and Nottingham Trent University.

I have previously been awarded a University of Leicester Teaching Fellowship ‘in recognition of teaching excellence’. I am a Fellow of the HEA and the module convenor for a number of subjects.

"My research is in the field of Public Law focussing on Human Rights law generally and the right to freedom of thought conscience and religion in particular. My work has been published in a wide range of law journals and I contribute to the authoritative textbook Harris O'Boyle and Warbrick: Law of the European Convention on Human Rights. I have appeared as an expert witness before the Legal Affairs Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. In 2015 I was the co-recipient of an AHRC award on collective worship in schools out of which a report and a book on collective worship in UK schools was published."

Cumper, P, Lewis, T, ‘The UK’s ‘Statue Wars’: Can Human Rights Law Assist in their Resolution?’ (2023) 2 Art, Antiquity and Law, 83-114.

Cumper P, Lewis T, ‘The European Court of Human Rights and the Challenge of Balancing the Rights to Freedom of Expression and Protection of Religion/Belief under the ECHR’, in Bhuiyan, J, and Zoethout, C (eds) Freedom of Religion and Religious Pluralism (Brill Nijhoff, 2023) pp. 257-279.

Cumper, P, Adams, S, Onyejekwe K, O’Reilly, M, ‘Teachers’ perspectives on relationships and sex education lessons in England’ (2023) Sex Education. Sexuality, Society and Learning DOI: 10.1080/14681811.2023.2171382

Cumper, P, Lewis T, ‘What to do with the Buried Giant? Collective Historical Memory and Identity in the Freedom of Expression Case Law of the European Court of Human Rights’, in Marshall, J, (ed) Personal Identity and the European Court of Human Rights (Routledge, 2022, pp. 152-176).

Cumper P, Lewis T, 'Blanket bans, subsidiarity and the procedural turn of the European Court of Human Rights' (2019) ICLQ 68, 611-638. 

Cumper P, Lewis T, 'Human Rights and Religious Litigation - Faith in the Law?' (2019) Oxford Journal of Law and Religion, 8, 121-150.  

Cumper P, Lewis T (2018) Empathy and Human Rights: The Case of Religious Dress. Human Rights Law Review, 18 (1), pp. 61-87. 

Cumper P, 'Freedom of Religion and Belief', in Harris et al, Law of the European Convention on Human Rights, (OUP, 4th edn, 2018), chapter 13, 571-591.

Cumper P, Mawwhinney A, (eds) Collective Worship and Religious Observance in Schools (Religion, Education and Values) (Peter Lang, 2018).

Cumper P, 'Blasphemy, freedom of expression and the protection of religious sensibilities in 21st century Europe', in Koltay A and Temperman J (eds) Blasphemy and freedom of expression after the Charlie Hebdo massacre (Cambridge University Press, 2017), pp.137-166. 

Cumper P, 'Freedom of religion and human rights laws - awkward bedfellows', in  Van den Brink M, Burri S and Goldschmidt J, Equality and human rights: nothing but trouble? (SIM, Netherlands Institute of Human Rights, 2015) pp.283-304.

Cumper P, 'The reasonable accommodation of conservative religious beliefs and the protection of LGBT rights at the workplace', in Foblets M-C, Alidadi K, Nielsen J, and Yanasmayan Z, Belief, Law and Politics (Ashgate, 2014) 145-156.

Cumper P, 'Multiculturalism, human rights and the accommodation of sharia law' (2014) Human Rights Law Review, 14, 31-57.  

• European Human Rights Law (ECHR Articles 9, 10, 11)
• Constitutional Law (UK Parliament and UK constitutional reform)
• Law and Religion (human rights related areas)
• Freedom of Expression (ECHR Art 10)

• Constitutional and Administrative Law
• Human Rights in 21st century
• Freedom of Expression
• State Law and Religious Freedoms

Human rights aspects of law and religion