Centre for Legal Studies
The Department of Law has built a considerable reputation around three research themes.
Intellectual Property & Information Law
The department hosts one of Europe's leading research centres in this field: the Centre for Intellectual Property Policy & Management (CIPPM). CIPPM has received more than £500,000 in funding from the AHRC, ESRC Leverhulme Trust, Arts Council, European Commission and government departments. The Centre is a partner in major international projects, and a regular contributor to national and international consultations and policy debate.
Public Law & Criminal Law
The interests of the research group embrace a diverse range of problems within the broad fields of Constitutional, Human Rights, Criminal and Public International Law.
Dr Howard Davis (with Professor Barry Hough) has secured small grant awards from the British Academy for research on S T Coleridge whilst Acting Public Secretary in Malta in 1805.
Dr Melanie Klinkner won a Wingate Scholarship in 2007 for a research project on UN organised or assisted criminal investigations in the aftermath of serious violations of international law. The study involved an empirical assessment of the value of forensic evidence and the issues that can arise during the production, documentation and use of such evidence. This led to important recommendations for effective cooperation between lawyers and forensic science experts in post-conflict situations.
Andrea Loux Jarman has received an AHRC award (2011) for a scoping study on justice in the community: Community Litigation in the English and European Courts.
Other academics contributing to the research group include Alison Cronin and Dr Max Lowenstein. The research group has been supported by a university PhD bursary.
Commercial Law & Corporate Governance
Taking advantage of its location in a leading Business School, the department encourages research into:
- The regulatory framework for business.
- The role of law (especially company law and banking law), in business structure, finance and governance.
- The impact of law on key relationships in business, including contract law, trade law, consumer law and employment law.
Dr Stephen Copp has received support for research projects on corporate governance issues from the Top Pay Research Group and the Worshipful Company of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators; and from the Institute of Economic Affairs for work on the edited volume "The Legal Foundations of Free Markets" for which he received the Seldon award (joint) in 2009.
Since 2008, Dr Andrea Tosato is one of the Italian delegates to the United Nations Commission on International Trade Laws (UNCITRAL).
Dr Faye Wang received funding from the Nominet Trust to explore Online Dispute Resolution simulation tools.
Nigel Astbury, Richard Teather and Sally Weston have received funding for a range of consultancy projects.
There is considerable overlap between this theme and leading research in taxation and financial regulation elsewhere in the Business School.
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