Law

NTU has a large, active, highly skilled and internationally recognised Law research culture centred in the Nottingham Law School.

    Overview

    Research Contact: Professor Jonathan Doak, Associate Dean for Research

    Academic staff engaging in public debate through the publication of monographs and peer reviewed papers, and the pursuit of projects pursuant to the securing of major research grants.  Research has impact beyond the academy, having been cited by courts, government bodies and NGOs, and staff have provided expert advice to governmental, legislative, regulatory and other organisations both nationally and internationally. The School also has a long history of providing academic services to law firms and undertaking contract research for a variety of agencies in the UK and abroad.

    Using various methodologies, strong research has been carried out in areas including:

    • Business and Insolvency Law
    • Criminal Justice
    • Medical Law and Ethics
    • Human Rights Law
    • Oil & Gas Law
    • International Criminal and Humanitarian Law
    • International Trade Law
    • Legal Education
    • Partnership Law
    • Public International Law
    • Sports Law
    • Refugee and Asylum Law

    Centres and Groups

    The following Research Centres reflect the main areas of research strength:

    The Research centres provide the focus for the Law research culture and lead with publications, research grant applications and projects. In addition the Centres contribute to the research environment by hosting frequent conferences, symposia and research seminars. The School has a lively community of postgraduate research students who take a full part in the Research Centres to which they are attached

    Other less formal research groupings include:

    • Sports Law
    • Patient Safety and Health Law
    • Intellectual Property Law

    We are proud to host two peer reviewed Law Journals:

    Case Studies

    The following impact case studies are linked to this area:

    List of potential PhD topics

    • Corporate and Insolvency Law

      • Corporate social responsibility
      • International and comparative corporate insolvency, as well as domestic insolvency law
      • The reform of limited partnership law for the 20th Century
      • Chinese business and insolvency law

    • International Law

      • Biodiversity in international law
      • The impact of climate change on migration
      • The practice of Asian states in interpreting and implementing international law
      • Combating piracy - different causes, new solutions.
      • International criminal justice and universal jurisdiction
      • The practice of "subsidiarity" between States seeking to prosecute perpetrators of international crimes

    • Legal Education

      • Regulation of legal education
      • Compliance with regulatory requirements for organisations
      • Wellbeing and resilience in legal education and training
      • The delivery of legal education – for example, in the classroom, in CPD, in supervising and supporting young lawyers
      • Learning theory and legal education
      • Ethics in legal education
      • Money-laundering regulation as it applies to professionals and professional bodies

    • Human Rights, Criminal Justice

      • Alternative justice mechanisms at the ‘deep end’ of criminal justice
      • Improving the participation of young people and other vulnerable persons within the criminal justice system
      • The way the law negotiates the complex relationship between history, memory, identity, and freedom of expression, when dealing with such issues as, for example, protests over monuments/memorials to past figures, regimes and events now considered problematic.
      • Freedom of religious expression.
      • Access to safe and effective procedures for asylum seekers
      • Detention of protection seekers
      • Effective responses to hate crime

    Find a PhD opportunity

    Still need help?

    Professor Jonathan Doak
    +44 (0)115 848 8407