Role
Mary is a Professor of Law in the Law School, who now works part-time. In addition to her research, Mary supervises postgraduate research students, including MPhil and PhD students. She has undertaken funded research projects, including work on ombudsmen and complaints systems, and civil justice.
Research areas
Professor Mary Seneviratne has research interests in ombudsmen, complaints procedures, administrative justice and the legal profession. She has researched and published widely in this area.
Her projects include:
- Prisoner Complaints in the UK
- Ombudsmen systems in the public and private sector
- Civil justice and case management
- Complaints handling in the insolvency practitioner profession
- Regulation of the legal profession
External activity
- Board Member, Office for Legal Complaints (2009-2014)
- Council Member, Administrative Justice and Tribunal Council (2010-2013)
- Author, ombudsman title in Atkin's Court Forms (2008)
- Contributing editor, Ombudsmen Section, Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law (1997-2001)
- Editor, Nottingham Law Journal (2000-2002)
- Expert witness, HC Select Committee on Public Administration 1999, 2000
- Substitute member for the UK, Council of Europe Group of Independent Experts on the European Charter of Local Self-Government (2005-2012)
- Independent member, Validation Committee, British and Irish Ombudsman Association
- Advisor, justice one Committee, Scottish Parliament (2001-2002)
Sponsors and collaborators
Past and present research collaborators include:
- Professor Douglas Lewis, Department of Law, Sheffield University
- Rhoda James, Department of Law, Sheffield University
- Professor John Peysner, formerly Nottingham Law School, now University of Lincoln
- Professor Adrian Walters, Nottingham Law School and IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law
Funding for research has included:
- Department for Constitutional Affairs
- The Nuffield Foundation
- Insolvency Practitioners Council
- British Academy