About Us
The Centre for Global Law and Innovation (CGLI) brings together scholars with an interest in drivers of innovation and global regulatory trends in law, with a particular focus of interest on the intersection of law and technology. We take a broad and inclusive approach to innovation and the work of our members focuses on areas such as trade, procurement, investment, finance, intellectual property, information technology, regulation and health law.
Innovation means different things in different contexts and the work of CGLI members addresses a wide range of issues. Research interests include the potential for disruptive technologies, including digitalisation and automation, to shape regulatory frameworks across legal disciplines. The linkages between innovation and social justice is another focal point for some of our members’ research.
The CGLI promotes research among academics, students, policy-makers, third sector organisations and other stakeholders that have an interest in regulation and innovation, innovative regulation and regulating innovation, in law.
Our leading academics combine an internationally-recognised research reputation with a wealth of experience working with organisations that are responsible for policy-development, professional regulation and social advocacy.
Our members are also involved in interdisciplinary innovation, both in the Bristol Digital Futures Institute, Jean Golding Institute, the newly-established Bristol Digital Game Lab, and further afield. The CGLI serves as a platform for their more legal-focused research projects and outputs. Many members have senior editorial and board responsibilities for leading journals in their respective legal discipline.
Contact Us
To find out more about the Centre please contact the Director:
Professor Albert Sanchez-Graells: A.Sanchez-Graells@bristol.ac.uk
Areas of expertise
- Comparative Law
- Competition Law
- Economic Law
- EU Law
- Gender and the Law
- Global Law
- Health Law
- Information Technology Law
- International Trade Law
- International Investment Law
- Intellectual Property Law
- Labour Law
- Privacy Law
- Procurement Law
- Public Law
- Regulatory Theory
- Sustainable Development and the Law
- Trade Law
Launch event
The CGLI formally launched in 2019 by hosting the Contract Theory Workshop in conjunction with the School of Economics, Finance and Management, celebrated with a keynote lecture from Nobel Prize-winning economist, Oliver Hart, Professor of Economics at Harvard University.
The two-day workshop explored the novel approach to the analysis of contracts as reference points, according to which one role of contracts is to reduce overall transaction costs through frontloaded negotiation and agreement of a set of cooperative principles to lead the longer-term interaction of the parties. The workshop also analysed the implications of disruptive technologies, particularly in relation to smart contracting and autonomous decision-making, in the context of both private and public contracting.