HRIC Members

Diego Acosta – Migration

Professor Acosta analyses migration and nationality law globally and how these norms interact with human rights in various ways concerning different processes of inclusion and exclusion.

Foluke Adebisi – TWAIL, CLS and the nature of human rights

Foluke's scholarship focuses on decolonial thought in legal education and its intersection with a history of changing ideas of the 'human.' She explore these changing ideas as they are reflected in many areas of law,  including concepts in international human rights law, decolonial thought, decolonisation movements, race and gender, legal history, socio-legal theory and Third World Approaches to International Law.

Kathryn Allinson – Human rights in armed conflict, migration and refugee rights

Kathryn’s research centres on state responsibility for breaches of international law — particularly in contexts of forced displacement and the protection of human rights in situations of conflict or humanitarian crisis. She examines the intersections between international human rights law, international humanitarian law, and refugee law, paying special attention to issues of attribution, causation, and jurisdiction in assessing state conduct. Kathryn also considers the normative and practical implications of international frameworks such as the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration and the Global Compact on Refugees.

Katie Bales – Forced migration, labour law and the welfare state

Katie's research centres on forced migration, labour law and the welfare state. She hold's a PhD from Northumbria University which was awarded in 2015. She has worked on two external research projects for the Scottish Human Rights Commission and the Equality and Human Rights Commission. Both projects centred on the State's compliance with human rights obligations with particular focus on welfare reform and the immigration detention of children.

Giacomo Biggio - Human rights in armed conflict

Giacomo’s primary area of research is International Humanitarian Law, with a specific focus on how it applies to the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) by States and non-state actors. He is particularly interested in the legal issues surrounding the notion of 'attack' in the context of cyber operations, the legal status and targeting of hacker groups and so-called 'hacktivists', as well as the principles of distinction and proportionality. Other research interest includes International Human Rights Law, as well as the concept of human dignity and its relationship with the principle of military necessity.

Elena Caruso - Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, Reproductive Justice

Elena is a legal researcher focusing on advancing women and pregnant people’s reproductive autonomy through law and policy. She explore how human rights law can serve as a framework to ensure that reproductive justice is concretely realised. At the Centre, Elena aims to bring her expertise in reproductive and sexual health law, international human rights law, and Italian law—knowledge she has developed through academic and professional experiences in Italy, Canada, and England.

Yihong Chen – Gender and human rights

Yihong Chen's research lies at the intersection of gender, sexuality, and human rights, with her doctoral work focusing on the constitutional implementation of China’s national family planning policy. Her study examines the underlying logic of population governance, the legal architecture surrounding childbirth and family policies, and the constitutional questions these raise. In particular, it explores how to reconcile China’s human rights commitments—especially the protection of women, children, and families—with broader public concerns about preserving the traditional order of marriage and family. Within this framework, she analyzes how coordination can be achieved among the legal systems governing population and family planning, marriage and family relations, and the protection of women’s and children’s rights, under a set of constitutional norms supported by China’s newly developed filing and review mechanism.

Olena Chub - Nationality, migration and human rights; human rights in armed conflict

Dr. Olena Chub is a Visiting Associate Professor at the University of Bristol Law School. She is an academic and expert in international law and human rights, particularly focusing on socio-legal aspects of constitutional and international law.

Philippa Collins – Labour and human rights law

Philippa’s research is based at the intersection of human rights and labour and employment law. She focuses on how human rights are protected, particularly those contained in the ECHR, in our domestic system of employment regulation. More recently, she has also investigated the use of new technologies, such as AI and algorithmic systems, to manage people at work and the risks that this phenomenon entails for the fundamental rights of working people.

Richard Costidell – Prohibition of Torture

Richard’s research has focused on the development of complementary obligations to prosecute torturers within the African Regional human rights systems when compared to the UNCAT system and equivalent developments within the European and Inter-American systems. As a result, his research has specifically honed in on questions regarding the existence and scope of States' positive obligations to investigate and, if appropriate, prosecute torturers, with these being derived as implied obligations through States' express obligations to prohibit torture and other ill-treatment. He has engaged in detailed comparative analyses of the aforementioned regional human rights systems and the obligations enshrined in the UNCAT in order to do this, with consideration also given for relevant ICJ judgments and the interactions between IHRL and ICL in this field.

Robert Craig - UK Human Rights Act

Robert has recently published two articles on human rights issues, both with a strong UK focus. The first is in Northern Ireland Law Quarterly and is a book review of Aileen Kavanagh’s The Collaborative Constitution. The article suggests that a ‘tacit convention’ has formed to the effect that a declaration of incompatibility under section 4 HRA cannot be ignored. The second article, published in King’s Law Journal, argues that some remedial orders under the HRA are ultra vires because the s 10 HRA enabling power for ministers to amend statutes following a declaration of incompatibility cannot be used on post-HRA legislation. Robert is also a named contributor to the recent report by Lord Wolfson (Shadow Attorney-General), which underpinned the recent decision by the Conservative Party to adopt exit from the ECHR as formal policy. He is currently researching the claim that all defendants should be anonymous until conviction.

Sandra Duffy – Gender, sexuality and human rights

Sandra researches the legal regulation of gender identity, anti-gender and anti-rights movements, reproductive justice, and post- and decolonial law. Their research broadly falls within the fields of feminist, queer, and trans legal studies. Sandra is currently writing their first monograph, which is due for publication in late 2026. It examines the influence of coloniality on legal engagements with gender and sexuality across jurisdictional lines. Sandra has also published on international human rights law, law and literature, and trans legal activism.

Peter Dunne – LGBTI rights

Peter Dunne researches in the area of gender, sexuality and the law. Peter is particularly interested in questions relating to family law and European law. In 2022, Peter was awarded a multi-year UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship to explore the rights and status of trans and non-binary people in family law. Peter's work has a strong policy focus, and he regularly engages with domestic and European policymakers on topics concerning the human rights of LGBTI people.

Anamaria Santos Fonseca - Forced migration, women and gender rights

Anamaria is Co-Director of the Human Rights Implementation Centre, Unit Coordinator for Human Rights in Law, Politics and Society (PG), and a Teacher in Law and Human Rights. She is also a Human Rights Law Researcher. She has previously served as a visiting lecturer and Unit Coordinator in International Human Rights Law at the University of The Gambia, and as Editor-in-Chief of the Gambia Law Review.

Originally from Brazil, Anamaria is a Latina and a qualified lawyer, admitted to the Order of Attorneys of Brazil (OAB). She holds an LLM in Human Rights Law from the University of Bristol, United Kingdom - where she was a Santander Scholarship recipient - alongside a Specialist Degree in Public Law from Faculdade Baiana de Direito (Baiana Law School), Brazil, and a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from Universidade Estadual do Sudoeste da Bahia (State University of Southwestern Bahia), Brazil.

Clair Gammage - Trade and human rights, trade and gender, development and human rights

Clair is a generalist of trade law and development with a specialist interest in the linkages between trade and gender, human rights, labour standards, environment and sustainable development. As a socio-legal scholar, Clair is interested in the relationship between trade and human flourishing, and her work focuses on the dynamics between power, (in)equality and (in)justice in international trade law. Much of her work analyses legal phenomena through political economy lenses to analyse blind spots in international trade law.

Lawrence Hill-Cawthorne - Human rights in armed conflict

Lawrence’s research has a human rights focus in two core respects. First, much of his work examines the substantive rights of war victims in times of armed conflicts (including under human rights law and humanitarian law). Second, he also working on procedural issues concerning human rights claims, particularly when brought before international courts and tribunals.

Judy Laing - Mental health law and human rights

Judy researches in the area of mental health law, policy and human rights. She has written extensively in the field and carried out funded empirical research on strengthening human rights protections for persons who are detained in psychiatric institutions. She has worked with various national and international bodies on aspects of mental health law and regulation, in particular, on strengthening independent monitoring mechanisms under the OPCAT to improve conditions of detention. She was previously a member of the Care Quality Commission's Mental Health Act monitoring advisory group and is currently working on a UKRI funded project to promote the legal literacy of Nearest Relatives - an important human rights safeguard- under the Mental Health Act.

Lara MacLachlan - Access to justice and legal aid

Lara’s work takes an interdisciplinary approach to examine the relationship between social justice and access to justice, particularly in relation to legal aid. Access to justice is both a right in itself and a mechanism through which we might protect and enforce other rights. Specifically, Lara’s research relates to the themes of civil liberties protection and critical legal studies.

Lee McConnell - Business and human rights, theory of rights

Lee's research primarily examines the adverse human rights impacts produced by non-State actors, and in particular, multinational corporations engaged in the extraction of natural resources. He has explored the interactions between business actors and non-state armed groups against which States are engaged in civil conflict, as well as with public, private, and hybrid security forces tasked with safeguarding corporate extractive sites. More recently, Lee has been exploring the relationship between human rights and international investment law. He has a strong interest in legal and social theory, and in the use of rights discourse in the wider context of animal and environmental protection.

Tonia Novitz  - Labour and human rights - trade, EU law, and sustainability issues

Tonia writes and researches on the recognition of labour rights as human rights. This involves analysing the work of international institutions, such as the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the World Trade Organisation (WTO), and international financial institutions, as well as a close examination of the jurisprudence established by UN supervisory bodies regarding the 1966 Covenants and regional human rights institutions. Much of her work has focused on freedom of association and collective labour rights, as well as the protection of migrant workers' rights more generally. Tonia’s recent research has analysed facets of climate change, human rights litigation, and its implications for just transitions at work.

Gavin Phillipson - ECHR, Bills of Rights design; protection of civil liberties

Gavin’s research focuses on freedom of expression, particularly in relation to terrorism-related content and the boundaries between offensive speech, hate speech, and pornography. He is especially interested in how social media platforms regulate and moderate such content. Alongside this, Gavin explores theoretical frameworks concerning the right to privacy — including the protection of personal data and the right to be forgotten — and how these rights can be balanced with freedom of expression. Another key area of his research examines the intersection between counter-terrorism legislation and human rights, as well as the fundamental rights to assemble and protest. Gavin is also interested in how constitutional systems safeguard human rights differently across jurisdictions, paying particular attention to the horizontal application of rights, judicial deference, and the design of Bills of Rights. Much of his work engages with theories of constitutional dialogue and collaboration, examining how these frameworks shape the protection and interpretation of fundamental rights.

Gauri Pillai - Gender and human rights, institutions and human rights, human rights in constitutions

Gauri studies pregnancy and reproduction through the lens of public law. She is especially interested in understanding how constitutions receive and resist reproductive rights. When constitutional texts are silent on reproductive rights – as they often are – which expressly listed rights can be used to build a home for them? On the other hand, what are sites of constitutional resistance to reproductive rights, and can they be diluted through reinterpretation? Gauri’s work also positions reproductive rights as a site to interrogate broader themes in public law, such as conceptions of separation of powers, theories of judicial review, and methods of rights analysis.

Xuan Shao - Trade/investment and human rights

Xuan is interested in sources of international law, international economic law, State responsibility, and comparative public law. Her current research examines questions of compensation in international law and the interaction between international trade, investment, and human rights. Xuan is particularly interested in the evolving dynamics of trade and investment rules relating to human rights and sustainable development.

Alice Venn - Climate change, just transition and human rights

Alice Specialises in climate law and policy, with a focus on legal responses to climate loss & damage, government accountability, rights-based approaches, procedural climate justice, and just transitions. Her recent projects include examining climate and human rights law and policy approaches to disability-inclusive climate adaptation, as well as assessing the implementation and inclusiveness of transitions to low-carbon futures in UK cities.

PGRs:
Ramy Abdelhady - forced migration and refugee law

Gianna Eckert – migration and refugee law

Gianna has research interests across human rights, refugee and migration law. Her research explores the legal boundaries of states’ deportation powers and the impact of international human rights law on states’ ability to enforce removals.

Gelara Fanaeian - sexual and gender human rights

For her PhD, Gelara examines how Sharia-based family law—specifically in Iran—addresses women’s sexual autonomy. At the first level, the study analyses the conceptual and legal foundations of women’s sexual autonomy within Sharia-based legal systems through two case studies. At the second level, it investigates the relationship between these national approaches and international human rights law, focusing on the dialogue between states and the Treaty Monitoring Bodies (TMBs) of the ICESCR and ICCPR, and assessing how this interaction influences the (human rights) protection of women’s sexual autonomy within religion-based legal systems.

Sophia Verwohlt Omari - Torture prevention, forced migration, statelessness

Sophia’s current research focuses on torture prevention in the context of asylum and refugee detention.

Daniele Verza - Freedom of expression, democracy and the regulation of digital platforms

The UK Online Safety Act and the EU Digital Services Act recognise the enforcement of private governance rules by platforms through terms of service and community guidelines. Platforms must 'take into account' freedom of expression, but face no formal constitutional constraints or state-like neutrality obligations when they moderate online content based on their private governance rules. Daniele’s research examines how the architecture of public spaces provided by private entities affects users' free speech rights and democratic debate, comparing complaints procedures and redress mechanisms under UK, EU, and Brazilian internet regulations.

Visiting Scholars:

Fiona Batt

Louise Finer

Abiola Idowu-Ojo

Debra Long

Muhammad Waqas Javed (Visiting PGR)

Honorary Research Associates:

Lisa Montel