Sophie Ryan

Sophie Ryan is a DPhil in Law Candidate and Rhodes Scholar at Magdalen College, Oxford. She researches and writes on a variety of areas, principally in public and private international law. Her doctoral research, supervised by Professor Andrew Dickinson, focuses on civil litigation for cross-border human rights abuses involving State actors. 

Sophie holds a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws (Hons I) from the University of Queensland, and a Bachelor of Civil Law (Dist) from the University of Oxford. She has also studied at the National University of Singapore (as a New Colombo Plan Fellow), Inter-University Centre Dubrovnik, the Rhodes Academy of Ocean Law and Policy, the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law, and the UQ Centre for Public, International and Comparative Law. 

Sophie has won awards for her research and writing including the 2024 Australian Yearbook of International Law/Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law (ANZSIL) Student Paper Prize, 2024 Alice Edwards Breakthrough Researcher Award (ANZSIL), and 2022 Rhodes Academy-ICPC Submarine Cables Writing Award. She also holds a 2023-24 Modern Law Review Scholarship for her doctoral research.

Beyond academia, Sophie has experience working with an international law firm, government, and various non-governmental and international organisations. Immediately prior to coming to Oxford, Sophie was a Legal Officer at the Australian Law Reform Commission. She is admitted as a Lawyer to the Supreme Court of Queensland. 

Sophie convenes the Conflict of Laws Discussion Group and in 2021–22, coached the Oxford Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition team which won the UK National Championship. At Oxford, Sophie has taught Contract Law and Public International Law.

Currently, Sophie is a Graduate Research Resident at the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights.