Research Groups - an explanation
Research activity in the Faculty of Law is supported by 14 Research Groups, including an individual group embedded within each of the Faculty’s five Centres/Institutes. These Research Groups were created in 2020 with the aim of promoting and facilitating the research culture of the Faculty by providing a structure that supports projects and encourages interaction between scholars. Membership in more than one Research Group is encouraged to facilitate cross-disciplinary interactions.
The purpose of each Research Group is to:
- Support and foster new and ongoing research amongst its members;
- Encourage collaboration and community building within the group;
- Provide informal support and guidance, particularly to new and early-career colleagues;
- Promote the research and activities of the group and serve as a first point of contact for internal and external communications regarding research in the group’s field, primarily via a dedicated section on the Faculty website;
- Participate in the review of graduate research applications falling within the Group’s collective field of expertise.
Each Research Group is led by a Group Chair—see Role of Research Group Chairs below. When a Research Group is housed within a Centre/Institute, normally, the Director of the Centre/Institute also acts as Group Chair.
Each Research Group—with the exception of the Human Rights (Bonavero Institute), Criminology, and Socio-Legal Studies groups—receives a £2,500/year budget for research-related activities. The use of this budget to achieve the above objectives is at the discretion of individual Research Groups and its Chair(s).
Unless they choose to opt out of the scheme, each Teaching Group and Graduate Discussion Group in the Faculty is explicitly aligned with an appropriate Research Group (see further below). Teaching Groups and Discussion Groups may change their allocation if they wish.
Note: If a Teaching Group does not wish its graduate applications to be processed through the Research Group structure, it can opt out of this part of the proposal and continue to assess graduate applications autonomously.
Membership
Each Teaching Group and Graduate Discussion Group in the Faculty is assigned to a Research Group, and the members of each Teaching or Discussion Group automatically become members of that Research Group. Faculty members and research students may additionally opt to become a member of any other Research Group they wish to join.
The Research Groups
The following 14 Research Groups have been created, and Chairs appointed. For the academic year starting October 2024 these are:
| Research Group | Chair |
| Business Law | Horst Eidnermueller |
| Computers and Law | Rebecca Williams |
| Family and Medical Law | Imogen Goold |
| Health, Law and Emerging Technologies | Justine Pila |
| International Law (PIL) | Dapo Akande |
| Legal Philosophy | David Enoch and James Edwards |
| Private Law | Julius Grower |
| Public Law | Richard Ekins |
| Taxation | Tsilly Dagan |
In addition, our five Centres/Institutes each have an associated Research Group:
| Centre/Institute Research Group | Chair |
| Comparative and European Law |
Matthew Dyson |
| Criminology | Ian Loader |
| Human Rights | Kate O'Regan |
| Intellectual Property | Dev Gangjee |
| Socio-Legal Studies | Fernanda Pirie |
Teaching and Discussion Groups
Our existing teaching and discussion groups have been allocated to these new Research Groups as follows:
Commercial Law
Company Law
Comparative Corporate Law
Competition Law
Corporate Finance
Corporate Insolvency Law
Law and Finance
Principles of Financial Regulation
Transnational Commercial Law
Business and Human Rights Discussion Group
European Business Regulation
Computers and Law
Family and Medical Law
Medical Law and Ethics Discussion Group
Health, Law and Emerging Technologies
Future of Technology and Society Discussion Group
International Law
Legal Philosophy
Feminist Jurisprudence Discussion Group
Philosophy of Law
Jurisprudence Discussion Group
Roman Law
Advanced Property and Trusts
Contract
Land Law
Personal Property
Private Law and Fundamental Rights
Restitution
Tort
Trusts
Legal History
Public Law
Civil Procedure
Constitutional and Administrative Law
Environmental Law Discussion Group
Evidence
Procedural Justice and Evidence Discussion Group
Criminology
Criminology DPhil Discussion Group
Criminology and Criminal Justice
Police and Policing Research Discussion Group
Socio-Legal Studies
Indigenous, Interdisciplinary Discussion Group
CSLS Islamic Law and Society Discussion Group
CSLS Regulation Discussion Group
Empirical Legal Studies Discussion Group
Human Rights
Human Rights Law
Labour/Employment Law
Refugee and Migration Law Discussion Group
Comparative and European Law
Comparative Law Discussion Group
Comparative Private Law
Competition Law and Policy Discussion Group
Institute of European and Comparative Law Lunchtime Seminar Series
European Union Law
South Asian Law Discussion Group
Intellectual Property
Intellectual Property Discussion Group
Role of Research Group Chairs
Research Group Chairs are normally appointed for three years, with the possibility of renewal for one further year. These positions are advertised in the usual way by the Faculty (via e-mail) and nominations are put forward to the Board by the Personnel Committee. Except for those Group Chairs who are also Centre/Institute Directors, each Chair is paid a small salary supplement.
Research Group Chairs are expected to:
- In Coordination with the Faculty's Research Support Team, manage the Group's budget (for those groups receiving a £2500/year research allowance);
- Organise seminars and other events within the Research Group and a regular (at least annual) meeting of the Research Group to review activities;
- Act as a first point of contact for the Research Group both externally and internally;
- Ensure that support is provided for newly arrived members of the Research Group and for post-doctoral researchers working in the area;
- Think strategically about the development of research activity in their sector and provide informal guidance to colleagues within it accordingly;
- Act as a first point of contact for members of the Research Group who are interested in applying for internal or external funding, which may include providing an initial review of grant and CUREC applications (though colleagues may still approach the Faculty Research team directly if they prefer);
- Take an overview of the teaching and courses offered within the Research Group in order to ensure that research insights filter through into teaching;
- Where appropriate, seek to foster interdisciplinary work between those within their Research Group; and encouraging interaction between Research Groups and with colleagues in other University Departments.
Research Group Chairs are also expected to represent their Research Groups to other sections of the Faculty by:
- Attending the termly Faculty Research Committee (of which they are ex officio members), providing brief verbal reports each term on the Group’s activities (if requested by the Chair of the Committee) and a mandatory yearly short written report in Trinity Term (up to two pages);
- Liaising with the Faculty’s Communications team to disseminate research news from the Group;
- Acting as a point of contact for REF and the internal reading panel; and
- Co-ordinating the input of the Research Group’s members in the review of graduate research applications falling within the Group’s collective field of expertise.
New Research Group Chairs are expected to attend induction sessions relating to grant applications, ethics approval, data protection, and unconscious bias.
Creation of New Research Groups
In order for a new Research Group to be created, it must either:
- Be chaired by an academic postholder (Associate Professor, Senior Research Fellow, RSIV, or Professor) with at least one other academic postholder in the group;
OR
- Be chaired by an early career academic holding a Fellowship or their own research grant, with at least two academic postholders in the group.
Colleagues wishing to create a new Research Group must submit a (short) application to the Research Committee by the end of week 2 of Trinity Term, setting out:
- The proposed Chair and postholder members of the new group;
- How the group would participate in graduate admissions;
- The research support activities to be carried out, including a rough outline of how the group’s research allowance would be used;
- How the proposed group is distinct from the already existing Research Groups;
- How the proposed group is related (if at all) to any of the Faculty’s existing Centres/Institutes.
To apply, please complete the online Research Group Application Form.
The Research Committee will review applications for new Research Groups at its week 4 Trinity Term meeting, with a view to approving those that meet the above-listed requirements and on the condition that PRC approves any necessary budget increases, with the aim for approved new Research Groups to start operating the following Michaelmas Term.
Cessation of Research Groups
The brief annual written reports submitted each Trinity by the Research Group Chairs, along with the expenditures of each group, will be assessed on an annual basis by the Associate Dean(s) for Research. In cases where the volume of activity/spend of a Research Group is low, the AD(R) will initiate a discussion with the corresponding Group Chair. As a result of this discussion, the AD(R) may report to the Research Committee that this Group is no longer active.
Research Groups that are inactive for two successive years may be closed by the Research Committee.