Research Groups (an explanation)
With effect from 1 October 2020, the current 'Subject Groups' in the Law Faculty have been grouped together into Research Groups, with a Research Group Chair appointed to head each group.
The Teaching Groups continue to exist, and continue to take responsibility for reading lists and teaching. Graduate Discussion Groups will also continue to run as before. Unless they choose to opt out of the scheme, each Teaching Group and Discussion Group is explicitly aligned with one appropriate Research Group (see below). Teaching Groups and Discussion Groups can change their allocation if they wish.
Research Groups will complement, not detract from, the work of existing institutions and groupings within the Faculty. They will provide a new way to promote and facilitate the research culture of the Faculty through the creation of a new structure for interaction that supports projects and encourages interaction between scholars. In particular, the Research Groups will provide support for early-career academics and those new to the Faculty. They groups will also provide a new system for the processing of research student applications.
Membership
Each Teaching Group and Graduate Discussion Group in the Faculty will be assigned to one of the new Research Groups, and the members of each Teaching or Discussion Group will automatically become members of that Research Group. In addition, Faculty members and research students may 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 2023 these are:
| Research Group | Chair |
| Business Law | John Armour |
| Computers and Law | Rebecca Williams |
| Family and Medical Law | Imogen Goold |
| Health, Law and Emerging Technologies | Jane Kaye and Justine Pila |
| International Law (PIL) | Lavanya Rajamani |
| Legal Philosophy | Adam Perry and James Edwards |
| Private Law | Ben McFarlane |
| Public Law | Timothy Endicott |
| 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 | Carolyn Hoyle |
| Human Rights | Kate O'Regan |
| Intellectual Property | Robert Burrell |
| Socio-Legal Studies | Linda Mulcahy |
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 will:
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Have responsibility for co-ordinating the input of members of their Research Group in the review of graduate research applications falling within the Group’s collective field of expertise.
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Act as a first point of contact for members of the Research Group who are interested in applying for internal or external funding, and may provide an initial review of grant and CUREC applications (though colleagues may still approach the Faculty Research team directly if they prefer).
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Organise seminars and other events within the Research Group and a regular (at least annual) meeting of the Research Group to review activities.
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Ensure that support is provided for newly arrived members of the Research Group and for post-doctoral researchers working in the area;
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Think strategically about the development of research activity in their sector, and provide informal guidance to colleagues within it accordingly.
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Take an over-view of the teaching and courses offered within the Research Group in order to ensure that research insights filter through into teaching. Also take a broad overview of the courses on offer under the aegis of their Research Group (though not themselves alter course offerings)
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Where appropriate, seek to foster interdisciplinary work between those within their Research Group; and enourage interaction between Research Groups and with colleagues in other University Departments.
New Research Group Chairs are expected to attend induction sessions relating to grant applications, ethics approval, data protection, and unconscious bias.
Research Group Chairs are ex officio members of the Faculty Research Committee, which meets twice a term.
Research Group Chairs will have a budget assigned to them for events, though due to budget constraints this will not take effect in 2020-21.
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.
After three years the operation and delineation of the Research Groups will be reviewed (i.e. in Michaelmas Term 2023). It is likely that the scheme will need to be revised at this point, with the delineation of the groupings reassessed.
Nick Barber and John Armour, August 2020