Professor Doherty, Head of the Department of Law, is currently undertaking research on different ways of regulating new forms of employment emerging through technological advance, and through the increasingly differentiated forms of employment relationship that are observable. The digitalisation of the workplace leads to both completely new phenomena, and also traditional legal challenges present in novel forms. The research looks at changing conceptions of the employment relationship, relating to workers in the ‘gig economy’, but also workers ‘on the borderline’ of employee/self-employed status; the ‘false-self-employed’, and seeks to examine legislative, and other regulatory, strategies ensure the rights of such workers are secured.
Dr Amina Adanan is researching on the topic of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as customary international law. She is editing and contributing to the book, The Universal Declaration of Human Rights at Seventy; A Review of Successes and Challenges, which will be published by Clarus Press in 2019. This book is also edited by Prof Michael Doherty, Dr Noelle Higgins and Dr David Doyle. In addition, Amina researches on the topic of universal criminal jurisdiction, and its historical development under international law. She is currently researching on the effectiveness of European prosecutions of international crimes committed in Syria, under universal jurisdiction.
Dr David Doyle is currently in the process of completing a co-authored book on capital punishment in post-independence Ireland. He was also recently awarded an Irish Research Council New Foundations Award to seed a new study on Human Trafficking in Ireland.
Dr Delia Ferri Dr Ferri’s research is currently focusing on how the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has been implemented in the European Union and within selected EU Member States, and she is addressing how the rights of persons with disabilities are protected and promoted in Europe. Her research falls within the broader realm of European Union Law and Comparative Law.
Dr Brian Flanagan’s research centres on the prospects for an account of collective intention that coheres with our ordinary understanding of the notion.
Professor Claire Hamilton is currently writing up comparative research into counter-terrorism funded by the Irish Research Council New Horizons Research Project scheme (2015-2017). This will be published as a book, Contagion, Counter-terrorism and Criminology: Justice in the Shadow of Terror by Palgrave Press in 2019. Prof. Hamilton is also engaged on research into human rights and governmentality and is co-editing (with Prof. Randy K. Lippert, Windsor University, Canada) a special issue of Critical Criminology on this theme in March 2020.
Dr. Noelle Higgins is working on a project on the issue of cultural cleansing.
Dr Louise Kennefick is currently working on a project which examines the interrelationship between social deprivation and criminal law defences within an interdisciplinary context. She is also engaged in an extensive study seeking to capture an oral history of the Irish Probation Service from the perspective of its core stakeholders, spanning the 1960s to present-day, deriving from her membership of the European Co-operation in Science and Technology (COST) Action network on Offender Supervision.
Dr Neil Maddox is studying the interaction between informal norms, such as cooperation and altruism, and how they interact with positive law in collective action settings.
Dr. Ian Marder’s research currently focuses on two main areas. The first involves engaging with researchers, policymakers and practitioners across Europe to stimulate the implementation of the recent Council of Europe Recommendation CM/Rec(2018)8 concerning restorative justice in criminal matters. The second involves comparative research on sentencing and the impact of different types of sentencing guidelines. He is also writing up his recent study on the institutionalisation of restorative justice in policing.
Dr Clíodhna Murphy is currently working on research relating to access to labour rights for a number of different categories of domestic worker; and is also taking part in the Northern/Irish Feminist Judgments Project, writing the 'missing' feminist judgment in the Supreme Court decision in Lobe and Osayande v Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform [2003] IESC 3.
Dr Maria Murphy’s research focuses on the intersections of law and technology and places particular emphasis on the appropriate role of law in ensuring sufficient protection of human rights while facilitating the adoption of technologies with broad societal benefit. She is also concerned with the importance of rights for the protection of democracy in the information age. The rights of most importance to her research thus far have been privacy, freedom of expression, and the protection of personal data. Key issues examined in her research include privacy by design, the role of human rights in developing workable standards, and the comprehension gap that can exist between different but connected fields – such as law and computer science – and those operating in different jurisdictions.
Dr John Reynolds is currently working on projects on: states of emergency in colonial and postcolonial legal contexts; Third World Approaches to international criminal law; the political economy of socio-economic rights.
Seth Barrett Tillman is working on a critique of the normative foundations of international law. He is also completing a paper on the scope of impeachment and disqualification under U.S. constitutional law.
Research Seminar Series
The Law Department Seminar Series (LDSS), coordinated by Dr David Doyle, aims to provide a forum through which to explore different areas of law, with a view to developing new ideas. Invited scholars will discuss their academic work and share their knowledge and reflections on various different legal topics.
The seminars take place from 12.00pm - 1.00pm (approx.) on Wednesdays in Semester II- venue to be confirmed.
Attendance is welcome from University staff members and postgraduate (both taught and research) students within the Department of Law.
Queries regarding the LDSS can be addressed to David at david.doyle@mu.ie.
Subject to speaker consent, the lecture notes and slides may be made available to attendees.
The full schedule will be made available shortly. Please check back for further information.
