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We are an international and multidisciplinary team of researchers addressing contemporary legal problems including how law deals with the transition from conflict or oppression (transitional justice), how to use the law to promote social justice and protect human rights, how new technologies are affecting the legal professions.

We also support research, including PhD research projects, across a wide range of legal areas.

We aim to:

  • Support impactful action-oriented research that addresses real-world challenges facing marginalised and deprived communities
  • Develop meaningful research collaborations  involving socio-legal, multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research methods
  • Provide a vibrant research environment  for our staff and PhD researchers

Our research falls into the following main themes:

  • Transitional Justice and related fields including Human Rights, International Law, Gender
  • Law and Social Justice

Our research and impact work is largely carried out through our Transitional Justice Institute and Law and Social Justice cluster.

Research Methods

Our staff and researchers pioneer the use of socio-legal, multidisciplinary research methods. Our staff:

  • Have developed animations and the use of Instagram to highlight the experiences of people in the social security system
  • Have produced an award-winning film on human rights abuses in Haiti
  • Have used theatre and photography to consider LGBTQ Visions of Peace
  • Are exploring the impact of the Northern Ireland conflict on Belfast’s architecture
  • Are examining the role of film in producing and reproducing imaginaries of violence
  • Are developing means of explaining legal material visually.

Internal Brown Bag Seminar Series

Our PhD researchers organise an internal Brown Bag seminar series every year, called What’s the Craic?

The informal discussions and talks bring the faculty, researchers, and masters student together to discuss work in progress, reflect on fieldwork, and hear draft conference papers.