Public Law
The public law research area at Edinburgh Law School provides cutting-edge research and teaching in some of the most pressing issues in contemporary law and politics.
It covers a wide variety of issues, including: questions of sub-state nationalism, plurinational constitutionalism, and the constitutionality of independence and secession of states; the legal and constitutional issues emerging from societies transition from conflict, such as inclusive peace process design and the role and status of peace agreements in constitutional and international law; the regulation and administration of environmental issues including climate change law; as well as the legal and constitutional implications of suprastate governance and adjudication, especially with respect to the EU and ECHR.
It has also been a major hub of research in pressing issues facing the constitutional futures of the UK, such as the 2014 Scottish Independence referendum and the process of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.
Sanja Badanjak, Chancellor's Fellow
Kathryn Nash, Chancellor's Fellow
Christine Bell, Professor of Constitutional Law
Elisenda Casanas Adam, Lecturer in Public Law and Human Rights
Navraj Singh Ghaleigh, Senior Lecturer in Climate Law
Cormac Mac Amhlaigh, Professor of Public Law
Stephen Tierney, Professor of Constitutional Theory
Neil Walker, Regius Professor of Public Law and the Law of Nature and Nations
Asanga Welikala, Lecturer in Public Law
Research Project Staff:
Juline Beaujouan, PSRP Research Associate
Tim Epple, PSRP Research Associate
Adam Farquhar, Research Associate and Data Officer
Niamh Henry, Research Data Engineer, Peace and Conflict Resolution Evidence Platform (PCREP)
Jinrui Wang, PeaceRep PeaceTech Visualisation Research Assistant
Robert Wilson, PSRP Research Associate
Laura Wise, Research Analyst
Book Chapters
Regionalized Governance in the Global South
Coe, Brooke; Nash, Kathryn. In: Cambridge University Press, 2023, p. 84. View chapter
Eppur Esiste! Legitimacy and longevity in the EU's long decade of crisis
Mac Amhlaigh, Cormac. In: The Future of EU Constitutionalism. Ed, Matej Avbelj. 1st ed, Hart Publishing, 2023, p. 125-140. View chapter
Scottish Secession and the Political Constitution of the UK
Reid, Peter; Welikala, Asanga. In: Sceptical Perspectives on the Changing Constitution of the United Kingdom. Ed, Richard Johnson; Yuan Yi Zhu. 1st, ed, Hart Publishing, 2023. p. 307-330. View chapter
Journal articles
A theory of plural constituent power for federal systems
Aroney, Nicholas; Duke, George; Tierney, Stephen. In: Global Constitutionalism, 19.01.2024, p. 1-21. View article
Provenance visualization: Tracing people, processes, and practices through a data-driven approach to provenance
Vancisin, Tomas; Clarke, Loraine; Orr, Mary et al. In: Digital Scholarship in the Humanities, Vol. 38, No. 3, 09.2023, p. 1322-1339. View article
The spaces of local agreements: Towards a new imaginary of the peace process
Bell, Christine; Wise, Laura. In: Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding, Vol. 16, No. 5, 01.02.2023, p. 563-583. View article
Working Papers
EU Constitutional Conflicts and Constitutionally Conforming Interpretation
Mac Amhlaigh, C. SSRN.
Keith Forum on Commonwealth Constitutionalism
The Keith Forum aims to harness the reservoir of comparative ideas from the Commonwealth for current UK constitutional debates, and to benefit Commonwealth states facing similar challenges.
Visit the Keith Forum website
Law and Polity Project
The Law and Polity Project addresses the challenges of how the modern state polity is affected by new legal and political forms.
Visit the Law and Polity Project website
Peace and Conflict Resolution Evidence Platform (PeaceRep)
PeaceRep re-thinks peace and transition processes in light of changing conflict dynamics, changing demands of inclusion, and changes in patterns of global intervention in conflict and peace/mediation/transition management processes.
Visit the PeaceRep website
The International Legitimacy Research Project
The International Legitimacy project is an interdisciplinary project examining various dimensions of legitimacy beyond the state.
Visit the International Legitimacy website
Edinburgh Dialogues on Post-Conflict Constitution Building
Edinburgh Dialogues on Post-Conflict Consitution Building is a partnership that seeks to bring together a network of academic and professional experts to share experiences, discuss contemporary challenges, and reflect on current scholarship and policy practice. The initiative is premised on the benefits of informed constitutional comparativism, an interdisciplinary approach to constitutional substance and processes, and the mutual benefits of regular and structured engagement between scholars and practitioners of constitution building.
Edinburgh Centre for Constitutional Law
The Centre for Constitutional Law provides a focal-point for research in public law and constitutional theory in the United Kingdom and beyond.
Visit the Edinburgh Centre for Constitutional Law website
Edinburgh Centre for Legal Theory
The Centre for Legal Theory combines an openness to diverse areas and styles of theoretical research with a deeply collegiate atmosphere.
Visit the Edinburgh Centre for Legal Theory website
Global Justice Academy
The Global Justice Academy is an interdisciplinary research network at the University of Edinburgh and beyond exploring global justice in its broadest sense.
Visit the Global Justice Academy website
