Postgraduate Research Student Board
The Postgraduate Research Student Board (PGRSB) is the representative body of the PGR Community (PhD and LLM by Research students) within Edinburgh Law School.
The Board aims to support the community by overseeing the PhD offices and reading groups, organising academic and social events and responding to any concerns. The Board also represents PhD and LLM(R) students to the wider School, including liaising with staff regarding issues and matters which impact the community.
Email: lawpgrsb@ed.ac.uk
George Dick (he/him) – President
I'm George, a final year PhD student who started in September 2022, specialising in legal theory. My research interests revolve around methodological issues in regard to theorising about the nature of law. In my (ever-decreasing!) spare time, I am an avid gamer of the video and board variety.
Following a successful tenure as Treasurer (23/24) and President (24/25), I have had the absolute privilege of being appointed once again as PGRSB President for this academic year! In this role, I am tasked with ensuring the smooth operation of the PGRSB, alongside ensuring that the PGRSB pursues its fundamental goals of (a) representing the Law PGR student body and (b) facilitating the running of PGR-led events at the Law School.
This year, my main goal is to continue boosting the visibility of the PGRSB within the wider Law PGR community, both through the organisation of more PGRSB-led events and through creating more opportunities for PGR students to share their views on their experiences at Edinburgh Law School. Given that the role of President also involves regular liaising with Law and wider College Staff, I am also keen to ensure that our community's voice is heard, and that our needs and interests are recognised and taken into consideration. Please don't hesitate to get in touch with the PGRSB if you have any feedback you want to share on your PGR experience here at Edinburgh Law School!
Chloe Young (she/her) - Vice President
I’m Chloe, a third year PhD student looking at the Nighttime Economy and working to understand risk, danger, and excitement within nightlife spaces! My broad research interests are affect, altered states, lived experiences, identity, atmosphere, (auto)ethnography and risk.
Last year, I acted as convenor of the criminology reading group and am thrilled to be acting as the Vice-President to the PGRSB this year! I look forward to working to make the PGR experience the best it can be. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with me or the PGRSB if there’s anything we can do to help make your experience at the Law School even better.
If I’m not in the depths of the basement office with an oat milk latte, you can find me camping somewhere in the highlands or, true to my research, in a pub with a pint in my hand!
Juan Pablo Andrade Rojas (he/him) – Treasurer
My research focuses on the theoretical challenges surrounding human rights adjudication. Particularly the tensions brought about by diversity claims on communitarian, religious or cultural grounds. I’m also interested on broader issues of legal and constitutional theory.
Before coming to Edinburgh, I worked as a lecturer and academic coordinator at the law school of Universidad Panamericana, where I still teach regularly. I also worked as a legal assistant in the Mexican Supreme Court. Apart from my research, I enjoy both literature and philosophical readings, and partaking in book clubs with other members of the academic community.
As Treasurer, I am responsible for the allocation of the PGRSB's budget to support reading groups in the Law School and other initiatives for the Law PGR community.
Alexandrine Lamarre (she/her) – Secretary
I am the Secretary of the PGRSB. I am a second-year PhD candidate and I am researching governance dynamics in international humanitarian law. My research interests include global governance, the laws of war, sovereignty & statehood, and the history of international law. Last year, I was the First Year Representative on the Board and I loved the experience of contributing to the PhD community through organising social activities, writing retreats and other activities. Outside of the law school, I am passionate about running, hillwalking and music.
Amrita Krishnakumar (she/her) – Social Officer
I’m Amrita, and I am a second-year PhD candidate. My research looks at the intersection of law, abortion, and mental capacity. More broadly, I’m fascinated by questions of vulnerability, medical law, and how social and cultural contexts shape autonomy.
Before academia, I spent over 3.5 years in marketing, specialising in cultural consulting for brands looking to engage with South Asian communities. That same eye for culture and community comes in handy in my role as Social Secretary, where I love creating fun, engaging events for the PGRSB.
Outside of research and events, you can usually find me experimenting in the kitchen (I trained in French patisserie!) or coming up with new ways to make social gatherings both meaningful and delicious.
Hilda Charles Tizeba (she/her) - Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Officer
I am a PhD candidate looking at decolonial, feminist and human rights-based approaches to autonomy in the regulation of mental healthcare. Drawing on Tanzania as a country case study, my research aims to disrupt assumptions on the universal applications of autonomy, especially as they apply to countries in the Global South. My research carries broader implications for Tanzania and potentially other low-middle-income countries in the Global South.
My role as the EDI Officer entails representing the PGR Community in EDI Committee meetings at the Edinburgh Law School, as well as promoting and fostering a culture and environment of inclusivity, respect for diversity and promoting equality through initiatives that widen access within the PGR Community. Don’t hesitate to contact me through the PGRSB or if you happen to bump into me anywhere and want to have a quick chat about a concern relating to EDI that you may have or discuss ideas that make the PGR experience better!
Helena Osie Bishop (she/her) - Ordinary Member
I started an LLM in January, which I have now successfully converted into a PhD, researching how power shapes access to abortion care using an intersectional analytical lens. I aim to highlight the ways in which abortion stakeholders’ agency is constrained by interpersonal and systemic factors, and how stakeholders can individually and collectively realise their agency to overcome domination in abortion care. My research interests span across feminist theory, critical legal theory, intersectionality, medical ethics and jurisprudence, and power.
Outside of academia, I enjoy any kind of project in the kitchen, playing DnD, very amateur photography, and I’m teaching myself the piano!
Please get in touch if you have any queries or concerns about your experience as a postgraduate researcher!
Claire Patterson (she/her) - Ordinary Member
I’m Claire, I am an ordinary member in the PGRSB and am this year’s First Year Representative. I am a first year PhD candidate and I am researching European Constitutional Law and the development of the Common Security and Defence Policy within the EU as part of the “Taming the Dark Energy of EU Law” project. Outside of my research I enjoy wild swimming, reading and doing pub quizzes with friends!
Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any concerns or suggestions on how we can make the 1st year PhD experience better!
The Reading and Discussion groups are a key part of the PGR community, and they put on academic events and sessions across areas of research at the Law School, with support from the PGRSB. Below is a list of active groups and contact details:
Edinburgh Commercial Law PGR Reading Group
Contact: commerciallaw.rg@ed.ac.uk
The Edinburgh Commercial Law PGR Reading Group (CLRG) is founded and run by PhD students at Edinburgh Law School. The current convener of CLRG is Amanullah Ahmadzai. Its members are primarily from the University of Edinburgh, whose research interests spin around the subject area of commercial law. PGR students from other institutions are welcome to join CLRG. The group also receives advice and support from academic staff, particularly members of the Edinburgh Centre for Commercial Law.
CLRG organises and hosts events at which group members, academic staff, visiting scholars and guest speakers present their most recent work that falls under the topic of commercial law. It provides a safe and relaxing environment for PGR students to enhance their research skills by sharing their experiences, learning from one another, and receiving peer feedback and support. It also allows PGR students to network with other researchers and practitioners in the field, boosting their engagement, influence and research impact while also expanding their knowledge of the professional standards and requirements for doing research. CLRG advertises its events through its Eventbrite account (Edinburgh Commercial Law PGR Reading Group). If you would like to be involved, please contact the convenor, Amanullah Ahmadzai at (a.ahmadzai@sms.ed.ac.uk) or via (commerciallaw.rg@ed.ac.uk).
Criminal Law Discussion Group
Contact: crimlawdg@ed.ac.uk
The Criminal Law Discussion Group (CrimLawDG) is a student-run space for research and discussion of criminal law topics for the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and the UK as a whole. Its main objective is to provide a permanent academic forum in which criminal law scholars and researchers can present their work, propose a discussion topic through a presentation, and workshop ideas with criminal law colleagues. In this sense, the CrimLawDG seeks to fill a gap in criminal law academia, namely that there are very few academic instances dedicated specifically to criminal law – most research or discussion groups are either focused on criminal justice as a whole or as an interdisciplinary effort to include social sciences (such as criminology or social theory) in the discussion of criminal matters. Though these are interesting and worthy projects, there are almost no instances in which criminal law itself – substantive criminal law, criminal procedure, criminal evidence, philosophy of criminal law and criminal law theory – is discussed in depth. Therefore, the CrimLawDG encourages the analysis of these topics in particular and creates a chance for open discussion for criminal law scholars and researchers.
The CrimLawDG also seeks to act as an open space for students who wish to explore criminal law themes more in depth. We seek to give undergraduate and LLM students an opportunity to participate in further study of the criminal law, and engage with current and ongoing ideas and research, through attendance to our events. It is our belief that the CrimLawDG serves as a motivation for embarking in further postgraduate studies in criminal law, acting as an interesting part of the University of Edinburgh’s academic community.
We run both online and in-person events. Together with scholars from the University of Glasgow and University of Stirling, we organise the Virtual Criminal Law Group - a space where criminal law scholars from around the world present work-in-progress papers for in-depth discussion. We also run an in-person Open Seminar Series every term, and Work-in-Progress sessions on an ad-hoc basis upon request from students or staff. If you would like to join our mailing list to keep up to date on our events or would like to contact us to organise an event of your own, please write to us at crimlawdg@ed.ac.uk.
Criminology Reading Group
Contact: law.crg@ed.ac.uk
The Criminology Reading Group (CRG) is a student-led group that aims to facilitate discussion and knowledge exchange between the University of Edinburgh PhD students and early career researchers in the fields of criminology and social and political sciences, as well as with the wider community. We organise a number of events throughout the year and invite internal and external speakers conducting research on contemporary issues in criminology and socio-legal sciences.
We look forward to hosting exciting events for our community!
Europa Postgraduate Research Group
Contact: e.asimakopoulou@ed.ac.uk or unai.gomez-hernandez@ed.ac.uk
Edinburgh Europa Research Group (EERG) is a PhD-led research group supported by the Edinburgh Europa Institute. Its aim is to bring together PhD researchers and early career researchers working on Europe-related issues at the University of Edinburgh. It provides the opportunity for students to present their research, receive feedback, and exchange ideas in a friendly setting at monthly meetings. The EERG will also be hosting a variety of workshops and events on European issues.
Please feel free to contact the co-convenors, Eleftheria Asimakopoulou and Unai Gomez-Hernandez, to request further information. You can join the group by joining this Microsoft Teams page and subscribing to the mailing list on the website.
Visit the Edinburgh Europa Research Group website
International Law Reading Group
Contact: Lucy Tomkins, Alexandrine Lamarre, Kagan Surucu and Rota Shima (ilrg@ed.ac.uk)
The International Law Reading Group (ILRG) is a student-led group aiming to facilitate discussion between postgraduate students and researchers in the field of international law and governance.
We are currently launching the second series of our Early Career Research Exchange (ECRE) where we invite early career researchers from any field of international law to present their ongoing research. Our aim is to create an uplifting and supportive space where early career researchers can share ideas and build connections within the international law community. We further host ad hoc events with lecturers, professors and other professionals of the field.
We aim to focus on various areas across international law; our current plans incorporate international criminal law, international human rights law, and international environmental law but we are eager to expand on this. We are keen for participants to join our events and contribute towards future topics.
Please get in touch with the reading group (ilrg@ed.ac.uk) to be notified about upcoming events.
Legal Theory Research Group
Contact: edinbugh.legal.theory@gmail.com
Visit Legal Theory Research Group website
Private Law Discussion Group
Contact: s2463140@ed.ac.uk & r.c.fraser@sms.ed.ac.uk
Welcome to the Private Law Reading & Discussion Group! Join a friendly, rigorous space for students and researchers exploring the theory and practice of private law. Every two weeks we discuss texts from foundational cases to cutting-edge reforms, testing ideas at the intersection of doctrine and philosophy. All backgrounds are welcome – no prior expertise required; just curiosity and a willingness to share ideas. For your enquiries please contact Rhea Fraser (r.c.fraser@sms.ed.ac.uk) or Sofia Fomina (s2463140@ed.ac.uk).
The Mason Institute PhD Research Group
Contact: MIPhD.Group@ed.ac.uk
The MI PhD Research Group is a research group run by PhD students for PhD students who are interested in and/or are researching in areas at the interface between ethics, law, medicine, and the life sciences at the University of Edinburgh. It aims to support the research processes of these PhD students and lead to the creation of research outputs to strengthen the students’ research profile. Events include writing workshops, discussion seminars, writing retreat, career development session, ‘PhD taster’ sessions. Opportunities offered include publishing a blog on the Mason Institute Blog. The current directors are Emma Nance, Rebecca Richards, and Jamie Webb who can be contacted via the email above.
Visit Mason Institute PhD Research Group website
Decolonial Research and Methodologies Seminar Series
Contact: b.singh-9@sms.ed.ac.uk or m.masetti-placci@sms.ed.ac.uk
In light of the University’s recent Review of Race and History (July 2025) and ongoing institutional commitments to decolonisation, this seminar series aims to provide a critical platform to interrogate these efforts within the specific context of legal research and scholarship. Each event aims to bring together scholars to explore complex themes at the intersection of law, race, and colonial legacies. At this critical juncture, we believe this series will provide a vital forum to turn institutional commitments into meaningful scholarly action. It is more urgent than ever to explore the impact of decolonial thought in legal research. One of our key aims is to introduce Postgraduate Research (PGR) students to a space where there can be critical dialogue that is both challenging and constructive. This series is designed to be a first step towards a sustained, community-led commitment to engage with decolonisation within all aspects of Edinburgh Law School. Details about each event will be shared with the PGR community via email.
The PGRSB is thrilled to share a new medium to reach out to us with any feedback, comments, and suggestions to improve the PGR experience (office spaces, communal spaces, activities, etc.).
We are officially implementing a feedback form which can be answered anonymously.
You can access this form at any time online, and we will be monitoring it on a bi-weekly basis.
Edinburgh Law School PhD Team: PhD.Law@ed.ac.uk
Edinburgh Law School PGR Director: Law.pgrdirector@ed.ac.uk
