Unit of Assessment 18
Law

Our Law Research Division focuses on how legal issues shape human society in the UK and internationally. We question how law should and does balance the interests of different groups and individuals, and we examine the effect the law has in influencing, changing and improving the work of social, political and economic institutions. 

By connecting with a range of public, private and third sector organisations in the conduct and dissemination of our research, we aim to reach and engage with a wider audience and create positive change.

Our research is organised into three groups:

• Global Law at Reading (GLAR) is a research hub for public international law, EU law and human rights law and is one of the largest groups of expert staff researching and teaching global law at any university within the UK.
• Centre for Commercial Law and Financial Regulation (CCLFR) is the home of research in commercial, competition, company, corporate, financial and intellectual property law and legal issues relating to oil and gas and network industries. CCLFR has strong links with Henley Business School.
• Law, Justice and Society academics explore the interactions between the law and society through diverse methodological and conceptual approaches, including doctrinal, socio-legal, empirical, historical, literary and theoretical approaches.

Our staff also contribute to the Reading Centre for Climate and Justice, a platform for research that puts justice front and centre in understanding the problems of climate change and exploring solutions to them.

Staff and doctoral students

We submitted 31 staff (27.5 FTE) to REF2021, including 12 Professors, 10 Associate Professors, 7 Lecturers, 4 Research Fellows and 4 Early Career Researchers. We have an annual average of 31 PhD students. Over the assessment period, there were 27 doctoral completions. In 2019/20 doctoral students came from 17 countries including the UK.

Reading is a partner in two doctoral training partnerships: the ESRC-funded South East Network for Social Sciences (SeNSS) and the AHRC South, West and Wales Doctoral Training Programme.

Research centres and partnerships

CCLFR has collaborations with external partners at home (Glasgow CREATe, Bournemouth CIPPM) and abroad (ALBA Business School in Greece, Singapore Management University, and the Australian National University.

Sector recognition

Selected examples of national and international recognition between 2014 and 2020:

• Law Commissioner, UK Law Commission (Professor Nicholas Hopkins)
• Member of the UN Secretary-General's Civil Society Advisory Board (Professor Rosa Freedman)
• Specialist Adviser to the International Development Select Committee (Professor Rosa Freedman)
• Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (Professor Michael Schmitt, Professor Nicholas Hopkins)
• Member of the US State Department’s Advisory Committee on International Law (Professor Michael Schmitt)

Examples of the impact our research has had at local, national and global levels.