Female student in the Vinson Building

Law School Research

The University of Buckingham Law School is a supportive and nurturing family of researchers who provide their research students with an enriching environment. The school possesses expertise across a wide range of areas, including commercial and company law, public law, judicial studies, maritime law, family law, criminal law, jurisprudence and sex and gender. Our staff are not only academic researchers, but incorporate a range of practice-based experience, working as international consultants with the likes of the UN, OSCE, ABA Rule of Law Initiative, EU, and Council of Europe. These experiences inform their research and supervisory support to postgraduate research students.

This environment has encouraged growth in research and has offered support for members of academic staff and a growing body of postgraduate research students. We currently supervise a wide range of research projects (LLM by Research/MA/PhD). Current areas of research projects include Public International Law, International Human Rights laws, Governance, Intellectual Property,  Financial Services & Regulation, Family Law, Sex & Gender, Comparative Constitutional Law, Judicial Studies; Jurisprudence; and Corporate Law.  If you are interested in any of these subjects, please contact the following staff:

      • Adolfo Paolini
        Financial Regulation and Services; Insurance; Corporate Law
      • Francis Grimal
        Public International Law (use of force)
      • Patricia Covarrubia
        Intellectual Property
      • James Slater
        Jurisprudence; Criminal law
      • Gar Yein Ng
        Comparative Constitutional law; Judicial Studies
      • Sarah Sargent
        International Human Rights Law; Equine Law
      • Jocelynne Scutt
        Family Law; Women’s Rights
      • Frances Burton
        Land Law; Family Law
      • Jessica Walsh (supervise at LLM level only)
        Human Rights, Rule of Law and Corruption, Dispute Resolution & ADR.
      • Obinna Edeji (supervise at LLM level only)
        International Human Rights Law; Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (socioeconomic rights); Political Economy and its direct impact on access to human rights.
      • Kerry Purcell (supervise at LLM level only)
        Medical law and ethics, contract law, tort law
      • Natalie Turney (supervise at LLM level only)
        Company Law, Corporate Criminal Law, Financial Crime, Insurance Law, Commercial Law, and Tort Law
      • Alec Morris (supervise at LLM level only)
        Trusts Law
      • Jae Sundaram
        World Trade Law; International Trade Law, & Maritime Law
      • Sheena McMurtrie (Supervise at LLM level only)
        Constitutional Law; Administrative Law; Ombudsman
      • Cynthia C. Umezulike (supervise at LLM only)
        International Human Rights Law, Human Rights Law intersections with Climate Change, Medical Law and Ethics.

Current PhD supervision:

  • Judicial Independence and Good Governance
  • AI Judge: ‘If it pleases your honour…’
  • Human rights approach on access to medicines: Are TRIPS flexibilities fit for purpose? A case study of India
  • Indexing the Rule of Law
  • Ombudsman Role in Deciding Financial Disputes.
  • Criminalisation and Deepfake Technology
  • Gender based Analysis of Violence Against Women Act Nigeria
  • The Legal Person: A Concept of Precision or Arbitrariness vis-à-vis UK-Nigerian Jurisdictions (in 18th-21st Century)
  • Plea Bargaining in Nigeria
  • Nuclear First Strike
  • Battered Woman Syndrome/Battered Woman Reality – Marital Killing
  • Fashion and Intellectual Property Protection

How to apply

Visit our how to apply page to find out everything you need to know about the application process.

If you have any questions, please get in touch with us on admissions@buckingham.ac.uk or call us on +44 (0)1280 828205.

Successfully defended PhDs

Click on the name of a student to find out more about their successfully completed thesis.

Natalie Turney

“Deferred Prosecution Agreements and D&O Insurance”

Read more about Natalie’s experience at Buckingham.

Michael Pollard

“A Legal Framework for Regulating Autonomous Weapon System Deployments”

Read more about Michael’s experience at Buckingham.

Angela Bazun

“The militarisation of the Indigenous Peoples in the Niger Delta Region by the Nigerian government: from a constructivist grounded theory to an action-based policy”

Read more about Angela’s experience at Buckingham.

Ernest Ugbejeh

“Towards an effective anti-corruption regime in Nigeria.  Examination of the anti-corruption Legal Framework of the United Nations, the African Union and Nigeria”

Read more about Ernest’s experience at Buckingham.

Chukwuemeka Ndukwe-Nnawuchi

“Traditional Medicine : The case for its inclusion in sustainable development – no one should be left behind”

Grace Atsegwasi

“The Health and Safety and Environmental Risk Regulatory regime governing the Nigerian offshore Oil & Gas Industry : Lessons from the United Kingdom’s safety case regime”