View all news

A year in legal research: 2024 in review

The University of Bristol Law School’s Wills Memorial Building, lit up against a dusky blue sky, with lines of motion captured traffic lights rushing across the foreground.

9 January 2025

As we launch into the new year, we look back at some of the national and global issues the Law School's experts were tackling in 2024. The past year saw our academics being appointed to expert advisory positions, presenting at the UK Supreme Court and international courts, creating policy briefs for better health, hosting international conferences and launching new centres of research excellence.

From championing workers’ rights in the UK to supporting human rights law internationally, here are just a few highlights that illustrate what research in action looks like: 

  • Protecting and improving the environment

Professor Margherita Pieraccini was appointed to the Office for Environmental Protection's College of Experts, a non-departmental public body created to protect and improve the environment by holding government and other public bodies to account. Find out more. 

  • Defending workers’ rights 

Professor Alan Bogg appeared in the UK Supreme Court as part of UNISON's legal team, acting and winning on behalf of a care worker in a landmark right to strike case, for which the Court ruled in favour of the UNISON team. Find out more.

  • Creating healthier communities  

Dr Ed Kirton-Darling is among expert voices from planning, health, government and consultants sharing their insights into using Health Impact Assessments as a force for good in creating healthier new communities. Find out more.

  • Supporting international human rights 

Professor Rachel Murray was invited to speak at the Justice and Human Rights Committee of the Pan-African Parliament, presenting on the development of a Model Law on the implementation of African human rights bodies' decisions. Find out more.

  • Ensuring fair NHS procurement processes 

Professor Albert Sanchez-Graells was appointed to the National Health Service England’s Independent Patient Choice and Procurement Panel, set up to ensure that procurement processes for healthcare services are transparent, fair and proportionate. Find out more.

  • Improving Mental Health Law support for Nearest Relatives 

Professor Judy Laing co-authored a Research Briefing to improve support for Nearest Relatives under the Mental Health Act. Find out more.

  • New Centres of legal research excellence 

The Law School launched two new research centres, the Centre for European and Public Law and the Centre for Crime, Law and Society.

We also hosted a of range of research events, with just a few highlights including the 115th conference of the Society of Legal Scholars: ‘‘Learning from Others: Lessons for Legal Scholars?, the 26th British Legal History Conference: ‘Insiders and Outsiders in the History of Law’, and a symposium: ‘Climate, Health and the Law’, co-hosted by the Centre for Environmental Law and Sustainability and the Centre for Health, Law and Society.

Further information

Discover more about the Law School’s research projects and impact, and follow us on social media: 

  • X 
Edit this page