Research
Leicester Law School is a large, research-led law school committed to producing the highest quality of scholarship while recognising the important relationship between excellence in research and in teaching. In the Research Excellence Framework 2014, 80% of the School's research output was rated to be world-leading or internationally excellent. In terms of research power, the School ranked 11th in the country.
Our research culture is founded on a pluralistic philosophy accommodating a wide range of approaches, including doctrinal research, socio-legal research, law and theory, and interdisciplinary work. We have long been the epitome of the University’s identity, ‘Citizens of Change’. Much of our research is about reforming the current law to reflect new priorities, deal with new challenges or better regulate the needs of society. From early pioneering work in European law to recent developments such as advancing feminist approaches to international law, applying the law to museum collections, and work on children’s legal capability, our researchers have led the way in taking legal research into new directions. This continues today with new research on the Covid-19 pandemic and on decolonisation.
Our long-standing strengths in European and International Law (consolidated in CELI) and in socio-legal research, have been joined by emerging new strengths in recent years including in the areas of civil dispute resolution, ADR, law and theory, medico-legal research, law and policy, and social inclusion and the law.
The School has 10 research clusters which provide a focus for collaborative work, provide a structured opportunity for peer review and facilitate engagement between researchers, both internal and external. Our current clusters are: