This project will examine the needs of individuals using family mediation services as a means of resolving family breakdown issues and ways in which mediation services are evolving to meet those needs.

I will use a mixed-methods approach to collect qualitative and quantitative data, using semi-structured interviews and surveys. My thesis aims to explore:

1. The information that clients have available to them prior to and throughout mediation and the impact of this on their experience;
2. How the environment has evolved and what challenges this creates for mediators when trying to effectively engage with clients;
3. How mediation providers have responded to this new environment, such as the expansion of mediation methods;
4. The experiences and outcomes of clients using mediation services.

My PhD is preceded by a Masters dissertation on the accessibility of information on family mediation. This will look at the complexity of language used, and whether sources reflect a changing mediation process providing tailored services. The overall aim of my 1+3 studentship is to inform the development by local providers of effective, tailored mediation intervention packages.

Within the context of asylum law in the UK, there exists great tension between ‘the political imperative to maintain effective immigration control’ and the UK’s obligations (under international refugee law, human rights law, and the EU legal framework) towards those seeking protection. In light of these competing values, access to representation before a fair and independent adjudicator is crucial. Regrettably, cuts to legal aid and multi-layered procedural restrictions limit access to justice for asylum seekers and produce unfair results with potentially devastating consequences. I propose to unpick the rules, through empirical research and study, to reveal the moral corruption of a politically biased system that causes social exclusion and suffering. I further seek to find a solution to this inequitable situation by comparative study of the Scottish system (where legal aid is not restricted by the ‘merits’ of the claim); the French system (that follows an inquisitorial form of procedure); and the Canadian system (where asylum claims are arguably handled more effectively by independent magistrates).

The concept of Justice has frequently been discussed, yet never adequately defined. Dictionary definitions indicate ‘just’ or ‘reasonable’ behaviour, and ‘fairness’, yet these terms fail to clear up the ambiguity behind the concept. Authors adopt different frameworks of Justice, such as Rawls’ 2 main principles of Liberty and Equality. This project will consider what Justice should mean for asylum seekers including access to the legal system, due process, and success for valid cases. I plan to ask asylum seekers what their idea of Justice is, and compare it to that of other stakeholders as this may be the area of disconnect. The project will consider whether there is a relationship between structures and the agency of asylum seekers, citizens and other relevant actors; and access to justice. Structuration theory will be used as a conceptual framework to examine how the duality of structure operates to constrain and enable asylum seekers. This theory explores the relationship between structure and agency, giving primacy to neither. Anthony Giddens defines structure as patterns of rules and resources, which exist virtually. For Giddens, society is constructed through the ongoing activity of actors as they draw upon these structures. Structure is therefore the medium through which agents act, and the outcome of these acts.

It is well recognised that the form and function of structure/agency is a product of context and this thesis will explore the structure/agency debate in the context of access to justice for the asylum seeker population. From informal conversations with members of third party organisations dedicated to helping asylum seekers; I have found 3 key concerns relating to access to justice for asylum seekers.

• A lack of (good) legal representation,
• Highly complex and lengthy asylum system, and
• ‘Failure’ on behalf of the government meaning that 3rd party organisations have to work beyond their role. Asylum policies are deliberately harsh and hostile, to deter large numbers of claims; 3rd party organisations see this as failing to protect asylum seekers.

These concerns can all influence access to justice.

In order to fully explore the question of justice for asylum seekers, the project will investigate the variables that influence legal aid provision and legal representation for asylum claims using a mixed methods approach. The study will investigate whether access to justice is influenced by both structural and agency-related factors. I will undertake:

• Quantitative analysis. The official datasets (immigration and legal aid statistics (UK and Wales)/EUROSTAT/UNHCR) only provide basic demographic data of those seeking asylum. Drawing on the data held by Asylum Justice, this study will create a detailed data collection system, facilitating both descriptive statistical analysis and exploration of the characteristics which influence the decisions on legal aid and representation. There is little empirical data available to facilitate the analysis of the influence of representation in asylum hearings. This study will survey court users to assess the factors that influence successful outcome, comparing those who have legal representation through legal aid/charitable provision and litigants in person.
• Qualitative analysis. The data will be enriched by semi-structured interviews with Asylum Justice clients, legal representatives and other relevant actors in the decision-making process. These interviews will focus on indications of ‘success’ including clarity, consistency and effective representation. I will also begin the study by conducting ethnographic observations at Columbus House’ Asylum Tribunal; looking at whether the applicant has agency; whether they are enabled or constrained in the process. These observations should give some insight into the structures that enable/constrain asylum seekers.

This study will be used to support policy development with relevant Welsh public bodies and will make a significant contribution to academic debates surrounding access to justice in Wales.

This study seeks to analyse the ever-shifting dynamic in the judicial ‘dialogue’ taking place between the domestic courts of the UK and the European Court of Human Rights. Endorsing the view that s.2 of the Human Rights Act 1998 is the principal ‘gateway’ through which this important dialogue can occur, it focuses in particular on the potential implications should a new UK Bill of Rights include a modification of that provision.

The project will examine the resistance of local rugby union clubs in Wales to take effective steps to protect against personal liability. The data from the project will inform the development of effective information packages to protect the local rugby clubs at the heart of Welsh communities.

There are just over 300 amateur local rugby union clubs in Wales. The majority are run as unincorporated associations with all legal liability remaining with the volunteer trustees of the club. This personal liability has seen individuals and communities hit by tribunal and other claims. A legal analysis will therefore be carried out, identifying the current legal position and the best vehicle for protection of clubs based on size, membership and other relevant factors.

This is the first empirical research to examine the role of innocence projects across the UK.

An innocence project is most commonly a university clinic where students investigate cases of alleged miscarriages of justice. Michael Naughton is generally considered the founder of the UK innocence movement: he established the Innocence Network UK (INUK) in 2004 and set up the University of Bristol innocence project in 2005. Following this, innocence projects spread rapidly across the UK, with INUK assisting the establishment of 36 innocence projects during its operation (2004-2014), and with two further projects existing independently. Despite this, the literature on innocence projects was only from a few authors, and there was little known about how projects were operating in practice across the UK. The research sought to examine this through semi-structured interviews with past and present innocence project leaders which explored their aims and objectives; their approach to investigation and casework; the problems and challenges they faced; and their views on the future for miscarriage of justice work in the UK. The innocence movement in the UK has been plagued by difficulties. Despite the large number of innocence projects, only three cases have ever reached the Court of Appeal and only one has ever been overturned. Furthermore, in the autumn of 2014, INUK ceased its role as a membership organisation for innocence projects meaning there was no longer a UK based network of projects. It is hoped this research will provide an important insight into the UK innocence movement, which has been of significant contribution to the miscarriage of justice field and to the development of clinical legal education.

I am interested in the theories underpinning our legal system, and the limits they place on our ability to protect the environment and to advocate for climate justice.

My research project firstly entails a theoretical enquiry concerning the ontological and epistemological structures underlying law and ‘participatory’ governance, drawing on the insights provided by new materialist thinkers.

The second element of this research project will be to conduct ethnographic research with climate justice organisations engaging with global and local governance structures, including the (1) the Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice, an international policy leader in climate justice and (2) Incredible Edible Bristol, a local community food sovereignty movement.

The aim of this research is to explore how advocacy practices might enable a wider range of voices, including non-human constituencies, to influence the normative character of the legal process. To what extent do existing law and governance structures exclude? What impact do these theoretical foundations have on the work of these grassroots actors? How might re-conceptualising their theoretical foundations allow for a greater diversity of political action, and a better response to the complexity of contemporary environmental challenges?

This study seeks to explore the precise role of ‘legal expertise’ in the construction of EU law and policy. The Legal Service of the European Commission has hardly been researched. As this is one of the main institutional expressions of ‘legal expertise’ within the EU policy-making process, this study aims to uncover its precise role and features.

This project considers the nature and purpose of civil law in the 21st century to ask what we can and should expect of civil justice in the post-Jackson Reform era. These theoretical questions centre on access to justice and how we can define, or redefine, that all important phrase. The empirical element to this research explores the ways in which the legal profession functions under new cost rules in order to secure that theoretical aim for claimants within personal injury law.

It is particularly focused on the current and potential use of technology within legal practise to manage cases within the limitations of new cost rules and rationed procedures. This draws heavily on current work relating to Law and Technology; professionalism and expertise; and the contrasting natures of social knowledge artificial intelligence.