Latest news from Faculty of Law

The Inner Temple has announced that Dr Liron Shmilovits ' book Legal Fictions in Private Law has been shortlisted for the Main Prize in the triennial book competition . Dr Shmilovits is Fellow and College Associate Professor at Wolfson College, where he focuses on private law, primarily contract and legal fictions. Legal Fictions in Private Law was published by Cambridge University Press in January 2022. Legal fictions are falsehoods that the law knowingly relies on. It is the most bizarre feature of our legal system; we know something is false, and we still assume it. But why do we rely on blatant falsehood? What are the implications of doing so? Should we continue to use fictions, and, if not, what is the alternative? Legal Fictions in Private Law answers these questions in an accessible and engaging manner, looking at the history of fictions, the theory of fictions, and current fictions from a practical perspective. It proposes a solution to what to do about fictions going forward, and how to decide whether they should be accepted or rejected. It addresses the latest literature and deals with the law in detail. This book is a comprehensive analysis of legal fictions in private law and a blueprint for reform. The winners of the prizes will be announced at an awards ceremony on 2 December 2025.

Lexis Nexis has published The Law and Practice of Human Rights edited by Alistair Mills , David Blundell KC, and Miranda Butler. The Law and Practice of Human Rights provides a thorough yet usable guide to human rights law and practice. Written by a team of expert practitioners at Landmark Chambers, the book examines the legal framework established under the European Convention of Human Rights, while also highlighting the enduring relevance of the common law in protecting rights and liberties. Providing in-depth analysis of both substantive and procedural aspects of the law, detailed and practical chapters describe the content of applicable protections, the domestic application of the Human Rights Act 1998, and the steps involved in taking a case to Strasbourg. Targeted at practitioners working in fields that interact with human rights, and those who wish to understand the current state of human rights law in the UK, this book aims to be an important and up-to-date tool for all those involved in this contentious but essential area of practice. For more information about this book, please refer to the Lexis Nexis website . For information about publications by Alistair Mills, please refer to his Faculty profile .

The Faculty of Law is pleased to announce its strong performance in the most recent round of UK university league tables. The Faculty continues to be recognised as a top-tier institution for legal education both in the UK and globally, reinforcing its standing as a leader in the field. In the Complete University Guide 2026...

Brill has published On the Interface between Public and Private International Law by Campbell McLachlan . Our understanding of the operation of law beyond the nation State has been deeply shaped by two great disciplines: public and private international law. Yet surprisingly little systematic attention has been devoted to the relationship between the two. The public-private divide operates to separate the law that is concerned with the exercise of political power by States and the policy choices that we make for public purposes — the domain of public international law — from the exercise of economic power by corporations, regulated largely by private international law. In this first panoptic survey of the relation between the two fields, McLachlan argues that the neglect of this interface is highly consequential for our understanding of law’s capacity to control the State and the corporation. Both are constructs of the law. But the function of law is not merely to empower and clothe these artificial persons with legal authority; it is also to impose legal responsibility, where the exercise of power gives rise to a breach and causes injury to others. Only by placing these two great systems side-by-side, can we see clearly where that responsibility lies and the necessary development of the law. For more information about this book, please refer to the Brill website . For information about publications by Professor McLachlan, please refer to his Faculty profile .

Bloomsbury Professional has published the fourth edition of Corporate Finance Law: Principles and Policy by Louise Gullifer and Jennifer Payne. The 4th edition of this acclaimed book continues to provide a discussion of key theoretical and policy issues in corporate finance law. It has been fully updated to reflect developments in the law and the markets. One of the book's distinctive features is its equal coverage of both the equity and debt sides of corporate finance law, and it seeks, where possible, to compare and contrast the two. The book covers a broad range of topics regarding the debt and equity-raising choices of companies of all sizes, from SMEs to the largest publicly traded enterprises, and the mechanisms by which those providing capital are protected. Each chapter provides a critical analysis of the present law to enable the reader to understand the difficulties, risks and tensions in this area, and the attempts by the legislature, regulators and the courts, as well as the parties involved, to deal with them. The book will be of interest to practitioners, academics and students engaged in the practice and study of corporate finance law. For more information about this book, please refer to the Bloomsbury website . For information about publications by Professor Gullifer, please refer to her Faculty profile .

The Faculty has distributed Volume 16 Number 4 of the University of Cambridge Faculty of Law Legal Studies Research Paper Series on SSRN . This issue includes the following articles: Eilis Ferran: Regulating for Growth in an Era of Rising Economic Nationalism: UK and EU Perspectives ( 14/2025 ) The UK and EU have become...

For the second year running a team comprising Cambridge Law students has won the Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer National Law University Delhi International Negotiation Competition . Guan Rong Tan and Yee Rei Lim (both of Trinity College) fought off stiff competition to win the final against a team from the University of...

The Faculty is shocked and saddened at the news that Professor Conor Gearty KC (Hon) FBA (LSE) died suddenly last week. Conor was a masters and doctoral student at Wolfson College from 1980. Following that he took up a postion as a fellow of Emmanuel College and lecturer in Law at the Faculty, until 1990 when he left for King's College London. He was not only an enormously important legal scholar, latterly as a Professor at the LSE, but also a highly regarded barrister as a founding member of Matrix Chambers. Tributes to him have been published by the LSE and Matrix Chambers . Conor will be remembered as a charming, funny and brilliant teacher, and a great thinker. Conor had returned to the Faculty many times to speak (for example 'Liberty and Security' (2012) and 'The Council of Europe and Imperialism: A Report Card?' (2024)) and to be involved in academic events and as an external reviewer. He notably delivered the tour de force Sir David Williams Lecture on the title 'Not in the Public Interest' as a guest of the Centre for Public Law in 2014.

Oxford University Press has published the fourth edition of Equity & Trusts: Text, Cases, and Materials by Professor Paul S. Davies and Professor Graham Virgo . Paul Davies and Graham Virgo provide a comprehensive guide to trusts and equity in a single volume. Drawing on a judiciously balanced selection of case extracts, journal articles, and academic writing, Davies and Virgo present their authoritative commentary on the law with clarity and rigour. An expertly selected range of legal extracts is complemented by unparalleled author commentary, providing clear explanation and analysis of the legal principles behind key decisions in a single volume Further reading and extensive footnotes encourage students to think critically around the subject and develop relevant research skills 'Central Issues' listed at the start of chapters outline the key topics covered and help students build a conceptual understanding of the subject Scenario-based questions posed at the end of chapters frame the law in its practical context while giving students an opportunity to assess their own level of understanding For more information about this book, please refer to the Oxford University Press website . For information about other publications by Professor Virgo, please refer to his Faculty profile .

Professor Catherine Barnard , Dr Fiona Costello and Sarah Fraser Butlin's book Low-Paid EU Migrant Workers: The House, The Street, The Town has been awarded the Best Book Prize 2025 by the University Association for Contemporary European Studies (UACES) . Low-Paid EU Migrant Workers: The House, The Street, The Town offers an in-depth exploration of the lives of EU migrant workers in the UK following Brexit and COVID-19. Drawing on a longitudinal study, the book delves into the legal problems migrant workers face and sheds much-needed light on the hidden interactions between the law and communities around issues such as employment, housing, welfare and health. Through personal narratives and insights gathered from interviews, it reveals how (clustered) legal problems arise, are resolved and often bypass formal legal resolution pathways. The winning book is published by Bristol University Press where it is available to purchase or read online via open access under CC-BY-NC-ND licence. The UACES Best Book Prize is awarded annually for the book that has made the most substantial and original contribution to knowledge in the area of contemporary European Studies. The prize was awarded at the UACES 55th Annual Conference in Liverpool on 1 September, and was collected by Fiona who was a guest at the event. The conference theme was, fittingly, 'Europe's resilience and transformation in a rapidly changing world'. Responding to the award, Catherine said: "We are hugely grateful to UACES for recognising our book. We owe a significant debt of gratitude to all of those who shared their experiences with us and to GYROS , the charity in Great Yarmouth with whom we worked very closely. Their participation has enabled us to tell a story of poverty, migration and the absence of law enforcement in a town suffering from considerable economic disadvantage. "

Professor Surabhi Ranganathan (King's College) has been awarded the prestigious Max Planck-Humboldt Research Award 2025, a prize of 1.5 million euros. The award recognizes her groundbreaking work on ocean governance and the law of the sea, particularly its political challenges. The award ceremony will take place in Berlin on December 2. The Max Planck-Humboldt Research Award is a joint initiative of the Max Planck Society and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation . It is given to outstanding international researchers for their exceptional academic achievements. Supported by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the award alternates between the natural and engineering sciences, life sciences, and the humanities and social sciences. The race for ocean resources Professor Ranganathan's research focuses on the growing competition for deep-sea resources, like the manganese nodules found in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone between Hawaii and Mexico. These nodules are rich in manganese, nickel, copper, cobalt, and rare earth elements, making them highly valuable to the electronics and energy industries. Currently, the international law of the sea successfully protects this sensitive deep-sea ecosystem from exploitation by commercial companies. An interdisciplinary approach to International Law For Professor Ranganathan, the race for these resources is a lens through which to examine international law, geopolitical interests, and the lingering effects of colonization. A lawyer currently researching at the University of Cambridge, she has spent years studying the legal frameworks of deep-sea mining, global competition, and fair collaboration. Her work also explores the libertarian ideals found within modern economic systems. Her unique, interdisciplinary approach - combining international law with history and political science - was noted as being exceptionally novel, timely, and highly relevant to society.

It is with great sadness that the Faculty announces the death of Professor Tony Smith (A.T.H. Smith) on 18 August. Professor Smith was lecturer and fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge from 1972-1981 and 1990-1996 and remained a Life Fellow there until his death. He became Professor of Criminal and Public Laws in the Faculty in 1996, a post he held until 2006. During that time he was Chair of the Law Faculty from 1999-2001. After his time in Cambridge, Tony was Pro-Vice Chancellor and Dean of the Faculty of Laws at Victoria University at Wellington. He returned to Cambridge for a stint as Goodhart Professor of Legal Science in 2015-2016. Professor Smith was a leading writer on the criminal law and criminal justice. His initial interest was criminal law in relation to the law of property, on which he wrote a big book entitled The Protection of Property through the Criminal Law in 1994. But by then the main thrust of his scholarship was directed towards those areas where the criminal law and public law intersect: free speech, media law, police powers and public order. In 1987 he published The Offences Against Public Order , inspired by the Public Order Act 1986. He then joined forces with the practitioners Anthony Arlidge and David Eady, whose book on contempt of court became Arlidge, Eady and Smith On Contempt from the 2nd edition onwards: a comprehensive work that is widely recognised as the authoritative text. In 2023 a Festschrift to mark his retirement was published by the Victoria University of Wellington Law Review. The quality and range of the many contributions reflect the affection and esteem in which Tony was widely held. To law students and would-be law students his name is better known for completely different work. From the 12th edition onwards, he was the editor of Glanville Williams’s popular introduction to law studies, Learning the Law . He was a founding member of the Cambridge Law Faculty’s online criminal discussion group, and remained so for many years after his return to New Zealand.

On 17 July 2025, Nabil H. Khabirpour (Affiliated Lecturer; Fellow and Director of Studies (Lucy Canvedish College)) was invited to meet with the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, to share insights from his work at the Law Corner and to discuss the state of access to justice across communities in the country. During the meeting, Nabil presented examples of recent casework undertaken by student interns over the past year, including some of the work done by Cambridge undergraduates relating to housing, consumer protection, education and equality. The Prime Minister welcomed this spirit of service and conveyed his government's commitment to supporting those working within local communities to effect meaningful societal change. He noted that new lines of action and funding will be put in place across all sectors in pursuit of this aim. The meeting took place ahead of the Civil Society Summit, which marked the launch of a new initiative to harness the collective power of communities, businesses, and government. As part of the ongoing collaboration, the Constituency Office of Sir Keir and the Law Corner will maintain a line of communication to chart future developments at the grassroots and monitor the evolving landscape of access to justice. The Law Corner is a pro bono and educational initiative based in the Somers Town neighbourhood. Its work is guided by a twofold aim. One is to offer to those of limited means high quality and timely advice by directly retaining and working with the client, much like a firm or chambers. The other is to provide opportunities for students and collaborators to learn more about the practice of law in the public interest and, in the process, build a network among like-minded peers, collaborators and wider society. The current coordination team includes Claudia Dolgetta, Francesca Meikle, Damon Neale, Ewan Jenkins Wendon, Alice Victoria Hayverova and Cambridge alumna Rosa Matarewicz (Lucy Cavendish). Nabil's work lies in the fields of EU Law, European Human Rights Law and Jurisprudence. His latest article, ' A Tale of Two Cases and a Story Yet Untold' was published in the Modern Law Review and explores the relationship between legal advice, the rule of law, and insights from capability theory under Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights. This research is situated within a broader inquiry into how remedial systems ensure not only the articulation of rights but also their effective enforceability, and why this is essential for the integrity and just operation of law in society.

The Faculty of Law and the Cambridge Private Law Centre was well represented at the Obligations XI at Harvard Law School , which took place from 8 to 11 July 2025 on the theme 'Private Law Inside and Out'. The Obligations Conference is a biennial event which brings together scholars and practitioners from across the common law world to discuss current issues in contract law, the law of torts, equity, unjust enrichment, and private law theory. Professor Jonathan Morgan presented a paper on 'Torts, Rights and Public Policy: Combining Instrumentalism and Corrective Justice' , while Nick McBride spoke on 'The Practice of Recognition' . Dr Ernesto Vargas Weil presented on 'The Numerus Clausus of Property Rights 'Inside Out'' , and Dr Poorna Mysoor's presentation sought to explore 'Why Copyright Infringement Is Confounding to a Tort Lawyer' , while Joshu Majima, our doctoral student, presented on 'Property and Positive Obligations: A Historical Approach' . Downing Professor Emeritus of the Laws of England and former Director of the CPLC, Professor Dame Sarah Worthington, gave her final reflections bringing together the conference theme and the diverse papers presented.

Former President of the Queen's Bench Division, Sir Brian Leveson, was appointed by the government to carry out an independent review into the criminal courts. Specifically, the review considered 2 key themes, which are outlined in the Terms of Reference: 1) Reform: how the criminal courts could be reformed to ensure cases...

The 'world court' and climate change A Cambridge professor and counsel team member for Vanuatu gives his initial views on the landmark ICJ Advisory Opinion. The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the judicial arm of the United Nations – known as the ‘world court’ – has issued a historic Advisory Opinion on the legal...

Oxford University Press has published Copyright as Personal Property by Dr Poorna Mysoor . Copyright statutes in many jurisdictions clearly state that copyright is a property right. However, it's not always clear exactly how. Some see it as no more than a statutory right, while others think of it as a chose in action, like...

On 1st July the Faculty's Assistant Professor in International Law Dr Rumiana Yotova was was invited to deliver the 6th Annual Heilbron Lecture for the Next 100 Years Project in the Old Bailey in London on the topic 'Creation: The Human and Humanity in the Age of New Technologies'. The lecture delved into the legal and ethical dilemmas posed by genome editing and emerging biotechnologies. She explored how new technologies like CRISPR Cas9 allow us not just to create life, but to shape the very essence of humanity and considered that while gene editing offers hope for curing genetic diseases, it also raises concerns about unintended consequences, ethical boundaries, and unequal access. She went on to discuss how national laws in the field are inconsistent and frequently lag behind the science, whilst from an international law perspective, no global treaty exists and existing conventions and declarations are outdated and lack clear, enforceable standards. The lecture concluded with a call to action for action to achieve international consensus: Dr Yotova called for a new international agreement to set standards, protect future generations and ensure responsible governance, before technology outpaces regulation. Dr Yotova was introduced by Baroness Shami Chakrabarti and Dana Denis-Smith OBE. The lecture was hosted by Sheriff Gregory Jones KC, the City of London Corporation and KPMG. The Heilbron Lecture series, launched by The Next 100 Years, aims to champion female experts in the legal profession by giving them a platform to deliver thought-provoking lectures on topical legal issues, countering the often male-dominated lecture circuit. Named after Dame Rose Heilbron QC, a pioneering figure as the first female senior judge and joint first female Queen’s Counsel (QC), the series seeks to promote rising female legal experts and ensure their visibility and recognition for their legal expertise. More information about the lecture series on Next 100 year is available from their website .

The Faculty has distributed Volume 16 Number 3 of the University of Cambridge Faculty of Law Legal Studies Research Paper Series on SSRN . This issue includes the following articles: David Erdos: Ireland and the Commonwealth, 1960s-1970s: The Ends of (Informal) External Association ( 9/2025 ) Ted Gleason, Markus Gehring, Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger, Javiera Paz Cáceres, Jorge Cabrera & Matheus Garcia: Economic Rules Toward Net Zero in 2040: Legal Options for the Future of Trade in a Net Zero World ( 10/2025 ) Holli Sargeant: From Estimation to Discrimination: Algorithmic Bias, Predictive Uncertainty, and Anti-Discrimination Law ( 11/2025 ) Narine Lalafaryan: Chameleon Capital ( 12/2024 ) Sarah Nouwen & Wouter Werner: Embracing Discomfort: From Textbook to Scriptbook in Legal Education ( 13/2024 ) Interested readers can browse the Working Paper Series at SSRN , or sign up to subscribe to distributions of the the e-journal.

Dr Narine Lalafaryan (Assistant Professor of Corporate Law; Fellow, Pembroke College; CERF Fellow) gave evidence on 9 July 2025 to the House of Lords, Financial Services Regulation Committee . The Financial Services Regulation Committee invited Dr Lalafaryan to provide evidence on the growth of private markets in the UK...