Dr Karina Patricio Ferreira Lima

Profile

I joined the University of Leeds as a Lecturer in Commercial Law in 2020. I am passionate about teaching, research, and policy engagement in the field of financial and monetary law, particularly in the context of International Economic Law. I am a member of the Centre for Business Law and Practice (CBLP) and the programme manager of the MSc Law & Finance.

Before joining the University of Leeds, I completed my PhD at Durham Law School. During my PhD, I held the highly competitive and prestigious Modern Law Review Scholarship (2018-2020) and Durham Law School Studentship (2017-2020). My doctoral thesis builds the political economy foundations of international sovereign bankruptcy law and offers an alternative account of the sovereign debt crises that have plagued many emerging markets. The issue of liquidity takes the focal point and is the key to understanding the structural determinants of sovereign insolvency. I argue that international law lacks adequate mechanisms that deal with sovereign insolvency and suggest that some basic principles can be established in international sovereign bankruptcy law.

Recently, my thesis has won the 2022 SIEL-Hart Prize in International Economic Law, awarded every two years to an outstanding unpublished manuscript by an early career scholar in the field of International Economic Law. I am currently working on a book based on my thesis, which will be published by Hart Publishing.

I am also the chair of the IEL Collective’s Law & Finance Working Group, where I do research and policy work on sovereign debt in collaboration with academic and policy partners in the UK and beyond.

I speak English, Portuguese, and Spanish fluently and have a reading proficiency in Italian and French.

Responsibilities

• Programme Manager, MSc Law & Finance

Research interests

My research interests centre on the constitutive role of law over the world’s economic organisation, with a particular focus on International Economic Law. My primary area of expertise is global economic governance, with a focus on the legal aspects of money, finance, and sovereign debt. I am particularly interested in the role of financial and monetary legal arrangements in developmental and environmental sustainability strategies. My research explores the legal governance of sovereign debt crises and the macroeconomic impact of financial law and regulation.

Qualifications

• PhD in Law, Durham University
• MA in International Affairs, Latin American School of Social Sciences (Distinction)
• LLB in Law, University of Buenos Aires (First-Class with Distinction)
• BA in Legal Translation, University of Buenos Aires (First-Class with Distinction)

Student education

I am part of the following teaching teams:

• International Trade Finance Law (LAW5585M) (PGT), led by myself
• International Economic Law (LAW5830M) (PGT), led by Professor Fiona Smith
• Corporate Finance & Securities Law (LAW5556M) (PGT), led by Dr Pedro Magalhães Batista
• International Banking Law: Capital Markets and Loans (LAW5565M) (PGT), led by Professor Gerard McCormack

My academic support hours are on Mondays 10-11am and Tuesdays 12-1pm. To book a slot, click here.

Research groups and institutes

• Centre for Business Law and Practice