Impact and engagement

The Centre promotes all forms of research, including doctrinal, theoretical (including socio-legal) and empirical research. Its work is disseminated as widely as possible by publishing monographs, articles, reports, and through regular seminars and high profile international conferences which engage with both the academic community, the legal profession, policy-makers and regulators.

Members' research is regularly cited by the courts and referenced by policymakers. Staff members provide their expertise to law firms, global corporations, accounting bodies, national law reform bodies and government departments in various countries, and international organisations such as the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Transparency International, European Commission, European and Economic Social Committee, International Competition Network and others.

Some examples of Centre for Business Law and Practice (CBLP) members’ recent engagement activities include:

2021

• Professor Pinar Akman gave a presentation to the Malaysian Competition Commission on platform most favoured customer clauses (19 March 2021)
• Dr Leopoldo Parada wrote a Brink News article on global digital taxation (18 March 2021)
• Professor Pinar Akman contributed to the International Monetary Fund Staff Discussion Note ‘Rising Corporate Market Power: Emerging Policy Issues’ (15 March 2021)
• Professor Rita de la Feria featured in a Tax Stories podcast to talk about a range of tax issues (12 March 2021)
• Professor Paul Wragg featured in the Law According to a King podcast on cancel culture and freedom of speech (12 March 2021)
• Dr Subhajit Basu wrote a blogpost for Risk Group LLC on the regulation of Twitter (12 March 2021)
• Professor Surya Subedi authored an introductory note on the UN Declaration on the Right to Development of 1986 (11 March 2021)
• Professor Paul Wragg authored a blogpost for the Inforrm Blog, also published by Byline Investigates, and on the freedom of speech (11 March 2021)
• Professor Pinar Akman participated in a roundtable hosted by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and sport on digital regulation (11 March 2021)
• Professor Paul Wragg contributed to a Media Law Podcast episode on recent media law headlines (11 March 2021)
• Dr Konstantinos Stylianou co-authored a response to the European Commission’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation Proposal as part of the International Association for Trusted Blockchain Applications’ Academic Advisory Board (10 March 2021)
• Professor Rita de la Feria wrote a blogpost for the Oxford University Centre for Business Taxation on the tampon tax (8 March 2021)
• Trevor Clark co-authored a blogpost for Lawyer Watch on the High Court judgment of PCP v Barclays case (5 March 2021)
• Professor Rita de la Feria was interviewed by Lusa Agência for an article on the effects of digitalisation on tax (5 March 2021)
• Professor Pinar Akman was interviewed by Business Insider on the regulation of big tech companies (4 March 2021)
• Professor Paul Wragg contributed to a Media Law Podcast episode on Facebook’s news blackout in Australia (3 March 2021)
• Dr Leopoldo Parada’s work was cited by a Tax Notes International article on the new US administration’s approach to tax (1 March 2021)
• Professor Rita de la Feria was interviewed by LBC Radio on the UK Supreme Court judgment on the employment status of UBER drivers and taxation implications (26 February 2021)
• Professor Paul Wragg co-authored a response to the IMPRESS Code Review 2020-22 (26 February 2021)
• Professor Paul Wragg contributed to a Media Law Podcast episode on employer surveillance in the home (26 February 2021)
• Karina Patricio Lima participated in a Portal Disparada debate on the Central Bank and dollarization in Brazil (YouTube) (25 February 2021)
• Dr Konstantinos Stylianou was appointed special scientific advisor to the Greek Hellenic Competition Commission as part of its sector inquiry in to e-commerce (25 February 2021)
• Professor Paul Wragg wrote a blogpost for Hacked Off on independent press regulation (25 February 2021)
• Professor Pinar Akman was invited to the European Parliament Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection to discuss the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act (23 February 2021)
• Professor Rita de la Feria featured on LBC Radio to discuss the potential tax implications of the UK Supreme Court’s ruling on UBER drivers’ status as workers and the gig economy (19 February 2021)
• Professor Paul Wragg contributed to a Media Law Podcast episode on the High Court’s judgment on Meghan Markle’s privacy case (16 February 2021)
• Professor Andrew Keay’s co-authored work was cited by the High Court of England and Wales in Gordian Holdings Ltd v Sofroniou [2021] EWHC 235 (Comm) at [15] (12 February 2021)
• Professor Paul Wragg gave comments to Lit Ent News on Meghan Markle’s High Court privacy claim (11 February 2021)
• Professor Gerard McCormack co-authored a blogpost for Harvard Law School Bankruptcy Roundtable on Singapore’s schemes of arrangement (9 February 2021)
• Dr Leopoldo Parada gave comments to Sputnik News on potential changes to the UK’s online sales tax post-COVID-19 (7 February 2021)
• Professor Paul Wragg contributed to a Media Law Podcast episode on the criminalisation of drill music (5 February 2021)
• Professor Peter Whelan was appointed to the United Nations Working Group on cross-border cartels, operated by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (February 2021)
• Professor Paul Wragg contributed to a Media Law Podcast episode on recent media law headlines (28 January 2021)
• Dr Carrie Bradshaw was invited to participate in the UK Government Office of Science’s working group on Covid-19 Areas of Interest, on the subject of land use. The final report references her past and ongoing work (July 2020-January 2021)
• Professor Gerard McCormack joined the International Advisory Council of the Singapore Global Restructuring Initiative (22 January 2021)
• Professor Peter Whelan was interviewed by Revista Industria Legal on antitrust and big tech (20 January 2021)
• Professor Pinar Akman joined the Advisory Board of Stanford University’s Computational Antitrust Project (20 January 2021)
• Dr Sarah Brown discussed the regulation of consumer credit in the UK and USA in a Faculti podcast (18 January 2021)
• Dr Konstantinos Stylianou wrote a Cointelegraph article on the deregulated finance sector (17 January 2021)
• Professor Paul Wragg wrote an opinion piece for the Yorkshire Evening Post on Former US President Donald Trump, free speech and social media (16 January 2021)
• Professor Rita de la Feria joined an International Monetary Fund webinar to discuss VAT regressivity, political economy and ways to achieve progressivity, as part of the IMF’s VAT webinar series (recording here) (12 January 2021)
• Professor Paul Wragg joined the Board of the Hacked Off Campaign (12 January 2021)
• Professor Paul Wragg contributed to a Media Law Podcast episode on social media and US President Donald Trump (8 January 2021)
• Dr Konstantinos Stylianou was appointed to the Academic Advisory Board of the International Association for Trusted Blockchain Applications (January 2021)
• Dr Ilaria Zavoli was consulted by the Hungarian Financial Intelligence Unit on money laundering risks associated with cryptocurrencies (January 2021)

2020

• Professor Rita de la Feria was interviewed by the tax reform movement Pra Ser Justo on tax reform in Brazil (18 December 2020)
• Professor Roger Halson’s work was cited by the Singapore Court of Appeal in its judgment Denka v Seraya Energy [2020] SGCA 119 (15 December 2020)
• Professor Paul Wragg contributed to a Media Law Podcast episode on recent defamation cases (15 December 2020)
• Professor Fiona Smith contributed a blogpost for N8 Agrifood on UK agrifood trade policy after Brexit (14 December 2020)
• Dr Konstantinos Stylianou contributed to a Forbes article on antitrust (14 December 2020)
• Professor Paul Wragg contributed to a Media Law Podcast episode on pre-charge privacy (9 December 2020)
• Professor Rita de la Feria was quoted in an article by Diario Financiero on VAT (1 December 2020)
• Professor Rita de la Feria discussed Brazilian tax reform at the International Congress of Tax Law of Rio de Janeiro hosted by Associação Brasileira de Direito Financeiro (Brazilian Association of Financial Law) and Instituto dos Advogados Brasileiros (Brazilian Lawyers Institute) (27 November 2020)
• Dr Konstantinos Stylianou participated in the Digital Freedom Fund Speaker Series to discuss competition law and digital rights (26 November 2020)
• Dr Subhajit Basu contributed to the Westminster Business Forum ‘The future of the UK’s data protection networks’ to discuss regulation and enforcement in data protection (26 November 2020)
• Professor Paul Wragg participated in a webinar analysing the future of media law hosted by Bird & Bird and Queen Mary University of London (25 November 2020)
• Professor Gerard McCormack spoke at a webinar hosted by the Department of Work and Pensions and Leeds Social Sciences Institute on corporate restructuring, insolvency and pension schemes (25 November 2020)
• Professor Rita de la Feria co-wrote a blog post on Covid-19, inequality and tax reform (24 November 2020)
• Professor Graham Dutfield discussed South-South cooperation on intellectual property rights during the time of health pandemics at a webinar hosted by the Research and Information System for Developing Countries, Network of Southern Thinktanks and Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada. YouTube recording (20 November 2020)
• Professor Pinar Akman presented at a webinar hosted by Act | The App Association on the app ecosystem in the context of the Digital Services Act (18 November 2020)
• Professor Pinar Akman gave the keynote speech at the Catalan Competition Authority’s conference on competition law and policy in digital markets (16 November 2020)
• Dr Subhajit Basu wrote a blogpost for RiskGroup LCC on creative expression in India (12 November 2020)
• Professor Fiona Smith spoke at the Agricultural Industries Confederation annual conference ‘Agribusiness 2021’ on UK trade negotiations and the agri-food supply chain (11 November 2020)
• Professor Pinar Akman led a training session for the EU’s European Judicial Training Network on data related abuses in the digital economy (9 November 2020)
• Professor Paul Wragg appeared on Times Radio to discuss free speech issues, Donald Trump and Twitter (7 November 2020)
• Professor Surya Subedi spoke at the Embassy of Nepal’s development conference on  economic diplomacy on development (7 November 2020)
• Professor Paul Wragg contributed to a Media Law Podcast episode on recent libel claims (6 November 2020)
• Dr Subhajit Basu co-wrote an article for The Conversation on deepfake images and international law (6 November 2020)
• Dr Subhajit Basu was interviewed about his research in Information Technology law by Legiteye (5 November 2020)
• Professor Paul Wragg contributed to a Media Law Podcast episode on public interest journalism (29 October 2020)
• Professor Michael Cardwell discussed trade and food standards at a Beanstalk Global webinar (29 October 2020)
• Professor Rita de la Feria contributed to a roundtable on investigative reporting in tax avoidance and tax fraud as part of Dataharvest Digital, the European Investigative Journalism Conference (28 October 2020)
• Professor Rita de la Feria gave a talk at the International VAT Association’s annual conference, on the impact of public perceptions of VAT (23 October 2020)
• Professor Gerard McCormack authored the INSOL Special Report ‘Permanent changes to the UK’s corporate restructuring and insolvency laws in the wake of Covid-19’ as part of his role as INSOL Scholar 2020/21 (21 October 2020)
• Dr Leopoldo Parada gave a presentation on reforming international taxation at the World Tax Summit – TaxCOOP2020 and participated in a panel discussion (14 October 2020)
• Professor Paul Wragg contributed to a Media Law Podcast episode on banned teaching materials (14 October 2020)
• Dr Or Brook moderated the webinar ‘Enforcement Priorities in Action’ as part of the International Competition Network’s Annual Conference (13 October 2020)
• Professor Fiona Smith discussed the UK’s food and international trade as part of the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission’s Trade Unwrapped initiative. YouTube recording (13 October 2020)
• Professor Fiona Smith gave evidence to the UK government’s Trade and Food Standards Commission about the impact of international trade law on consumers’ perceptions about food quality (12 October 2020)
• Professor Rita de la Feria discussed the tax status of Jaffa Cakes on BBC Radio 4’s Food Programme (4 October 2020)
• Professor Paul Wragg was interviewed by the Yorkshire Evening Post as part of its ‘Call it Out’ campaign addressing cyber bullying and the UK Government’s proposed Online Harms Bill (3 October 2020)
• Professor Peter Whelan’s research on cartels and morality was cited in the judgment of the Kenyan Competition Tribunal East African Tea Trade Association v Kenyan Competition Authority (October 2020)
• Dr Leopoldo Parada was recognised as one of TaxCOOP’s 35 Leaders of the Future 2020 (30 September 2020)
• Professor Fiona Smith co-authored a piece on food and international trade for the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission’s Trade Unwrapped series (29 September 2020)
• Professor Paul Wragg contributed to a Media Law Podcast episode reviewing media law developments during summer 2020 (29 September 2020)
• Professor Rita de la Feria contributed to a discussion on tax policy hosted by Congresso em Foco, Brazil (28 September 2020)
• Dr Subhajit Basu participated in the webinar “Responsible AI - where should we draw the line?” hosted by the Leeds Digital Festival (25 September 2020)
• Professor Rita de la Feria co-authored the policy brief Tackling inequality through tax expenditure reform for the G20 (24 September 2020)
• Professor Pinar Akman chaired a World Economic Forum roundtable on competition and digital platform regulation (22 September 2020)
• Professor Andrew Keay’s work was cited by New Zealand’s Supreme Court in Debut Homes Limited (in liquidation) v Cooper [2020] NZSC 100 at [161] (20 September 2020)
• Professor Peter Whelan delivered a cartel law training session at the Eswatini Competition Commission (18 September 2020)
• Professor Rita de la Feria discussed Brazilian tax reform as part of Avalara’s virtual summit Inspire Digital 2020 (17 September 2020)
• Dr Leopoldo Parada gave a talk on tax policy at the researcher/practitioner platform Tax Research Network’s annual conference (7 September 2020)
• Dr Leopoldo Parada contributed legal analysis as part of the Mail and Guardian’s (South Africa) investigation of a tax dispute in Zimbabwe (reported in ICIJ, Marketwatch and The Standard, Zimbabwe) (3 September 2020)
• Dr Konstantinos Stylianou joined the Advisory Board of the Internet Commission, UK (September 2020)
• Professor Surya Subedi joined the Expert Group on Boundary Matters by the Government of Nepal (September 2020)
• Professor Fiona Smith joined the Executive Board of the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission’s Trade Unwrapped group (September 2020)
• Professor Andrew Keay’s work was cited by the Queensland Supreme Court in LM Investment Management Ltd (receiver apptd) (in liq) v Drake & Ors [2020] QSC 265 at [1] (28 August 2020)
• Dr Subhajit Basu was interviewed by Asian Voice magazine on the coronavirus and the BAME community (5 August 2020)
• Professor Pinar Akman was interviewed by Euronews on the US Congress antitrust hearing with the CEOs of ‘tech giants’ Alphabet, Amazon, Apple and Facebook (follow up article here) (30 July 2020)
• Professor Rita de la Feria discussed tax havens and the coronavirus on BBC World Service’s The Real Story (25 July 2020)
• Dr Leopoldo Parada was quoted in an article on European state aid for Apple by Law360 (23 July 2020)
• Professor Fiona Smith’s oral evidence to the UK House of Commons International Trade Select Committee ‘The Covid-19 pandemic and International Trade’ was referenced in the First Report of Session 2019-21 (23 July 2020)
• Dr Subhajit Basu co-authored a blogpost for RiskGroup LLC on the WHO’s independent review of the global response to the coronavirus (22 July 2020)
• Professor Peter Whelan delivered a talk to the Indian Institute for Corporate Affairs (22 July 2020)
• Professor Pinar Akman featured in one of the virtual Antitrust Policy Sessions as part of Competition Policy International’s ‘Antitrust Policy in the 21st Century: Is there a need for Reform?’ (17 July 2020)
• Dr Paul Wragg featured in a Media Law Podcast episode on ‘cancel culture’ (15 July 2020)
• Professor Gerard McCormack co-authored a blogpost for the Singapore Global Restructuring Initiative (SGRI) on cross-border insolvency (10 July 2020)
• Dr Paul Wragg was interviewed by The Kit (Canada) on Meghan Markle’s High Court privacy claim (9 July 2020)
• Dr Zinian Zhang presented a webinar for the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, the Central Government of India, on China's corporate bankruptcy responses to Covid-19 related business failures (3 July 2020)
• Professor Graham Dutfield wrote an article in The Conversation on coronavirus ‘treatment nationalism’ (1 July 2020)
• Dr Paul Wragg wrote a blogpost for the International Forum for Responsible Media (INFORRM) on press regulation (20 June 2020)
• Dr Paul Wragg wrote a blogpost for the Media Reform Coalition on press regulation (18 June 2020)
• Dr Leopoldo Parada was quoted in an article on digital taxes by Law360 (12 June 2020)
• Dr Subhajit Basu contributed to a Digital Privacy News article on the NHS Covid-19 Test and Trace system and data protection law (12 June 2020)
• Dr Subhajit Basu co-authored written evidence to the UK Parliament Science and Technology Committee (Commons) Inquiry ‘UK Science, Research and Technology Capability and Influence in Global Disease Outbreaks’ (11 June 2020)
• Professor Surya Subedi wrote an article for Spotlight Magazine on the economic challenges for Nepal brought about by Covid-19 (also published by Least-Developed Countries News Service) (9 June 2020)
• Professor Peter Whelan was an invited speaker at the OECD Competition Division’s roundtable event ‘Criminalisation of Cartels and Bid-Rigging Conspiracies’ (9 June 2020)
• Dr Paul Wragg featured in a Media Law Podcast episode on recent news in the world of media law (8 June 2020)
• Dr Paul Wragg participated in a webinar hosted by the Association for Learning Technology on copyright and online learning during the Covid-19 pandemic (video playback, presentation slides) (5 June 2020)
• Professor Rita de la Feria was cited by the Portuguese newspaper Publico on EU tax policy post-pandemic (3 June 2020)
• Dr Subhajit Basu co-authored written evidence for the UK Parliament Human Rights (Joint Select Committee) Inquiry ‘The Government’s response to Covid-19: human rights implications’ on data protection, privacy and digital technologies (1 June 2020)
• Dr Subhajit Basu was interviewed by the Jiemian News on privacy issues arising from the response of European governments in dealing with Covid-19 (June 2020)
• Dr Paul Wragg, with co-investigators of the AHRC research project ‘Defining Freedom of the Press’, submitted written evidence in response to the UK Government House of Lords Select Committee on Communications and Digital’s Inquiry ‘The future of journalism’ (30 April 2020)
• Dr Subhajit Basu was interviewed by BBC Radio Leeds on the NHS contract tracing app to track the spread of Covid-19 (29 May 2020)
• Dr Paul Wragg featured in the Media Law Podcast episode on the ‘marketplace of ideas’ theory of free speech (26 May 2020)
• Dr Carrie Bradshaw and Professor Michael Cardwell submitted evidence to the UK government’s Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee ‘Covid-19 and Food Supply’ inquiry (22 May 2020)
• Professor Peter Whelan published a video overview for the OECD Competition Division on the criminalisation of cartels and bid rigging conspiracies (15 May 2020)
• Professor Rita de la Feria participated in the ABDF (Brazilian Association of Financial Law) round table event to discuss taxation and the digital economy in Brazil (YouTube video) (13 May 2020)
• Dr Paul Wragg featured in the Media Law Podcast episode on contemporary Media Law headlines (7 May 2020)
• Dr Suren Gomtsian wrote an article in the Oxford Business Law Blog on responsible business practices during Covid-19 (6 May 2020)
• Dr Sarah Brown contributed to the Westminster Business Forum ‘Next steps for consumer credit and the retail lending market - regulatory reform, innovation, and protecting vulnerable customers’, on consumer credit in the context of Covid-19 and the protection of vulnerable consumers (2 April 2020)
• Dr Subhajit Basu was interviewed by Heart, Capital and LBC Radio on the UK government’s plans to launch an NHS Contact Tracing App to track the spread of Covid-19 (May 2020)
• Professor Fiona Smith gave evidence to the UK House of Commons International Trade Select Committee on the effects of Covid-19 on international trade (30 April 2020)
• Dr Subhajit Basu co-authored a blogpost on the potential impact of Brexit on the UK’s autonomous vehicle industry (21 April 2020)
• Dr Konstantinos Stylianou was quoted by CoinTelegraph on the adoption of central bank digital currencies (10 April 2020)
• Dr Paul Wragg featured in the Media Law Podcast episode on the Coronavirus Act 2020 (8 April 2020)
• Dr Subhajit Basu co-wrote an article for Risk Group LLC on the impact of Brexit on the UK’s connected and autonomous vehicle industry (6 April 2020)
• Dr Suren Gomtsian was cited by the Delaware Court of Chancery in Walsh and Devlin v White House Post Productions C.A. No. 2019-0419-KSJM (25 March 2020)
• Dr Leopoldo Parada was quoted in Law360 Tax Authority on unilateral digital taxes and discrimination (23 March 2020)
• Professor Fiona Smith was interviewed on BBC Countryfile on the future of global trade, UK farming and food production (22 March 2020)
• Dr Subhajit Basu’s comments on privacy issues relating to Coronavirus tracking apps were featured in CNN Business (3 April 2020) and the New Statesman (20 March 2020)
• Dr Konstantinos Stylianou was interviewed on PressTV’s Economic Divide show on the effect of Covid-19 on cryptoasset markets (19 March 2020)
• Professor Gerard McCormack contributed to the Eurofound (European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions) report ‘Addressing household over-indebtedness’. The report cites research undertaken with Professor Andrew Keay and Dr Sarah Brown (12 March 2020)
• Dr Paul Wragg featured in the Media Law Podcast episode on the future of media regulation in the UK (2 March 2020)
• Dr Paul Wragg featured in the Media Law Podcast episode on s.40 of the UK Crime and Courts Act and press freedom (21 February 2020)
• Dr Paul Wragg was interviewed in Yahoo News UK and Byline Investigates on press regulation (20 February 2020)
• Professor Fiona Smith was invited by the European Commission’s Chief Scientific Advisors Group to attend a ‘sounding board’ meeting to help develop an EU strategy for an ‘EU Sustainable Food System’ (13 February 2020)
• Dr Konstantinos Stylianou was quoted by CoinTelegraph in its article on the Australian government’s recently published blockchain strategy (12 February 2020)
• Dr Leopoldo Parada appeared on TRT World News London’s panel ‘Digital Tax Dodge: Will tech giants ever pay up?’ to discuss taxation of digital giants and challenges posed by the digitalisation of business (10 February 2020)
• Dr Paul Wragg featured in the Media Law Podcast episode on Associated Newspaper Ltd’s defence to Meghan Markle’s High Court privacy claim (7 February 2020)
• Professor Fiona Smith provided detailed input on the impact of trade rules to the UK’s Post-Brexit National Food strategy, led by Henry Dimbleby (CEO of the LEON restaurant chain) (February 2020)
• Dr Konstantinos Stylianou was appointed to the Lawmaking Commission convened by the Greek Ministry of Development and Investments to modernise competition law in Greece (15 January 2020)
• Professor Fiona Smith featured on the Politics Briefing panel of the 2020 Oxford Farming Conference alongside the UK Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the President of the National Farmers Union and the CEO of Friends of the Earth. Coverage of the conference appeared in the Yorkshire Post, Horticulture Week, Vet Record, Farmers Guardian and on BBC Radio 4’s Farming Today (8 January 2020)
• Professor Gerard McCormack was awarded the INSOL Scholar Award 2020/21 by INSOL, the leading international organisation of lawyers and other professionals working in the field of insolvency and restructuring (January 2020)
• Dr Or Brook presented to Fide Foundation, the legal-economic think tank, on the application of Article 101(3)TFEU by different competition authorities, the EU Commission and EU courts (16 January 2020)
• Sarah Alshahrani participated in the High-Level expert meeting for a new Arab Investment Agreement, co-hosted by the Islamic Development Bank, UNCTAD and the League of Arab States (14-15 January 2020)
• Dr Leopoldo Parada was quoted by the US-based industry publication Tax Notes on the OECD’s proposal for a global minimum tax (14 January 2020)
• Professor Fiona Smith featured on the Politics Briefing panel of the 2020 Oxford Farming Conference alongside the UK Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the President of the National Farmers Union and the CEO of Friends of the Earth (8 January 2020). Coverage of the conference appeared in the Yorkshire Post, Horticulture Week, Vet Record, Farmers Guardian and on BBC Radio 4’s Farming Today.
• Professor Fiona Smith provided input on the impact of trade rules to the UK’s National Food Strategy (January 2020)
• Professor Pinar Akman’s appointment as a Visiting Scholar at the Legal Department of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to assist with expert research and analysis in the areas of competition law and policy (January-April 2020).