The Ecological Law and Justice Group

Who We Are 

The Ecological Law and Justice Group provides a focal point for the School of Law’s outstanding research and teaching in areas related to the environment. We are a multi-disciplinary group of academics committed to advancing research knowledge and pedagogical practices aimed at addressing the contemporary threats to our planet, societies and economies.  

Our name reflects the diversity of our disciplinary backgrounds and approaches within, across and beyond the traditional or narrow confines of environmental law, regulation and policy. 

Our membership is drawn from all four of the School’s Research Centres (the Centre for Law and Social Justice, the Centre for Business Law and Practice, the Centre for Criminal Justice Studies, and the Centre for Innovation and Research in Legal Education), with research ranging from the implications of the climate crisis for policing to the right to food, from the environmental implications of trade and insolvency law to animal welfare and rights.   

We value eco-centric and systems-based approaches. We acknowledge the importance of inter- and intra-generational fairness among peoples and species. We recognise the systematic complexity of environmental problems and the challenges this creates for law, justice and related institutions and disciplines. 

What We Do 

We facilitate research and teaching on ecological law and justice by: 

• Deepening and showcasing connections between researchers of mutual interest, including postgraduate and early-career researchers, within the University of Leeds and beyond 

• Supporting each other to conduct ambitious, inter-disciplinary research projects, including with a view to real-world impact 

• Fostering collaborative relationships between researchers, research users and wider stakeholders 

• Embedding ecological law and justice into the School’s formal and extra-curricular offerings 

Please contact the group’s founder and co-lead, Dr Carrie Bradshaw (c.j.bradshaw@leeds.ac.uk), if you require further information about this group.

Our Experts 

• Dr Justine Bendel (International environmental law; international protection of forests; international litigation of the environment and climate change; international climate change law)
• Professor Lydia Bleasdale 
• Dr Carrie Bradshaw (Environmental law and policy; Food Waste; Regulation; Corporate Responsibility; Corporate Theory; Supermarkets; Torts)
• Amelia Brown (Environmental Law; Company Law; Corporate Social Responsibility; Greenwashing; Torts)
• Dr Nick Cartwright
• Dr Oriana Casasola (Insolvency Law and Policy; Farmers Financial Distress; Economic, Social and Environmental Sustainability)
• Dr Maria Anna Corvaglia (International Trade Law; Labour Rights and Environmental Commitments in International Trade Agreements; Sustainability in Public Procurement)
• Professor Graham Dutfield (Indigenous People’s Rights in Land, Resources and Knowledge; Biological and Ontological Diversity; Biocultural Heritage; Ethno-ecology; Intellectual Property Rights and Biotechnology, Traditional Knowledge, Food and Health)
• Dr Joanne Hawkins (Environmental Law; Regulation; Public Participation; Planning Law and Policy; Trust; Risk; Placemaking; Infrastructure; Empirical Research)
• Dr Clare James (The Right to Food, Food and Agriculture Policy, Antimicrobial Resistance, Supermarkets, Socioeconomic human rights)
• Dr Ali Malik (Policing and climate crises, climate vulnerability and community resilience, disaster management and emergency planning, preparedness and response)
• Dr Amrita Mukherjee (International Environmental Law; International Human Rights: Rights of Nature and International Climate Change Law)
• Professor Conor O’Reilly (Informal Fuel Economy and Its Environmental Impacts; Academic-Artivist Links; Elite Private Security & The Transnational Intersectionality of Privilege)
• Professor Jose Pina-Sánchez (Road Traffic and Crime; Sentencing; Data Analysis)
• Dr Zoe Tongue (Animal Rights, Rights of Nature, Posthumanism, International Human Rights Law)

Our Postgraduate Researchers 

• Catriona Flesher (International Climate Law; United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change; Loss and Damage; Climate Justice; Human Rights; Legal Geography; Socio-Legal Studies)
• Richard Kwadzofio (Corporate Law, Corporate Social Responsibility, Regulatory Compliance, Environmental Protection, Corporate Theory, Law and Development, International Commercial & Financial Law, Socio-legal Research)
• Erika Moranduzzo (International Human Rights Law, International Climate Law, International Environmental Law, Climate Litigations, Refugee law and Climate Mobility; Social and Climate Justice – research project focuses on the legal protection of climate refugees)
• Jack Oortwyn (Corporate Law; Corporate Social Responsibility; Corporate Theory; Stakeholder Voice)

Research Projects

Policing and community resilience in the context of climate change

Ali Malik’s research focuses on exploring the role of local policing and governance actors in understanding, preparing for, and responding to climate disasters and extreme weather events. His recent project (2024-2025), funded by the ESRC Vulnerability and Policing Futures Research Centre, examined the role of Local Resilience Forums (LRFs) in managing the impacts of climate-related emergencies and identified localised approaches to adaptation. Ali is currently working in partnership with the Greater London Authority to develop guidance for communities to better prepare for extreme weather events. He is also collaborating with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority to produce guidance for LRFs on embedding principles of equity and inclusivity in their emergency planning and response processes.

Public participation and power in environmental decision-making

Jo Hawkins' research focuses on the ways in which law shapes decision-making. Her work draws on her interests in expertise, public participation and environmental democracy. Her research to date has explored these themes through empirical research projects on expertise and trust in the context of risk regulation and shale gas development, and on facilitating a low carbon infrastructure transition in the North of England. Her recent Policy Support Fund project explores place-based approaches to sustainable development in Leeds, and she has recently contributed to the UK Earth Law Judgments project which challenges anthropocentrism in legal decision-making. Her projects draw together different strands that reflect her interest in the relationships, and power dynamics, between the environment, communities, and decision-makers.  

The law and policy of food waste prevention

Carrie Bradshaw’s research focusses on the law and policy of food waste prevention. As an ESRC-funded Parliamentary Academic Fellow, she was commissioned by the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology to write a state-of-the-art report assessing the evidence base for food waste prevention interventions. She has worked with the Groceries Code Adjudicator Network to embed food waste prevention into the regulation of food supply chains, and has submitted oral and written evidence to Parliament on similar matters. Carrie is also working with third sector organisations to improve legal guidance on surplus food redistribution, with a view to reducing food waste while and preventing potentially harmful ‘Good Samaritan’ food donation legislation being passed in the UK.

Addressing Farmers Financial Distress in England  

Oriana Casasola’s research investigates how legal frameworks apply to farmers facing financial distress in England. Her work draws on doctrinal, empirical, and comparative methods to explore the limitations of the current insolvency regime, which treats farmers like any other business despite the unique challenges of agricultural life. Through interviews with insolvency practitioners, agricultural consultants, and farmers, her research highlights systemic issues, including bargaining imbalances, a lack of sector-specific legal support, and the mental health toll of financial hardship. Crucially, the project considers how financial distress undermines farmers’ ability to engage in sustainable practices, threatening the long-term viability of food systems and environmental stewardship. Oriana’s work contributes to a growing body of scholarship that seeks to align insolvency law with sustainable values.

Postgraduate Research

MA by research

We offer an MA by Research. This allows students to select a research question and to work on this with two supervisors. You are welcome to contact any of the Ecological Law and Justice academic staff to explore this option.

PhD
We welcome PhD proposals from applicants interested in ecological law and justice, broadly defined. Our academic staff have supervised PhD projects in a variety of related areas, including climate refugees; climate justice, loss and damage; corporate environmental responsibility; corporate sustainability; food waste; climate vulnerability, community resilience and adaptation, policing and disaster management, emergency planning, preparedness and response; Indigenous peoples’ right in land, resources and knowledge including biocultural heritage.

The School of Law and the University offer a range of scholarships for PhD students. You are welcome to contact any of the members of the Ecological Law and Justice Group to informally discuss PhD study. For guidance on our application processes and scholarships, please contact our Faculty’s PGR Admissions Team (applypgr.socialsciences@leeds.ac.uk).  

Postdoctoral Scholars
We are keen to work with postdoctoral scholars in areas of mutual interest. If you have (or are applying for) funding for postdoctoral research in an area of our expertise and are looking for a vibrant and supportive academic home, please contact us for an informal discussion by emailing applypgr.socialsciences@leeds.ac.uk.

Visiting Scholars
We welcome enquiries those interested in becoming a Visiting Scholar. The School of Law hosts visiting scholars for periods of between 2 weeks and 3 months. Feel free to contact Ecological Law and Justice members for an informal discussion of being a visiting scholar. Please see the following webpage for information on how to apply: Visiting scholars | School of Law | University of Leeds.