Law Research Centre

Research

Research Overview

The Law Research Centre is the main platform through which legal scholars within the School of Law & Government of Dublin City University (DCU) undertake their research, debate scholarship and push knowledge beyond existing boundaries.

In terms of methodology, the Law Research Centre embraces an interdisciplinary approach to law, which moves beyond a pure doctrinal, black-letter analysis of the law and rather explores the development of the law in its political, social and economic and technological contexts. In particular, building on the synergies within the School of Law & Government, the Law Research Centre fosters an holistic approach to legal research, which seeks to highlight the multiple ways in which law is influenced by, and influences, other disciplines.

In terms of outlook, the Law Research Centre promotes a transnational, cross-border perspective of legal research, which puts at the heart of its analysis the study of European, comparative and international law – also as a way to enrich understanding of national law. In particular, leveraging Ireland’s role as a member state at the heart of the European Union (EU), the Law Research Centre dedicates particular attention to developments occurring in EU law, and their ever greater impact on all branches of domestic law, in Ireland and beyond.

In terms of focus, the Law Research Centre embraces broadly all areas of the law – spanning from public to private law – reflecting the multiple research interests of the lawyers that work within the School of Law & Government, and the role of the Law Research Centre as the umbrella unit bringing together the community of legal scholars at DCU. Yet, the Law Research Centre cultivates a special interest for European law & governance, human rights, constitutionalism & regulation, criminal justice, ethics & transitional justice, as well as law, technology & innovation, including law and genetics and data protection and privacy law.

In fact, the research carried out by the Law Research Centre is structured around several research clusters, where legal scholars affiliated to the Centre have developed externally-funded projects and partnerships, a list of which is reported here.