I am an Associate Professor in Law in the School of Law, University College Dublin. I studied (undergrad and PhD) in the Faculty of Law in UCC. Prior to taking up my position in UCD, I was Research and Policy Officer in the (then) Irish Human Rights Commission (2008-9) and a lecturer in law in Ulster University. (2009-2012).
I have a strong interest in social justice and law, and I research in these areas. Much of my work to date has coalesced around:
- Asylum and refugee law
- Socio-economic rights law
- European Convention on Human Rights Law
- Rights of the child; and,
- Legal systems
A full list to open access versions of all my publications can be found here. Consultancy that I have conducted for a wide range of organisations is listed here. You can also explore my policy engagements and media contributions here. I served as a director and on the executive board of the Free Legal Advice Centres (FLAC) for a five year period (2009-2014). I am currently serving on the board of directors NASC, the Migrant & Refugee Rights Centre.
In UCD, I teach and co-teach on a number of undergraduate and graduate courses, including Introduction to the Irish Legal System (UG), Asylum and Refugee Law (G), European Human Rights Law (UG), Migration Law (UG) and Social Inclusion Law (UG). I was the founding Director of Clinical Legal Education in UCD School of Law (2012-2015) , where I established the Law School’s first placement module. From 2015 to 2017, I was Widening Participation Officer, where I took the lead on creating a QQI-FET (formerly FETAC) route into all UCD Law degrees.
You can contact me by email: liam.thornton@ucd.ie or send a tweet to @LTlaw_ (direct messages open).
Liam Thornton 