About the Project
The concept of species justice is used in ‘green’ criminology to denote issues of animal welfare, animal rights, and discrimination between species. Criminological work in species justice considers how far the interests or rights of animals are protected by criminal justice agencies, the extent to which crimes against animals are seen as ‘victimless’ by both offenders and law enforcers, and the extent of arbitrary discrimination between species in criminal law and justice. These concerns overlap with work in legal theory concerning the extent to which some or all animals meet the moral criteria for according them rights analogous to human rights, and/or to treat them as ‘legal persons’ who could be parties to legal proceedings through a legal guardian of some kind.
As part of the Multidisciplinary Research Theme Environmental and Global Justice, this project, supervised by Prof Tony Ward (Law) and Dr Tanya Wyatt (Criminology), will consider ways in which the interests and experiences of non-human animals are, or could be, represented within legal proceedings, given that the animals cannot speak for themselves. Of particular interest are possible procedures for animals to be legally represented, and the role of scientific and other experts in testifying about animal welfare, bearing in mind the scientific, epistemological and moral difficulties involved in assessing animal consciousness and cognition. We welcome proposals on any area of domestic or international law, from applicants with a background in law, the social sciences or philosophy. Proposals may focus on theoretical issues about the legal status of animals, on aspects of legal doctrine or on empirical research, but proposals combining at least two of these approaches would be particularly welcome.
Eligibility and How to Apply
Please note eligibility requirement:
• Academic excellence of the proposed student i.e. 2:1 (or equivalent GPA from non-UK universities [preference for 1st class honours]); or a Masters (preference for Merit or above); or APEL evidence of substantial practitioner achievement.
• Appropriate IELTS score, if required.
• Applicants cannot apply for this funding if currently engaged in Doctoral study at Northumbria or elsewhere.
For further details of how to apply, entry requirements and the application form, see
https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/research/postgraduate-research-degrees/how-to-apply/
Please note: Applications that do not include a research proposal of approximately 1,000 words (not a copy of the advert), or that do not include the advert reference (e.g. RDF18/…) will not be considered.
Deadline for applications: 28 January 2018
Start Date: 1 October 2018
Northumbria University takes pride in, and values, the quality and diversity of our staff. We welcome applications from all members of the community. The University holds an Athena SWAN Bronze award in recognition of our commitment to improving employment practices for the advancement of gender equality and is a member of the Euraxess network, which delivers information and support to professional researchers
Funding Notes
The studentship includes a full stipend, paid for three years at RCUK rates (for 2017/18, this is £14,553 pa) and fees.
References
Recent publications by supervisors relevant to this project:
Bielby, P. and Ward, T. 2012. ‘Experts, Rights and Precaution’ Web Journal of Current Legal Issues, 2012 no. 5 (not paginated).
Ward, T. 2012 ‘Expert Evidence, Judicial Reasoning and the Family Courts Information Pilot’ J. Law & Soc. 39(4): 525-40.
(The above deal with analogous issues concerning mental disabilities and child welfare respectively.)
Wyatt, T. 2016. ‘Victimless Venison? Deer Poaching and the Black Market Meat Trade in the UK’. Contemporary Justice Review 19(2: 188-200.
Wyatt, T. 2014. Non-human Animal Abuse and Wildlife Trade: Harm in the Fur and Falcon Trades. Society and Animals 22 (2): 194-210.