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Assoc Professor

Liam Thornton

(he/him/his)

Associate Professor

School of Law

Orcid identifier0000-0002-4971-4579
  • Associate Professor
    School of Law
  • 01 716 4129
  • University College Dublin, School of Law, Sutherland School of Law Belfield Dublin 4

BIO

I am an Associate Professor and Programme Director for the BCL degrees in the School of Law, UCD. I completed my undergraduate BCL (International) degree and PhD in University College Cork (NUI). I teach on a range of undergraduate and graduate modules, broadly encompassing refugee and migration law, welfare and housing law, legal systems and human rights in UCD. I was the inaugural Director of Clinical Legal Education (2012-2015) in UCD School of Law. As Widening Participation Officer (2015-2017), I established a FET (formerly FETAC) route into UCD law degrees. I research and publish in leading journals and with academic presses on legal systems, human rights, social security law, children's rights and refugee law. I have conducted conducted tendered research for a variety of organisations within my specialisms. Prior to joining UCD in 2012, I was a lecturer in Ulster University (2009-2012), and Research and Policy Officer in the (then) Irish Human Rights Commission (2008-2009). More information on my research interests can be found at www.liamthornton.ie.

I welcome PhD proposals from candidates in fields of human rights law, asylum and refugee law, social welfare and social security law and housing law. Please email me if you wish to discuss your proposed PhD project.

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE DUBLIN APPOINTMENTS

  • Programme Director, BCL Degrees
    University College Dublin, Law, Dublin, Ireland3 Jan 2023 - 1 Sep 2026
  • Co-Chair UCD EDI Sanctuary Sub-Group
    University College Dublin, Equality, Diversity & Inclusion, Dublin, Ireland1 Mar 2022
  • UCD Equality, Diversity and Inclusion University Committee
    University College Dublin, UCD, Dublin, Ireland1 Sep 2022
  • Member, University Widening Participation Committee
    University College Dublin, UCD, Dublin, Ireland1 Sep 2022
  • Widening Participation Officer (Acting)
    University College Dublin, Law, Dublin, Ireland1 Sep 2022 - 31 Dec 2022
  • Plagiarism Officer & Chair of UCD School of Law Plagiarism Committee
    University College Dublin, School of Law, Dublin, Ireland1 Aug 2020 - 3 Jan 2023
  • Member, Advisory Board, Equality Studies Centre
    University College Dublin, Equality Studies Centre, Dublin, Ireland1 Dec 2020
  • Committee Member, University of Sanctuary Sub-Group
    University College Dublin, Equality, Diversity & Inclusion, Dublin, Ireland1 Mar 2021 - 1 Mar 2022
  • Committee Member, EDI Research and Curriculum Sub-Group
    University College Dublin, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Group, Dublin, Ireland1 Jan 2020 - 19 Oct 2021
  • Member, Board of Studies: Access to Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences and Law
    University College Dublin, College of Social Sciences and Law, Dublin, Ireland1 Dec 2017 - 30 Aug 2019
  • Widening Participation Committee Member
    University College Dublin, Access & Lifelong Learning (UCD ALL), Dublin, Ireland1 Sep 2015 - 31 Aug 2017
  • Access Officer
    University College Dublin, School of Law, Dublin, Ireland1 Sep 2015 - 31 Aug 2017
  • Director of Clinical Legal Education
    University College Dublin, School of Law, Dublin, Ireland1 Sep 2012 - 31 Aug 2015

ACADEMIC POSITIONS

  • External Examiner (Law)
    Technological University Dublin, School of Social Science, Law, and Education, Dublin, Ireland1 Sep 2023 - 31 Aug 2026
  • External Examiner (Law)
    Atlantic Technological University, Law & Humanities, Letterkenny, Ireland1 Oct 2021 - 30 Aug 2024
  • External Examiner (Law)
    London Metropolitan University, Law, London, United Kingdom1 Jan 2020 - 30 Nov 2023
  • External Examiner (Law)
    University of Bradford, School of Law, Bradford, United Kingdom1 Oct 2019 - 28 Feb 2022
  • External Examiner (Law)
    Athlone Institute of Technology, Business and Managment, Athlone, Ireland1 Jan 2016 - 31 Dec 2019
  • External Examiner (Law)
    Cork Institute of Technology, Business and Humanities, Cork, Ireland1 Sep 2015 - 31 Aug 2018
  • External Examiner (Law)
    Waterford Institute of Technology, Applied Arts, Waterford, Ireland1 Sep 2013 - 31 Aug 2015
  • Programatic Review Panel Member for LLB/Law Degrees
    Dublin Business School, Law, Dublin, Ireland1 May 2014 - 31 May 2014
  • External Examiner (Law)
    University College Cork, Adult Education, Cork, Ireland1 Sep 2011 - 31 Aug 2013
  • Lecturer in Law
    University of Ulster, School of Law, Belfast, United Kingdom16 Feb 2009 - 31 Aug 2012
  • Assistant Lecturer in European Union Law
    University College Cork, Law, Cork, Ireland1 Sep 2006 - 1 Jun 2009

NON-ACADEMIC POSITIONS

  • Research and Policy Officer
    Irish Human Rights Commission3 Jun 2008 - 30 Jan 2009

DEGREES

  • BCL, BCL (International)
    University College Cork
  • PgCHEP, Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education Practice
    University of Ulster
  • PhD, PhD
    University College Cork

CERTIFICATIONS

  • Research Supervisor Support and Development Programme Certificate
    University College Dublin, Research Office, Dublin, Ireland31 Jul 2016
    This Certificate programme certified abilities pertaining to: Approaching student doctoral recruitment in order to maximize the likelihood of best candidate selection Identifying my own role as supervisor and framing the doctoral supervision process Ability to engage in a training needs analysis for doctoral students; Reflecting on the the challenges, problems and pitfalls of supervision and identify approaches to overcome these Providing guidance to students on thesis and viva preparation Ability to approach research supervision from a pedagogical perspective and examine reflective practice as a tool for practice development.

LANGUAGES

  • English
    Can read, write, speak, understand and peer review
  • Spanish; Castilian
    Can read, write, speak and understand