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After pursuing a law degree at the University of Oxford, the academic study of the law retained my interest even though I wanted to also practice the law. This led me to pursuing further study, as well as working in the law as an immigration and asylum representative. This work led me to my focus oninternational human rights law. I am, however,interested in animal welfare, and have an interest in the way human rights law and animal welfare/rights law can inform each other, to enable the law to create a fairer world for all. My particular academic focus within international human rights is immigration and asylum law, particularly the domestic English law context.

Institute for Research in Criminology and Community and Social Justice  

International Human Rights Law, Immigration Law and Animal Welfare Law, Sociology particularly criminology.

BA Hons (Oxon) Jurisprudence, MA Criminology andSocial Policy (Open)

MSc Criminology and SocialPolicy (Portsmouth) 

BSc (Hons) Maths (Open) 

LLM International HumanRights (DMU)

I am also a non-practising barrister.

Title

Administering Justice via Video Link: Assessing the impact of the use of video link in immigration bail hearings in the UK in the context of the Compliant Environment

Abstract

The research is analysing the theoretical background to the compliant environment (formerly known as the hostile environment) policy, and considers that background in the light of the current approach to immigration bail hearings, which sees a move towards video link presentation of the applicant. Prior to the pandemic, which has seen a move towards video link hearings more generally, there was some concern that video link hearings for immigration bail applications in particular, may be disadvantageous to those applicants. The research considers whether the approaches to governance as implemented as part of the compliant environment, coupled with a criminalisation rhetoric, lead to an argument that stricter controls for access to justice are needed to ensure that immigration bail applicants are receiving a fair hearing and are not having their right to liberty curtailed without proper justification. In the light of the pandemic, and the likely increase in video link hearings in the future, this research will have a lot to offer for discussions of future legal practice and the administration of justice.

Dr Alwyn Jones, Prof Dave Walsh, Jeremy Robson