Staff

Professor Ian Leigh, LL.B, LL.M, Solicitor

Professor in Durham Law School

Chair of Education Committee, Durham Law School

Telephone: +44 (0) 191 33 42824

Fax: +44 (0) 191 33 42801

Room number: PCL119

Director of the Human Rights Centre

Member of the Islam, Law and Modernity

Member of Law and Conflict at Durham

Contact Professor Ian Leigh (email at ian.leigh@durham.ac.uk)

Biography

After graduating in law and completing a research degree at the University College of Wales Aberystwyth Ian Leigh practised as a public sector solicitor with Portsmouth City Council. On returning to academic life he held posts at several UK universities before being appointed as a Professor of Law in Durhamin 1997. He has also held visiting positions at the universities of Otago, Florida, Melbourne, Virginia and Osgoode Hall Law School.

His research interests span legal aspects of national security, local government law, human rights and religious liberty. He is author of four monographs and has edited a further three books, as well as publishing more than 60 articles in academic journals and chapters in edited collections. These include articles in the Cambridge Law Journal, International and Comparative Law Quarterly, McGill Law Journal, Modern Law Review, Osgoode Hall Law Journal, Parliamentary Affairs, Public Law, Res Publica and the Review of International Studies. He has also written for The Times and The Independent newspapers.

His current projects include preparation of a second edition of Ahdar and Leigh Religious Freedom in the Liberal State (Oxford University Press, 2013) and jointly editing (with Roger Masterman) Rights Protection under the UK’s Statutory Bill of Rights: Constitutional and Comparative Perspectives. (Proceedings of the British Academy 2013).

Professor Leigh has presented his research at academic conferences and to meetings of policy-makers, parliamentarians, and judges in approximately 30 countries. In his policy work he has acted as a consultant for the Council of Europe (Venice Commission), the United Nations Development Programme, and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. His policy reports include: Making Intelligence Accountable (Norwegian Parliament Publishing House, 2005), which has been translated into 14 languages http://www.dcaf.ch/DCAF/EZ/Publications/Making-Intelligence-Accountable , and the Handbook on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of Armed Forces Personnel, (OSCE, Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, Warsaw, 2008), also in 7 languages, (both with Hans Born). http://www.osce.org/odihr/31393

He acts as an international adviser to the ‘Impact of Religion – Challenges for Society, Law and Democracy’ Programme at the University of Uppsala, 2008-2018.

http://www.crs.uu.se/Impact_of_religion/

Teaching Areas

Administrative Law
Constitutional Law
Domestic implementation of Human Rights

Books: edited

Masterman R and Leigh IRights Protection under the UK’s Statutory Bill of Rights: Constitutional and Comparative Perspectives, (Proceedings of the British Academy Series No. 183,Oxford University Press 2013), 342 pp. + xi. ISBN 978-0-19-726537-6; ISSN 0068-1202.

Journal papers: academic

Leigh I and Ahdar R 2012 ’ Post-Secularism and the European Court of Human Rights (or how God never really went away)’ Modern Law Review 75(6) 1065-1099.

Leigh I 2012 ‘Rebalancing Rights and National Security: Reforming UKIntelligence Oversight a Decade After 9/11’ Intelligence and National Security 27 (5): 721-737.

Leigh I 2012. ‘Balancing Religious Autonomy and Other Human Rights Under the European Convention’ Oxford Journal of Law and Religion 1:109-126.

http://ojlr.oxfordjournals.org/content/1/1/109.full

Reports: Official

‘Parliamentary and Specialised Oversight of Security and Intelligence Activities in the United Kingdom’,contribution to the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF) -European University Institute (EUI) study on Parliamentary oversight of civilian security and intelligence agencies in relevant EU member states and other major democracies for the European Parliament Directorate-General Internal Policies of the Union – Directorate C – Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs (2011), pp. 290-301.

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/document/activities/cont/201109/20110927ATT27674/20110927ATT27674EN.pdf

Research Interests

Implementation of the Human Rights Act 1998
Local government law and politics
National security law
Religious Liberty

Selected Publications

Books: authored

Leigh, I.D. & Born, Hans. (2008). Handbook on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of Armed Forces Personnel. Warsaw: OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).
Leigh, I.D. & Masterman, RMW. (2008). Making Rights Real: the Human Rights Act in its First Decade. Oxford: Hart Publishing.
Ahdar, R. & Leigh, I. D. (2005). Religious Freedom in the Liberal State. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Leigh, I.D. (2000). Law, Politics and Local Democracy. Oxford University Press.
Leigh, I.D. & Lustgarten, L. (1994). In From The Cold: National Security and Parliamentary Democracy. Oxford.: Clarendon Press.

Books: edited

Born, Hans., Leigh, Ian. & Wills, Aidan. (2011). International Intelligence Cooperation and Accountability. Studies in intelligence series. London: Routledge.
Born, H., Johnson, L. & Leigh, I. D. (2005). Who's Watching the Spies? Establishing Intelligence Service Accountability. Dulles, VA: Potomac Books.

Books: sections

Leigh, Ian. (2012). Objective, Critical and Pluralistic? Religious Education and Human Rights in the European Public Sphere. In Law, State and Religion in the New Europe: Debates and Dilemmas. Zucca, L. & Ungureanu,C. Cambridge Cambridge University Press. 192-214.
Leigh, I. (2010). Intelligence and the Law in the United Kingdom. In Oxford Handbook of National Security Intelligence. Johnson, L. New York: Oxford University Press. 640-656.
Leigh, I. (2010). Rendering an Account? Accountability, oversight and international intelligence cooperation. In Extraordinary Renditions and the Protection of Human Rights. Nowak, M. & Schmidt, R. Vienna: Neuer Wissenschaftlicher. 99-118.
Leigh,Ian. (2010). The Role of Judges. In Commissions of Inquiry and National Security. Farson, Stuart. & Phythian, Mark. Santa Barbara, California: Praeger. 98-112.
Leigh, I. (2009). ‘Homophobic Speech, Equality Denial and Religious Expression’. In Extreme Speech and Democracy. Hare, I. & Weinstein, J. Oxford Oxford University Press. 375-399.
Leigh, Ian. (2008). ‘National Security, Religious Liberty and Counterterrorism’. In Intelligence, Security and Policing Post 9/11: The UK Response to the War on Terror. Moran, J. & Phythian, M. Palgrave. 115-134.
Leigh, I. (2007). ‘Parliamentary Oversight of Intelligence in the UK: A Critical Evaluation’. In Democratic Control of Intelligence Services: Containing Rogue Elephants. Born, H. & Caparini, M. Ashgate. 177-194.
Leigh, I.D., Jowell, J. & Oliver, D. (2007). The New Local Government. In The Changing Constitution. Oxford University Press. 6.
Leigh, I.D. (2006). (with H. Born) A Comparative Perspective on Accountability. In Strategic Intelligence. Johnson, L Prager. 5.
Leigh, I.D., Cane, P., & Conaghan, J. (2006). Entries on National Security, Interception of Communications, Surveillance, surreptitious, Official Secrets. In New Oxford Companion to Law. Oxford University Press.
Leigh, I.D., Goldschmidt, J., & Loenen, T. (2006). Religously-Motivated Disciminatory Speech: the Case of Homophobia. In Religious Pluralism. Insentia.
Leigh, I.D. (2004). The New Local Government. In The Changing Constitution. Jowell, J., & Oliver, D. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 305-322.

Edited works: contributions

I. Leigh (2012). Religious Freedom in the UK After the Human Rights Act 1998. In Freedom of Religion under Bills of Rights. P. Babie & N. Rochow Adelaide: University of Adelaide Press. 239-252.
I. Leigh (2011). The Changing Nature of Local and Regional Democracy. In The Changing Constitution (7th ed.). J. Jowell & D. Oliver Oxford Oxford University Press. 237-259.

Journal papers: academic

Leigh, I. & Ahdar, R. (2012). Post-Secularism and the European Court of Human Rights: or how God never really went away. Modern Law Review 75(6): 1064-1098.
I. Leigh (2011). Damned if they do, Damned if they don’t: the European Court of Human Rights and the Protection of Religion from Attack. Res Publica 17(1): 55-73.
Leigh, I. (2010). New Trends in Religious Liberty and the European Court of Human Rights. Ecclesiastical Law Journal 12(3): 266-279.
Leigh, I. (2009). Changing the Rules of the Game: Some Necessary Legal Reforms to United Kingdom Intelligence. Review of International Studies 35(4): 943-955.
Leigh, I. (2009). Recent Developments in Religious Liberty. Ecclesiastical Law Journal 11(1): 65-72.
Leigh, Ian. (2008). Hatred, Sexual Orientation, Free Speech and Religious Liberty. Ecclesiastical Law Journal 10(3): 337-344.
H. Born; & I. Leigh (2007). ‘Democratic Accountability of Intelligence Services’. Yearbook of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
Leigh, I. D. (2002). Taking Rights Proportionately: Judicial Review, the Human Rights Act and Strasbourg. Public Law 265-287.

Reports: official

European Commission for Democracy for Law (Venice Commission) (2007). Report on Democratic Oversight of the Security Services in Council of Europe States. Council of Europe.
Born, H. & Leigh, I. D. (2005). Making Intelligence Accountable: Legal Standards and Best Practice for Oversight of Intelligence Agencies. Oslo, Publishing House of the Parliament of Norway, Oslo.

Show all publications