Academic Profile

I studied at the Universities of Glasgow and Dundee and moved to the School of Law in 2001 after two years at Sheffield Hallam University. I very much enjoy the diversity of students and staff in a large urban Law School.

I am a member of the Sheffield Centre for International and European Law and the Centre for the Study of Law in Society.

Qualifications

• PhD, University of Glasgow
• LLM (International Natural Resources Law), Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy, University of Dundee (Petroleum and Mineral Law Education Trust LLM scholarship)
• Diploma in Legal Practice, University of Dundee
• LLB (Hons), University of Dundee (Greens Prize for Public International Law)

Teaching and Learning

I teach mostly in the areas in which I research i.e. international law and international human rights law and I enjoy challenging traditional perspectives in these fields. I take a critical, holistic and contextual approach to international law, taking account of history, philosophy, politics, culture etc and I am very focused on the place of the individual in international law as well as the role of business actors in relation to human rights.

I especially enjoy integrating my current research into undergraduate and postgraduate teaching by offering students insights into the latest developments in the business and human rights/corporate social responsibility sphere which I am able to do at both undergraduate and postgraduate level in various modules.

For many years I coached Sheffield law students who were participating in national and international mooting competitions with great success and I bring a lot of that experience into my day to day teaching. I often use moots and debates in my classes to encourage students to formulate persuasive arguments and to think on their feet. I also encourage students to employ theoretical views in a practical way for example by setting assessments which require the rewriting of cases from a critical international legal perspective e.g. feminism.

I am supportive of student research at both undergraduate and postgraduate level and over the years I have encouraged and helped several students to publish their own work in legal journals.
In addition to my role as Personal Tutor to undergraduate LLB students, I am the Programme Director of the LLM in International Law, providing academic support to postgraduate students. I am also currently supervising six PhD students.

The modules I teach are:

Undergraduate	Postgraduate and MA
International Human Rights Law (Convenor)	Philosophical, Moral and Legal Foundations of International Human Rights (Convenor)
International Legal Theory and Practice	International and Regional Systems of Human Rights Protection (Convenor)
International Law I	Constitutional Law (Convenor)

Research Interests

In general my research involves a critical approach to international human rights law and public international law. In particular, I am interested in international, regional and national regulatory attempts to control the behaviour of business actors in relation to human rights. I am especially interested in new governance approaches to regulation and how they can be applied to the business and human rights sphere. My research focus is on hybrid regulatory techniques which incorporate top-down and bottom-up regulation. Recently my research has focused on the regulation of private military and security contractors (PMSCs).

Areas of Research Supervision

• Business and human rights / corporate social responsibility
• International human rights law
• International legal theory
• Public international law

Key Publications

MacLeod, S. (2011) The Role of International Regulatory Initiatives on Business and Human Rights for Holding Private Military and Security Companies to Account. In F.Francioni & N.Ronzitti, War by Contract. OUP

MacLeod, S. (2010) Stuck In The Middle With You? : Alternative Approaches To Realising Accountability For Human Rights Violations By Business. In D. French, M. Saul., & N.D. White, (eds), International Law and Dispute Settlement: New Problems and Techniques. Hart Publishing

White, N.D. & MacLeod, S. (2008) EU Operations And Private Military Contractors: Issues Of Corporate And Institutional Responsibility. European Journal of International Law, 19, 965-988

MacLeod, S. (2008) The United Nations and Transnational Corporations: Challenging the International Legal Order. In Boeger, N., Murray, R. & Villiers, C. (eds) Perspectives on Corporate Social Responsibility. Edward Elgar

MacLeod, S. (2007) Reconciling Regulatory Approaches to Corporate Social Responsibility: The European Union, OECD and United Nations Compared. European Public Law, 13, 671-702

MacLeod, S. (2005) Corporate Social Responsibility within the European Union Framework Wisconsin. International Law Journal, 23, 541

Recent Invited Papers and Keynote Lectures

S.MacLeod & A.Bohm, ‘Regulating PMSCs: What can the EU learn from the UK’s ‘robust’ self-regulatory approach?’ European Society of International Law Special Interest Group on Business and Human Rights, 5th ESIL Biennial Conference ‘Regionalism and International Law,’ Valencia, 13 September 2012 

S.MacLeod, ‘Reputational Carrots, Regulatory Sticks and the Future Ordering of Business and Human Rights,’ for a panel entitled ‘Human Rights, Cultural Rights, Business and International Law’ at the Canadian Law and Society Association Annual Meeting, Universities of Waterloo and Kitchener, 26-28 May 2012

S.MacLeod & A.Bohm, ‘Regulating PMSCs: What can the EU learn from the UK’s ‘robust’ self-regulatory approach?,’ Centre for European Policy Studies, Stakeholder Workshop: ‘The EU and the Security-Business/Trade Nexus’ Brussels, 30 May 2012

S.MacLeod, ‘Private Military and Security Companies: The UK Experience’ University of Ottawa, Human Rights Research and Education Centre, 4 October 2011

S.MacLeod, ‘Current Regulatory Developments in Relation to Private Military and Security Contractors’ International Human Rights Program Speaker Series, University of Toronto Law School, 26 September 2011

S.MacLeod and N.D.White, Presentation of PRIV-WAR FP7 project human rights recommendations on Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs) at a final PRIV-WAR conference entitled ‘Private Military and Security Companies, Human Rights and Humanitarian Law: What Role for the European Union? at the European Commission, Brussels on 28 April 2011.

Key Projects/Grants

Title/Description:	PRIV-WAR PRIV-WAR (http://priv-war.eu/) is a collaborative research project (7th Framework Programme – Theme 8: Socioeconomics sciences and humanities) coordinated by the European University Institute through the Academy of European Law in cooperation with LUISS "Guido Carli" (Rome) and the other project partners: Justus Liebig Universität Giessen; Riga Graduate School of Law; Université Panthéon-Assas (Paris II), Centre Thucydide; University of Sheffield and Utrecht University. The project assessed the impact of the increasing use of private military companies and security companies (PMCs/PSCs) in situations of armed conflict. It examined the regulatory framework at national, European and international levels, with a view to ensuring improved compliance with international humanitarian law and human rights.
Awarding Body:	European Union, Framework Programme 7 (FP7)
People Involved:	Sorcha MacLeod Co-Principal Investigator with Professor Nigel White (University of Nottingham) plus six other European universities.
Years Funded for:	3 and half
Amount	£78,000 (€1,138,682 for the total project)

Professional Activities and Recognition

• Human Rights Technical Expert on UK pilot certification scheme for Private Security Contractors.
• Member of the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office Working Group on Regulating Private Military and Security Contractors.
• Elected board member of the European Society of International Law Special Interest Group on Business and Human Rights, September 2012 - to date
• White and MacLeod publication on European Journal of International Law’s list of ‘Most Cited Articles’ (at June 2013).
• Co-presented with Professor Nigel White (Nottingham) the PRIV-WAR project final recommendations to the European Commission in Brussels, April 2011. The European Parliament subsequently adopted a resolution in line with those recommendations.  Additionally the EU decided to participate in the drafting of a UN Convention on PMSCs as a direct result of the PRIV-WAR recommendations
• Participant in the drafting of the International Code of Conduct for Private Security Providers coordinated by the Swiss Government/ICRC/DCAF (2008-to date).
• I am increasingly being approached by media organisations as an expert adviser on business and human rights e.g. BBC Radio 4 for a proposed documentary on Private Military and Security Contractors; independent television production companies. See e.g. Burning Point, ‘International corporations in the globalized world,’ Interview, Voice of Russia Radio, broadcast 24 December 2012 (http://english.ruvr.ru/radio_broadcast/25298789/99094814.html)
• Member of British Institute of International and Comparative Law
• Member of the International Law Association
• Visiting Erasmus lecturer Free University Berlin, Germany, University of Tartu, Estonia and University of Geneva, Switzerland
• Academic Peer reviewer for various journals e.g. Journal of Law and Society, Legal Studies, Law and Management, Journal of Common Market Studies, Security Dialogue
• Visiting Scholar, Global Legal Studies Initiative at the Institute for Legal Studies, University of Wisconsin Madison, USA, February – June 2005 funded by a World University Network Faculty Exchange Award 2005
• Member of the International and National Boards of Review for the Telders International Law Moot Court Competition and Judge at the International Finals at the International Court of Justice, Peace Palace, The Hague.