Dr Brian Christopher Jones
School of Law
Lecturer in Law

+44 114 222 6732
Full contact details
School of Law
Bartolomé House
Winter Street
Sheffield
S3 7ND
- Profile
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I joined Sheffield in January 2020, after holding lecturer positions at the University of Dundee (2017-19) and Liverpool Hope University (2015-16). Before this, I was a postdoctoral fellow in the Law Department at Academia Sinica in Taipei, Taiwan (2012-2015). Currently I am co-convenor of the Public Law Section for the Society of Legal Scholars (SLS), and also serve as Deputy Director of Internationalisation for the School of Law at Sheffield.
My research primarily focuses on public law, touching on aspects of constitutional theory, socio-legal studies, civil disobedience and law & culture. I've published in high quality journals from around the world, such as: International Journal of Constitutional Law, Public Law, Legal Studies, Parliamentary Affairs, Statute Law Review, King's Law Journal, Wisconsin Law Review, and the Hong Kong Law Journal, amongst others. I have a forthcoming book monograph with Edward Elgar: Constitutional Idolatry and Democracy: Challenging the Infatuation with Writtenness (2020). I also recently edited a collection with Routledge, entitled: Law and Politics of the Taiwan Sunflower and Hong Kong Umbrella Movements (2017).
My work has been cited by former President of the UK Supreme Court, Lady Hale, in addition to media outlets such as: the New York Times, The Economist and the Wall St. Journal.
- Qualifications
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PhD (Law), University of Stirling
MA (Socio-legal studies), George Mason University
BA, University of Missouri-Columbia
- Research interests
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- Public Law
- Comparative Constitutional Law
- Constitutional Theory
- Socio-Legal Studies
- Civil Disobedience
- Law & Culture
- Publications
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Books
Journal articles
- Parties versus democracy: Addressing today’s political party threats to democratic rule. International Journal of Constitutional Law, 18(2), 509-538. View this article in WRRO
- View this article in WRRO
- Our forgotten constitutional guardians: Preserving respect for the law. Statute Law Review. View this article in WRRO
- Dissonant constitutionalism and Lady Hale. King's Law Journal, 29(2), 177-186. View this article in WRRO
- View this article in WRRO
- Constitutions and bills of rights: invigorating or placating democracy?. Legal Studies, 38(3), 339-359. View this article in WRRO
- Meg Russell and Daniel Gover, legislation at Westminster: Parliamentary actors and influence in the making of British law. Edinburgh Law Review, 22(3), 434-436. View this article in WRRO
- Justices as “sacred symbols”: Antonin Scalia and the cultural life of the law. British Journal of American Legal Studies, 6(1), 7-23. View this article in WRRO
- The online/offline cognitive divide: Implications for law. SCRIPTed, 13(1), 83-94. View this article in WRRO
- View this article in WRRO
- Erwin Chemerinsky: The Case against the Supreme Court. Journal of Law and Society, 42(3), 464-469.
- View this article in WRRO
- Assessing the Constitutionality of Legislation: Constitutional Review in Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan. Asia Pacific Law Review, 23(2), 37-62.
- View this article in WRRO
- View this article in WRRO
- View this article in WRRO
- View this article in WRRO
- Transatlantic Perspectives on Humanised Public Law Campaigns: Personalising and Depersonalising the Legislative Process. Legisprudence, 6(1), 57-76.
- Do Short Bill Titles Matter? Surprising Insights from Westminster and Holyrood. Parliamentary Affairs, 65(2), 448-462.
Chapters
- Confrontational contestation and democratic compromise: The Sunflower Movement and its aftermath, Law and Politics of the Taiwan Sunflower and Hong Kong Umbrella Movements (pp. 15-29).
- Parties versus democracy: Addressing today’s political party threats to democratic rule. International Journal of Constitutional Law, 18(2), 509-538. View this article in WRRO
- Teaching interests
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I highly value and thoroughly enjoy teaching, and consider it of equal importance to producing research outputs. I’ve been a Fellow in the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) since December 2016. One of the joys of being in a lecturer’s role is being able to interact with bright and creative individuals, and also witness the myriad of impressive things they go on to achieve after graduation. I strive to ensure that students are critical thinkers, and can express themselves well both in written form and orally.
- Teaching activities
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The module that I teach are:
Undergraduate
- Public Law in the UK and EU
- Comparative Public Law