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
- Constitutional paternalism: The rise and problematic use of constitutional guardian rhetoric. New York University Journal of International Law and Politics, 51(3), 773-806. 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
- The rule of law in UK public law textbooks: from critique to acceptance?. Public Law, 2018(Oct), 594-604. 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
- Disparaging the Supreme Court, Part II: Questioning institutional legitimacy. Wisconsin Law Review, 2016(2), 239-261.
- Preliminary warnings on 'constitutional' idolatry. Public Law, 2016(Jan), 74-92. View this article in WRRO
- Erwin Chemerinsky: The Case against the Supreme Court. Journal of Law and Society, 42(3), 464-469.
- Confrontational Contestation and Democratic Compromise: The Sunflower Movement and its Aftermath. Hong Kong Law Journal, 45(1), 193-210. 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.
- Manipulating Public Law Favorability: Is It Really This Easy?. British Journal of American Legal Studies, 2(2), 511-532. View this article in WRRO
- Processes, Standards and Politics: Drafting Short Titles in the Westminster Parliament, Scottish Parliament and US Congress. Florida Journal of International Law, 25(1), 61-116. View this article in WRRO
- Westminster's Impending Short Title Quandary: And How To Fix it. Public Law, 223-232. View this article in WRRO
- Drafting Proper Short Bill Titles: Do States Have the Answer?. Stanford Law and Policy Review, 455-476. 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
- Idolatry and Constitutional Change
- 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