Projects per year
Personal profile
Research Statement
Dr. Cheryl Lawther is a Reader in the School of Law and a Fellow of the Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice. She is the former Director of the Human Rights Centre at Queen's University Belfast.
Situated within the field of transitional justice, Cheryl's research interests focus on truth recovery and dealing with the past, victims, ex-combatants, reparations and the use of atrocity sites.
Cheryl is currently leading and working on a number of UKRI funded research projects. In late 2015 she was awarded an AHRC Early Career Research Grant for a project on 'Voice, Agency and Blame: Victimhood and the Imagined Community in Northern Ireland' (with K. McEvoy, £250,000). Full details on the project and associated publications can be found on the project website - victimsandthepast.org In November 2016, Cheryl became a Co-Investigator on the AHRC funded project 'Reparations, Resonsibilites and Victimhood in Transitional Societies' (with L. Moffett and K. McEvoy, £655,198). The project website can be accessed here - reparations.qub.ac.uk. Finally, Dr. Lawther is leading a Department for Education - Global Challenges Research Fund pilot project on representations of victimhood at dark tourist sites, with a specific focus on Cambodia.
In addition to these collaborative projects, Cheryl has had significant success in securiing research fellowships. These include a Fulbright Irish Scholar Award (2020) (based at the School of Law, UC Berkeley) and a British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship (2022-2023). This latter award will facilitate the writing of a monograph on the construction and reproduction of victimhood in transitional justice, under contract with Oxford University Press.
Cheryl's key publications include the monograph Truth, Denial and Transition: Northern Ireland and the Contested Past (Routledge), co-edited (with L. Moffett and D. Jacobs) Research Handbook on Transitional Justice (co-edited with L. Moffett and D. Jacobs) (Edward Elgar) and journal articles in, amongst others, Social and Legal Studies, the International Journal of Transitional Justice, British Journal of Criminology, Journal of Human Rights in Practice, International Journal of Human Rights Practice, International Review of Victimology, Journal of Genocide Research and Policing and Society.
Dr. Lawther holds a PhD (Law), MSSc Criminology (with distinction) and BA Hons Politics (First Class Honours) all from Queen's University Belfast. She has also been awarded a Post Graduate Certificate in Higher Education Teaching and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
In addition to her scholarly committments, Cheryl is actively engaged with a number of victim focused and human rights organisations in civil society. Specifically, she is a:
- Member of the Victims' Payments Board;
- Member of the Victims' Commissioners Advisory Panel;
- Trustee of the Human Rights Trust;
- Former Vice Chair and Treasurer of the Committee on the Administration of Justice.
Achievements
Dr. Lawther's work has garnered significant success and scholarly recognition. Key achievements include:
- British Academy Mid Career Fellowship (2022-2023).
- Fulbright Irish Scholar Award (2021, School of Law UC Berkeley).
- Socio-Legal Studies Association Article Prize. Shortlisted for: 'The Truth about Loyalty: Emotions, Ex-Combatants and Transitioning from the Past', International Journal of Transitional Justice, 2017, 11, 3:484-503.
- Brian Williams Article Prize by the British Society of Criminology in July 2011. This award is made in recognition of the best sole authored journal article by a ‘new’ scholar in the previous year. Awarded for: “Securing’ the Past: Policing and the Contest over Truth in Northern Ireland’, British Journal of Criminology, 2010, 50, 3: 455-473.
Other
Leadership and Administrative Roles
Chair of School of Law Research Ethics Committee (2023 - ).
Theme lead for Transitional Justice Research Cluster (2023 - ).
Co-lead for QUB - Boston College Partnership (2023 - ).
Member of North America Strategy Group (2023 - ).
External examiner, MPhil Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation, Trinity College Dublin (2023 - ).
Director of the Human Rights Centre, QUB (2020 - 2022).
Theme lead for Human Rights and Public Law Research Cluster (2020 - 2022).
Programme Director, LLM International Human Rights Law (2018-2021).
Programme Director, LLM Criminology and Criminal Justice (2018-2021).
Programme Director, LLM Human Rights and Criminal Justice (2018-2019).
Teaching
Current Teaching
Constitutional Law in Context (PGT, MLaw, Module Convenor)
Transitional Justice (PGT, LLM, Module Convenor)
Punishment, Justice and Legacy (PGT, LLM)
Criminology Theory and Practice (UG, LLB)
Previous Teaching
Constitutional Law in Context (UG, LLB, Module Convenor)
Criminal Law (UG, LLB)
Theoretical Criminology (PGT, LLM, Module Convenor)
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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R1298LAW: Beyond Innocence and Guilt: Constructing Victimhood in Transitional Justice
30/05/2022 → …
Project: Research
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R1120LAW: ESRC Leading Impact Fund
Moffett, L., Lawther, C. & McEvoy, K.
28/10/2019 → …
Project: Research
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R1737LAW: Reparations, Responsibility and Victimhood in Transitional Societies
Moffett, L., Lawther, C. & McEvoy, K.
08/05/2017 → …
Project: Research
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R3968SES: Whose Voices are Heard? Victimhood and Dark Tourism in Cambodia
Lawther, C., Dempster, L. & Killean, R.
25/09/2017 → 31/03/2018
Project: Research
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Punishment, victimhood and social control: towards a criminology of transitional justice
McEvoy, K., Dudai, R. & Lawther, C., 21 Sep 2023, Oxford handbook of criminology. Liebling, A., Maruna, S. & McAra, L. (eds.). 7 ed. Oxford University Press, p. 747-768Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (peer-reviewed) › peer-review
1 Downloads (Pure) -
Redressing displacement in Northern Ireland: identity, land and dealing with the past
Moffett, L., Lawther, C. & Hearty, K., Oct 2023, In: Political Geography. 106, 11 p., 102941.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile17 Downloads (Pure) -
Research handbook on transitional justice
Lawther, C. (ed.) & Moffett, L. (ed.), 15 Aug 2023, 2nd ed. Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd. 556 p. (Research Handbooks in International Law series)Research output: Book/Report › Book
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Researching transitional justice: editor’s introduction
Lawther, C. & Moffett, L., 15 Aug 2023, Research handbook on transitional justice. Lawther, C. & Moffett, L. (eds.). 2nd ed. Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd, p. 1-9 (Research Handbooks in International Law series).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (peer-reviewed) › peer-review
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Transitional justice and constructing victims and victimhood
Lawther, C., 11 Aug 2023, Research handbook on transitional justice. Lawther, C. & Moffett, L. (eds.). 2nd ed. Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd, p. 174-190 (Research Handbooks in International Law Series).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (peer-reviewed) › peer-review
Prizes
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British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship
Lawther, Cheryl (Recipient), 2022
Prize: Fellowship awarded competitively
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British Society of Criminology Brian Williams Article Prize
Lawther, Cheryl (Recipient), 05 Jul 2011
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Fulbright Irish Scholar Award.
Lawther, Cheryl (Recipient), 2020
Prize: Fellowship awarded competitively
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Socio Legal Studies Article Prize, shortlisted
Lawther, Cheryl (Recipient), 2018
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
Activities
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Ukraine: Judicial Exchange Workshop
Cheryl Lawther (Invited speaker)
26 Oct 2023Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
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“The Agreement” - Film screening and panel discussion, UMASS Boston.
Cheryl Lawther (Speaker)
05 Oct 2023Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in Festival/Exhibition
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Where Next for Northern Ireland when the Past remains in the Present?
Cheryl Lawther (Invited speaker)
04 Oct 2023Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited or keynote talk at national or international conference
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Difficult pasts: difficult presents. Conversations on public history and history in public.
Cheryl Lawther (Chair)
03 Oct 2023Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in conference
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Sandy Springs Friends School, Washington.
Cheryl Lawther (Visiting lecturer)
02 Oct 2023Activity: Visiting an external institution types › Visiting a School
Press/Media
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Expert contributor, 'Murder in the Badlands', BBC Documentary.
25/03/2021
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert Comment
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Report Launch: The Apparatus of Impunity?
30/01/2015
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Public Engagement Activities