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Staff Profile

Professor Colin Murray

Professor of Law and Democracy

  • Email: colin.murray@ncl.ac.uk
  • Address: Newcastle Law School,
    21-24 Windsor Terrace,
    Newcastle-upon-Tyne,
    NE1 7RU.
Background

Biography 

Colin joined Newcastle University's Law School in December 2006 following the completion of his postgraduate research at Durham University. Prior to this appointment Colin taught at Durham and Sheffield Universities. Colin has written for The Conversation and The Guardian and many of his research papers are available open-access on SSRN and academia.edu. His research has been cited in the UK Supreme Court, and has also informed UK Government consultations and Parliamentary Committee reports across a range of public law issues. These include prisoner voting, the office of Lord Chancellor and the nature of the UK's devolution arrangements. Between 2019 and 2020 he lead a major ESRC research project on the impact of Brexit negotiations upon governance and identity in Northern Ireland. He posts commentary from @colinmurray.bsky.social (Bluesky).


Qualifications

PhD Newcastle (2022)

LLB (Hons) Dunelm (2004)

Mjur Dunelm (2006)

PGCert Advanced Studies in Academic Practice (2009)


Esteem Indicators

Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (2016-Present)

AHRC Peer Review College Member (2020-2024)

Specialist adviser to the UK Parliament’s Joint Committee on the Voting Eligibility (Prisoners) Bill (2013-2014)

Co-convener of the Society of Legal Scholars' Civil Liberties Subject Section (2012-2015)

Director of Newcastle Human Rights Research Group (2009-2011)

Visiting Scholar at the PluriCourts Centre, University of Oslo (2015)


Roles and Responsibilities

Academic Mentor (2018-Present)

Impact Lead, Newcastle Law School (2021-Present)


Previous Roles and Responsibilities

Seminar Series Convenor for the Regulation of Data theme on the Data NUCore (2020-2022)

HaSS Faculty Programme Liaison Officer (2015-2019)

Law School Athena SWAN Committee (2016-2019)

SLS Council Representative for Newcastle University (2013-2017) 

Degree Programme Director Undergraduate Studies (2012-2014) 

Induction Coordinator (2009-2012)

Mooting Coordinator (2007-2011)

Deputy Degree Programme Director Undergraduate Studies (2007-2009, 2011-2012)

Year 3 Stage Tutor (2007-2010)

Staff Representative, Staff-Student Committee (2007-2010 and 2012-2014)

Law School Website Manager (2012-2013)

Law School Library Committee Representative (2008-2013, 2016-2018)

HaSS Faculty Representative, University Higher Education Achievement Report Committee (2010-2011)


Memberships

Member of the Irish Association of Law Teachers

Member of the Society of Legal Scholars

Member of the Socio-Legal Studies Association

Member of the UK Constitutional Law Association 

Member of the International Society for Constitutional Law


External Examiner Appointments

University of Aberdeen, School of Law (2022-present)

University of Leicester, School of Law (2021-2022)

University of Liverpool, School of Law and Social Justice (2015-2019)

Association of International Accountants (2007-2010)

Research

Research Interests


Colin's current research is focused in the fields of national security law, legal history and public law. This work has been widely cited in parliamentary inquiries on prisoner voting rights, the office of Lord Chancellor, drone strikes, Northern Ireland and Brexit, and the UK's territorial constitution. His work explores the changing nature of governance, concepts of citizenship and allegiance and their increasing significance in legal discourse, including in the disenfranchisement of prisoners. Other ongoing projects examine the relationship between the historic political offences and 21st century counter-terrorism legislation.


Prizes


Recipient of the 2025 Melbourne Journal of International Law Prize for Outstanding Scholarship in International Law, for an article ("The Mists of Time: Intertemporality and Self-determination’s Territorial Integrity rule in the ICJ’s Chagos Advisory Opinion") which ‘demonstrated a sophisticated use of primary and secondary sources, a skilled engagement with both international and domestic legal proceedings and a clarity of analysis about the historic attitudes of a colonial power, thus providing enduring insights’.


Funded Research


2024 - £24,821, Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, to produce a research report on Remedies and Windsor Framework Article 2.

2022 - £27,188, Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, to produce a research report on EU developments in Equality and Human Rights: Impact of Brexit on the divergence of rights and best practice on the island of Ireland (with Sarah Craig, Anurag Deb, Eleni Frantziou, Alexander Horne, Clare Rice and Jane Rooney).

2019 - £252,215.26 ESRC Governance After Brexit Grant on the project “Performing Identities: Post-Brexit Northern Ireland and the reshaping of 21st-Century Governance” (with A. O’Donoghue (Durham), S. de Mars (Newcastle) and B. Warwick (Birmingham)).

2018/19 - £45,985 Joint Committee of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission and the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission to produce three published and one unpublished high-level policy briefings on the impact of Brexit upon human rights in Ireland (with A. O’Donoghue (Durham), S. de Mars (Newcastle) and B. Warwick (Birmingham)).

2018 - £9949 ESRC Impact Acceleration Account Grant (with S. de Mars (Newcastle)) on the project “Northern Ireland and Brexit: Bordering Two Unions”.

2016 - £9975 ESRC Impact Acceleration Account Grant (with A. O'Donoghue (Durham), S. de Mars (Newcastle) and B. Warwick (Durham)) on the project “Constitutional Conundrums: Northern Ireland, the European Union and Human Rights”.

2013 - £1150 Society of Legal Scholars Activities Fund Grant to support archival research on the development of statutory restrictions upon immigrants in the UK in the twentieth century. 

2010 - £2000 Modern Law Review Seminar Fund to support the Newcastle Human Rights Research Group’s one-day symposium “Human Rights - A Drop of liberation or a Fig-Leaf of Legitimation”.


Invited Papers and Seminars


C. Murray, ‘Reading and Re-Reading the B/GFA’s Rights Provisions’ Queen’s University Belfast, 23 April 2026.

C. Murray, ‘The Periphery Dominates the Core? Northern Ireland, the UK and EU legal orders after Brexit’ Glasgow University Staff Seminar, 18 March 2026.

C. Murray, ‘Following Scotland’s Lead? The Road to Assembly Incorporation of International Rights Instruments’, Human Rights Centre Seminar, Queen’s University Belfast, 16 April 2025.

C. Murray, ‘Parity of Esteem and Consociationalism’s Offramp’, Parity of Esteem British Academy Symposium, 10 April 2025.

C. Murray, ‘The Mouse that Roared: Article 2 of the Windsor Framework’, Queen’s University Belfast, 29 November 2024.

C. Murray, 'Remedies and Article 2: Beyond EU law', ICEL Windsor Framework Article 2 Symposium, Queen’s University Belfast, 24 October 2024.

C. Murray, 'What the Dogs in the Street know: Public History, Deliberative Democracy and 'Retconning' Conflict Legacy', International IDEA Centre, Stockholm, 6 September 2024.

C. Murray, 'Human Rights in post-Brexit Northern Ireland', Scottish Public Law Group, 3 June 2024.

C. Murray, 'More than Geography: Cross-Border Constitutionalism After Reunification' Ulster University, 15 November 2023.

C. Murray, 'Reflections on Dalton', Wadham Law and Justice Research Hub Seminar, 10 November 2023.

C. Murray, 'Life on the Vine: The Reinvigoration of Executive Measures in UK Counter-Terrorism Policy', Prevent, Surveil and Protect Conference, Sunderland University, 27 March 2023.

C. Murray, 'The Zamora Doctrine: Then and Now', The Fringes of Justiciability Symposium, Durham University, 13 May 2022. 

C. Murray, 'The Protocol and the Union: Beyond Zero-Sum Constitutional Futures', BIIL Symposium, University of Edinburgh, 29 April 2022.

C. Murray, ‘Someone’s got to do it … don’t they? Administering the Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol’, SLS Workshop, Durham Law School, 14 September 2021.

C. Murray, ‘The Northern Ireland Constitution’, Feminist Constitutions Workshop: Constitutional pasts, presents and futures, 27 May 2021.

C. Murray, ‘The Chagossian Litigation’ Durham Law School Law and Global Justice Seminar, 13 January 2021.

C. Murray, ‘The Constitutional Significance of the People of Northern Ireland’ Wales Governance Centre, Governance After Brexit Seminar, 8 July 2020.

C. Murray and B. Warwick, ‘Securing EU Citizenship “Rights, Opportunities and Benefits” in Northern Ireland after Brexit’, NIHRC conference, Queen’s University Belfast, 16 January 2020.

C. Murray and A. O’Donoghue, ‘Unity after Brexit? Dual Referendums under the GFA’ Queen’s University Belfast seminar, 25 July 2019.

C. Murray, ‘When the Ground Moves Beneath Your Feet: Bordering Ireland in the 1920s’ University of Lincoln Borders Conference, 10 July 2019.

C. Murray, ‘Northern Ireland’s Constitution and Brexit’, Newcastle University Brexit Conference, 17 May 2019.

C. Murray, ‘Futureland - Northern Ireland after Brexit’, Oxford University Lecture, 1 November 2018.

C. Murray, “The Tail Wagging the Dog? Good Friday Agreement as a Constitutional Treaty”, “Treaties, Brexit and the Constitution” Conference, Jesus College Oxford, 23 March 2018.

C. Murray, “One Country, Two System: Accommodating Northern Ireland in Brexit”, Warwick University Seminar, 21 February 2018.

C. Murray, “Special Status? Northern Ireland, Brexit and Human Rights”, “Northern/Ireland After Brexit: Exploring the Human Rights Impact” Symposium, University College Dublin, 3 May 2017.

C. Murray, “We’re all Plumbers Now: Miller and the Polycentric UK Constitution”, Durham Law School Symposium on the Miller Judgment, 16 February 2017.

C. Murray (and A. O’Donoghue, B. Warwick), “UK Human Rights Reform in the Northern Ireland Context”, University of Ulster Transitional Justice Institute Seminar, 24 May 2016.

C. Murray (and A. O’Donoghue), “From Fragmentation to Constitutionalisation in the United Kingdom and Global Legal Orders”, PluriCourts Seminar, University of Oslo, 18 March 2015.

C. Murray, “A Delegation or a Derogation of Responsibility? The Role of Parliament in the UK's experience of ECHR Derogations”, MultiRights Workshop, University of Oslo, 13 March 2015. 

C. Murray (and A. O’Donoghue), “Of Hierarchies and Hegemonies: Courts, Fragmentation and Constitutionalisation”, Durham Law School Symposium on Opinion 2/13, 25 February 2015.

C. Murray, “Tort and Torture”, “Public Life of Private Law” Workshop, 10 December 2014.

C. Murray, “The need to field a Long Stop: The Courts and the Right to Free and Fair Elections", Study of Parliament Group Seminar, 18 June 2014.

C. Murray, “Judging, Nudging, Fudging? The Counter-Terrorism Jurisprudence of the UK Courts since 9-11”, Durham University Human Rights Centre Seminar, 23 April 2013.  

C. Murray, “Back to the Future: Tort Law’s ability to address Large-Scale Human Rights Abuses”, Sunderland University Staff Seminar, 5 March 2013.

C. Murray, “The Mau Mau Torture Claims: Tort Law's (Not so) New Frontier”, Durham University Law and Conflict Group Seminar, 15 November 2012. 


Conference Presentations


C. Murray,  ‘Circumscribing the Political Constitution: The Stormont Experience’, The Irish Political Constitution Conference, NUI, 28 November 2025.

C. Murray, ‘Taking Back Control of the Rights Narrative’, IALT, Ulster University, 22 November 2025.

C. Murray,  ‘Just one more Brexit and we will be free…’, SLS Symposium on 25 Years of the Human Rights Act, Leeds University, 18 September 2025.

C. Murray, 'An Alternative Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland: Assembly Incorporation of International Rights Instruments', IALT, Maynooth University, 16 November 2024.

C. Murray, 'The Development of Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit governance order' ICON, Madrid IE, 8 July 2024.

C. Murray, 'Understanding the Dillon and NIHRC Judgments', ICON-S GBIE Conference, 21 May 2024.

C. Murray, 'Controlling the Past, Commanding the Future?', ICON-S GBIE Conference, 20 May 2024.

C. Murray, 'Northern Ireland’s Post-Brexit Governance Crisis', Legal Aspects of Reform to the 1998 Belfast/Good Friday Agreement Conference, Liverpool University, 10 April 2024.

C. Murray, 'The Mists of Time: Inter-Temporality and Self determination’s Territorial Integrity rule in the ICJ’s Chagos Advisory Opinion' Critical Legal Conference, 11 September 2023.

C. Murray, 'The Shock of the New: Northern Ireland’s Governance Order after Brexit', SLSA Annual Conference, 6 April 2023.

C. Murray, 'The Partition of Ireland and the 1922 Constitution', The Centenary of the 1922 Constitution Conference, Shelbourne Hotel Dublin, 5 December 2022.

C. Murray, ‘Cross-Border Policing and Justice on the Island of Ireland: Post-Brexit Realities’, IALT, Queen’s University Belfast, 11 November 2022.

C. Murray, 'No Way to Run a Railroad: The Great Northern Railway of Ireland after Partition', British Legal History Conference, Queen’s University Belfast, 9 July 2022.

C. Murray, ‘Northern Ireland’s Constitutional Order on the Anvil of Brexit’, ICON-S GBIE Conference, 28 April 2022.

C. Murray, ‘The Performing Identities Project’ UACES Queen’s University Belfast, 7 September 2020.

C. Murray, 'Developing Northern Ireland's Distinct Constitution', ICON-S GBIE Conference, 24 April 2019.

C. Murray, 'The Strange Case of Disappearing Rights in the UK-EU Withdrawal Negotiations', Leeds University, SLSA Annual Conference, 5 April 2019.

C. Murray, ‘Strasbourg Proofing in Troubled Times’, Queen Mary University London, SLS Annual Conference, 5 September 2018.

C. Murray, “The Edge of Law: The Good Friday Agreement and Brexit”, Newcastle Law School Symposium, “Law and Politics”, 29 May 2018. 

C. Murray (and T. Frost), “Against the Dying of the Light: Public and Private Law in the Chagos Cases”, Newcastle University: SLSA Annual Conference, 6 April 2017. 

C. Murray, “Pilgrims in an Unholy Land: The United Kingdom’s Law Officers in Times of Crisis”, University of Liverpool Conference, “After Chilcot: Evaluating the Legal Implications of the Iraq Inquiry”, 8 December 2016.

C. Murray, “Innovation and Improvisation in Times of Crisis: The United Kingdom’s Response to the Brogan Judgment”, Newcastle University: “Law and Innovation”, 11 May 2016.

C. Murray, “Tainted Legacy: Magna Carta and the Scrapping of the Human Rights Act” Newcastle University: “Dark Sides of Magna Carta” (24 July 2015).

C. Murray, “Friendly Fire: Prisoner Voting Rights and Media Perceptions of Human Rights”, Human Rights in the Media Conference, Liverpool Law School, 19 September 2014.

C. Murray, “Constitutionalism Triumphant? Transnational assimilation of counter-terrorism Jurisprudence”, London School of Economics: “Law, Justice and the Security Gap”, 20 June 2014.

C. Murray, “Chasing Phantoms: Proscription of Organisations under the Terrorism Act 2000”, Bristol University: Society of Legal Scholars Annual Conference, 11 September 2012.

C. Murray, “Out of the Shadows: The Courts and the United Kingdom's International Counter-Terrorism Relationships”, Newcastle University: “After bin Laden”, 2 May 2012. 

C. Murray, “Broken Duties? The Holy Cross Case and Policing amidst Transition in Northern Ireland”, Durham University: “Transitional Justice and Restorative Justice: Potential, Pitfalls and Future”, 16 September 2011.

C. Murray, “The UK and Diplomatic Protection: No Great Leap into the 21st Century”, British Institute of International and Comparative Law 20th SLS International Law Section Conference: “Diplomatic and Consular Protection in the 21st Century”, 3 May 2011.

C. Murray, “International Counter-Terrorism Co-operation from the United Kingdom’s Perspective”, Sussex University: SLSA Annual Conference, 12 April 2011.

C. Murray (and K. J. Brown), “Socrates is Dead: Developing Interactive Law Lectures using Educational Technology”, Sussex University: SLSA Annual Conference, 12 April 2011.

C. Murray, “Democratic Dialogue and the ongoing saga of prisoner disenfranchisement”, Durham University British Academy Conference: “The Human Rights Act - 10 years on”, 24 September 2010.

C. Murray, “Guantánamo Bay, Diplomatic Protection and Allegiance”, University of Westminster: “After Guantanamo Bay: Perspectives on the War on Terror”, 22 January 2010.

C. Murray, “The Problems with Proscription: Banning Terrorist Organizations in the United States and the United Kingdom”, Pace Law School (NY), Pace International Law Review Annual Conference: “National Security Across the Globe”, 14 November 2009.

C. Murray, “Citizenship, Allegiance and Rights in the United Kingdom”, Keele University: Society of Legal Scholars Annual Conference, 8 September 2009.

C. Murray (and M. Enright), “Suspect Communities: Tracing the Concept of Loyalty in Counter-terrorism Law”, University College Cork Centre for Criminal Justice and Human Rights Conference: ‘The Promise of Law: Political Claims and the Boundaries of Justice’, 30 April 2009.

Teaching

Teaching Overview

Colin's research-led teaching focuses on the intersection of Public Law, Criminal Law and National Security policy. He is committed to his students making a contribution to academic debate, establishing the North East Law Review in 2013 to showcase the very best student coursework produced at Newcastle each year.


Undergraduate Teaching

LAW1220 Constitutional Law (Module Convenor).

LAW3035 Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism Law (Stage 3) (Module Convenor).

Colin has taught on US Constitutional Law (Stage 3), Media Law (Stage 3), Criminal Law (Stage 2), Public Law (Stage 1) and Legal Institutions and Methods (Stage 1).


Postgraduate Supervision

Colin supervises postgraduate students working on public law projects, particularly those focused on national security and counter-terrorism law.  

Current Supervisees:

Eva Saeva - EU and national approaches to territorial sovereignty and cyberspace 


Completed Supervisees:

Martine Wade - The use of executive detention as a counter-terrorism power

Tim Sayer - The relationship between policy and law

If you would like further information on reading for a research degree at Newcastle Law School please see www.ncl.ac.uk/nuls/postgraduate/research/index.htm


Teaching Awards

Newcastle University Teaching Excellence Award for pastoral support for students (2014)

Commended for Excellence in Teaching in the Vice Chancellor's Awards (2011)


Teaching Funding

2012 - £7000 Higher Education Academy Teaching Development Grant to support the creation of a student-led law review.

2010 - £5000 Newcastle University Innovation Fund (with K. Brown) to fund research into the use of interactive learning technology to enhance lectures.


Publications