Dr Richard Collins
Position: Lecturer
Email Address: Richard.Collins@sheffield.ac.uk
Telephone: +44 (0)114 222 6831
Room No: EF13A
Academic Profile
Before beginning my academic career in law, I had a successful career in local government working in the field of economic regeneration. During this time I pursued studies in law, eventually leaving to pursue further postgraduate studies and then undertaking PhD research, combined with a Graduate Teaching Assistant position, at the University of Sheffield in September 2006. I successfully defended my PhD in September 2011 (awarded without corrections in November 2011). My PhD research addressed a number of theoretical problems in the way in which the institutional structure of international law is commonly conceived.
I started as a lecturer at the University of Sheffield in September 2009. My teaching and research interests span both domestic and international public law, with a particular focus on the theory of law (jurisprudence). My published work includes pieces on the idea of international or global constitutionalism, as well as a study on the autonomy of international organisations.
In addition to my teaching and research, I am currently the School of Law’s Director of International Affairs with responsibility for all of our incoming and outgoing exchange students.
Qualifications
Ph.D University of Sheffield
LL.M (Dist.), University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne
LL.B (First Class Hons.), Sheffield Hallam University
Teaching and Learning
I teach across a number of different modules in both domestic public law and public international law, which is informed by my research interests in legal, constitutional and political theory. I am committed to integrating insights from my own and others’ research into my teaching, particularly in the area of international law and international organisations. Furthermore, I have played an integral role in developing module structures, content and assessment methods in order to reflect recent developments and in response to student feedback.
The modules I teach are:
Research Interests
- International Law
- Legal Theory/Jurisprudence
- Peacekeeping and Collective Security
- The Law of International Organisations
- Public Law
- Political Theory
Member of the Sheffield Centre for International and European Law Research Cluster.
Key Publications
Collins, R. (forthcoming) Of Strawmen and Scapegoats: Classical Legal Positivism Revisited. In J. d’Aspremont and J. Kammerhofer (eds), International Legal Positivism in a Postmodern World (forthcoming with Cambridge University Press)
Collins, R. (2012) Between Contract and Constitution: International Organisations and the Protection of Global Public Interests. In C. Michelon, G. Clunie, C. McCorkindale and H. Psarras (eds.), The Public in Law: Representations of the Political in Legal Discourse Farnham: Ashgate, pp. 69-86
Collins, R. (2011) Non-State, Inter-state or Supra-State? The Peculiar Identity of the Intergovernmental Organization in International Institutional Law. In J. d’Aspremont (ed.), Participants in the International Legal System. Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 311-25
Collins, R. (2011) Modernist-Positivism and the Problem of Institutional Autonomy in International Law. In R. Collins and N. D. White (eds.) International Organizations and the Idea of Autonomy: Institutional Independence in the International Legal Order. Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 22-47
R. Collins and N. D. White (eds.) (2011) International Organizations and the Idea of Autonomy: Institutional Independence in the International Legal Order. Abingdon: Routledge
Collins, R. (2009) 'Constitutionalism as Liberal-Juridical Consciousness: Echoes from International Law's Past'. Leiden Journal of International Law, 22, 251-87
Recent Invited Papers and Keynote Lectures
'Institutional Autonomy and Accountability: The Problem of Attribution in UN-led Peace Operations', invited seminar convenor, University of Durham, 1 March 2012
'The Institutional Problem in Modern International Law: Form and Function in International Legal Theory', The Runnymede Lecture, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands, 8 February 2012
'The Rule of Law and the Limits of Functional Analogy in International Legal Discourse', invited lecture at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Belgium, 6 February 2012
'Classical Legal Positivism Revisited' invited paper to be given at the conference/workshop: 'International Legal Positivism in a Post-Modern World', University of Amsterdam, Netherlands, 3-4 November 2011
Key Projects/Grants
| Title/Description: | Research Methodologies in EU and International Law |
|---|---|
| Awarding Body: | Modern Law Review Seminar Funding |
| People Involved: | R. Collins (PI), T. Hervey, V. Ruiz Abou-Ngim and A. Bohm |
| Dates: | January 2013 |
| Amount: | £2,485 |
| Title/Description: | Research Methodologies in EU and International Law |
|---|---|
| Awarding Body: | Workshops and Networks for Methodological Innovation Fund, University of Sheffield |
| People Involved: | R. Collins (PI), T. Hervey, V. Ruiz Abou-Ngim and A. Bohm |
| Dates: | April 2012 |
| Amount: | £2,000 |
Professional Activities and Recognition
- Visiting Research Fellow at the Erik Castrén Institute of International Law and Human Rights and the Academy of Finland Centre of Excellence in Global Governance Research, Helsinki, Finland, in August and September 2008
(I was awarded over £2,000 of funding for the stay from the University of Sheffield's Excellence Exchange Scheme) - Visiting Lecturer, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia in February 2012
- Invited external reviewer: Leiden Journal of International Law, June 2010 and November 2011; Cooperation and Conflict, September 2011
- Guest Editorial in the International Organizations Law Review, Vol 7(1) of 2010
- Research Assistant for the UK All-Party Parliamentary Inquiry into Tackling Terrorism (analysing state practice of Islamic countries in relation to international terrorism) (June – Sep 2007)
Areas of Research Supervision
- History and Theory of International Law
- Peacekeeping and Collective Security
- Law of International Organisations