Dr Michael Lane

Michael Lane

Lecturer in Law

Institute of Arts and Humanities

School of Law

Contact Details

email: m.lane@worc.ac.uk

Michael joined the University of Worcester as a Lecturer in Law in August 2023, having previously worked as a Lecturer at Newman University and visiting lecturer at Birmingham City University. He teaches across the University’s LLB and LLM programmes. He is module leader for Employment Law and Equity and Trusts on the LLB (24-25) and Public Law and Human Rights on the LLM (24-25). He is also the research lead for the School of Law, and the co-convenor of the Public Law Section of the Society of Legal Scholars, along with his colleague Dr Chris Monaghan, University of Worcester.

Michael has an LLB, an LLM in International Human Rights, and a PhD in Law from Birmingham City University. He also has a PGCert in Research Practice, has trained at the Geneva Academy for International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights in Switzerland, and has recently completed his application for ‘Fellow’ of Advance HE (formerly HEA).

Michael’s PhD thesis examined the United Kingdom’s engagement with the United Nations Universal Periodic Review (UPR). This was the first comprehensive review of the UK’s engagement with the mechanism and provided new theoretical and empirical insights into the UPR’s impact. Michael’s thesis has informed case studies for his previous institutions’ REF submissions; publications in the Journal of Human Rights Practice, Human Rights Law Review, and the Nordic Journal of Human Rights; expert reports to the United Nations; advocacy at the UN in Geneva; evidence to Select Committees; and a successful bid to provide consultancy and training for civil society on behalf of the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

Teaching Interests

Michael has been teaching in higher education since 2018. He has experience teaching on a variety of modules on LLB and LLM courses, but has a particular interest in public law areas, notably constitutional law, international law, and human rights.

For the 23/24 academic year, Michael is leading Employment Law, and teaching on Criminal Law, and Contract Law. On the LLM, he leads the Public Law and Human Rights module, and teaches on the Legal Research Methods module.

Michael is accredited with the Staff and Educational Development Association (SEDA) and is currently working toward his HEA Fellowship.

Research Interests

Michael’s research concerns the role of international human rights law, and factors and conditions that affect its impact in states. He is especially interested in the United Kingdom and the interface between international human rights and domestic law. Michael’s research is empirical and interdisciplinary, drawing on theory from constitutional law, sociology, and international relations to interrogate state behaviour.

Michael has authored publications in a variety of journals, notably the Journal of Human Rights Practice, Human Rights Law Review, and the Nordic Journal of Human Rights. He has provided expert advice to various civil society organisations, and Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights; and provided written evidence to the UN Human Rights Council, and for select committee reports. In 2022-23, Michael coordinated a project, funded by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, to provide support and training for civil society to engage with the UN’s ‘Universal Periodic Review’ (UPR). This Project led to a heightened awareness of the UPR in Parliament and was a catalyst for the growing recognition for the role of lawyers in the UPR process.

Michael is currently working on a monograph, based on his PhD thesis, and an edited collection which will comprise papers presented at the University’s ‘International Law in the UK Conference’.

Professional Bodies

Michael is a member of the Universal Periodic Review Academy Network (UPRAN), the Society of Legal Scholars (SLS), and the Socio-Legal Studies Association (SLSA). 

Michael is the co-convenor of the Public Law Section of the Society of Legal Scholars, along with his colleague Dr Chris Monaghan, University of Worcester.

Publications

Conference Presentations and Other Research Activity

  • Lane, M. 'The Universal Periodic Review in the UK: Conceptualising the Role of the Judiciary (September 2024) Scottish International Law Conference, University of Stirling <https://www.stir.ac.uk/events/23-24/scottish-international-law-conference-2024/>
  • Lane, M. and Cowell, F. 'Understanding the UPR for Legal Practitioners' (August 2024) Training delivered in conjunction with UPR Info, Geneva <https://upr-info.org/en/news/upr-legal-practitioners>
  • Lane, M. 'The Utility of International Human Rights Recommendations in Domestic Law' (April 2024) School of Law Spring Research Workshop, University of Worcester
  • Lane, M. 'Rethinking Human Rights Recommendations in Whitehall: A Case for a National Mechanism for Reporting, Implementation & Follow-up (NMIRF)?' (March 2024) Socio Legal Studies Annual Conference, Portsmouth
  • ‘UN Treaty Body Findings in Parliamentary Deliberation: The Case of the United Kingdom Parliament’ (forthcoming at the ‘Rights and Justice: In Theory and Practice’ Conference, University of Worcester, Sep 2023)
  • Private Evidence Session with Joint Committee on Human Rights (UK House of Lords, Westminster, May 2023).
  • ‘The United Kingdom and International Human Rights: The Fourth Universal Periodic Review Cycle’ (Conference at University of Leicester, The Universal Declaration of Human Rights’ 75th anniversary – making (UDHR) Human Rights real in the UK, Apr 2023).
  • ‘UPR and the UK’ (Civil Society Conference, STEAMHouse, Birmingham, February 2023).
  • ‘The United Kingdom’s Receptivity to the United Nations Human Rights Standards: the Example of the ‘Universal Periodic Review’ (Invited Contribution at University of Leicester’s UDHR and Social Justice Workshop, July 2022).
  • ‘The UK and the UPR’ Poster Presentation (Midlands4Cities Digital Research Festival, June 2021).
  • ‘Explaining the Implementation of Universal Periodic Review Recommendations: The Central Role of Domestic Politics’ (Society of Legal Scholars International Law Workshop, Apr 2021).
  • ‘​Facilitating the Success of the Universal Periodic Review in the United Kingdom? An Analysis of the UK Parliament’s Involvement in the Implementation of Multilateral Recommendation’ (Birmingham City University Research Seminar Series (Nov 2020), and University of Leicester’s Human Rights Cluster Research Meeting (Dec 2020).