Dr Laura Hughes-Gerber
Lecturer in Law (Human Rights)Profile
Dr Laura Hughes-Gerber is a Lecturer in Law (Teaching and Scholarship), specialising in public international law and international human rights law, including in particular diplomatic law, as well as in legal skills and legal education more broadly.
Laura completed her PhD at the University of Cologne, Germany, following which her research monograph Diplomatic Asylum, Exploring a Legal Basis for the Practice under General International Law was published by Springer. Laura's work has inter alia been published in leading national and international journals, such as Erasmus Law Review and Air and Space Law, as well as in edited collections. She has also presented at prestigious national and international conferences, with both a legal and a pedagogical focus.
Laura's current scholarship in the context of legal education focuses on the role of resilience in the legal curriculum, as well as fostering a sense of community in the Law School setting. Laura is also exploring the pedagogical value of mooting in the context of the curriculum, building upon her own experience of successfully participating in, coaching, and judging international student moot court competitions and organising their national rounds. In the context of public international law, Laura's current scholarship includes a chapter contribution to a forthcoming commentary on the Chicago Convention.
Laura is currently the Programme Lead for the 4 Year LLB Law Programmes (Study Abroad and Placement Year), as well as the Study Abroad Support Tutor in the Law School. Laura is also the Co-Lead of the newly established Legal Education Lab.
Outside of the Law School, Laura is a member of the Athena Swan Faculty Self-Assessment Team and the Faculty Representative on the Inclusive Education Practice Policy Working Group.
Laura also holds Advance HE Fellowship and is a fluent German speaker, with experience of the legal translation of academic texts from German into English.
Current Teaching
2025/2026:
- LAW.101x/y English Legal System and Methods: Workshop Tutor
- Law.257x International Law: Lecturer and Seminar Tutor
- Law.332 Dissertation: Module Convenor
- LLM.5213d International Human Rights (Distance Learning): Module Convenor and Lecturer
Previous Teaching:
- LAW.337 International Human Rights Law: Module Convenor, Lecturer and Seminar Tutor
PhD Supervisions Completed
- Ahmed Fahmy: Human rights law at the hands of the powerful: an interdisciplinary legal analysis of the regional human rights system of the League of Arab States (2025)
- Monica Gyimah: The Malta Declaration and the applicability of the principle of non-refoulement: The EU-Libya cooperation on external border governance and irregular migrant control (2025)
PhD Supervision Interests
Laura is interested in supervising PhD students in the areas of International Diplomatic Law, International Human Rights Law and Public International Law.
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Looking Back to Look Forward: Mapping the Student Support Pathway for Law Students through the eyes of a Legal Academic
12/05/2021 → 27/11/2023
Research
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Sculpting the Provision of Student Support for Law Students: the Blurred Line Between Academic and Pastoral Support
14/05/2020 → 04/06/2024
Research
SLSA Annual Conference 2026
Participation in conference - Academic
ATLAS Reviewer
Examination
Society of Legal Scholars (External organisation)
Member of an organisation
Socio-Legal Studies Association (External organisation)
Membership of committee
Human Rights Lawyers Association and Association of Law Teachers: Human Rights Education in and Beyond the University Law School
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Socio-Legal Studies Association (External organisation)
Member of an organisation
Association of Law Teachers (External organisation)
Member of an organisation
360 Degrees of Legal Education: A Designerly Holistic Enquiry into Student Experience
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Telders International Law Moot Court Competition 2025
Other
Developing the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning workshop
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Telders International Law Moot Court Competition 2024
Other
The European Convention on Human Rights: Should We Stay or Should We Go?
Public Lecture/ Debate/Seminar
Addleshaw Goddard Legal Access Week
Business Engagement
Student Support through the eyes of a Legal Academic
Public Lecture/ Debate/Seminar
PhD Internal Examiner at Lancaster University
Examination
Telders International Law Moot Court Competition 2022
Other
Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court UK National Round 2022
Other
Sculpting the Provision of Student Support for Law Students: the Blurred Line Between Academic and Pastoral Support
Oral presentation
Connecting Legal Education (External organisation)
Membership of network
Mental Health First Aid Adult
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Diplomatic Asylum, Exploring a Legal Basis for the Practice Under General International Law
Oral presentation
Telders International Law Moot Court Competition 2021
Other
Oxford University Press (OUP) (Publisher)
Publication peer-review
#13 Recht interessant - Moot Court mit Laura Hughes-Gerber
Invited talk