Richard Whitecross
Richard Whitecross

Prof Richard Whitecross MA (Hons), LLB, LLM, MSc, MSc (Research), PhD, FRAI, FRAS, PFHEA

Professor

Biography

I became Head of Law in July 2019 and from 1st August 2020, Professor of Law. I am a member of the Business School Core Executive. I was the Business School Research Degrees lead between June 2020 and December 2022, as well as the University lead for the Professional Doctorate. I was a member of the University Research Degrees Committee between 2017 and 2022. I am a member of the a number of other University and Business School committees.

A qualified lawyer, I was the academic lead on the Scottish Government and Law Society of Scotland Trauma Informed Working Group, a member of the Cross Party Working Group on Male Violence against Women and Girls, and became Convener of the Committee of Heads of Law Schools Scotland in July 2022. Appointed as a Law Society of Scotland examiner for Scots Private Law and Obligations in 2017, I became Convener of the Board of Examiners in April 2021.

I have a strong record of research on law, legal practice and access to justice in Scotland, the UK and internationally, and am experienced in knowledge exchange and building strong research-practitioner relationships. In addition to organising fifteen conferences, colloquiums and workshops, I have been on the international steering committee for two major conferences on Law and Buddhism. I have delivered invited keynote /plenary presentations at, amongst others, the University of Seville, the Baldy Centre for Law and Society, SUNY (Buffalo) and the St Anthony's College, Oxford. In addition to academic publications and reports, I have written for The Conversation, Policy Forum (Australia), and Asian Survey (Stanford). The BBC, the New York Times and others, have cited my research.

I am co-investigator in a major Scottish Government funded project examining criminal and civil proceedings involving domestic abuse. This research builds on a series of research studies on child contact, civil proceedings and domestic abuse in Scotland funded by the Royal Society of Edinburgh and Edinburgh Napier University. I am a member of a range of external committees focusing on human rights and gender violence. I have held a number of research awards from the Carnegie Trust, ESRC, Scottish Executive and the Royal Society of Edinburgh. I am a member of the ESRC Peer Review College, and a peer reviewer for UKRI and the Carnegie Trust.

Before I became Head of Law, I was the Learning, Teaching Lead for Accounting, Finance and Law, Programme Leader for the DBA (Home), and lead on the development of the Professional Doctorate. I am actively involved in doctoral training and in parallel to developing the Professional Doctorate framework for the university I collaborated with Dr Grainne Barkess (RIE) in the design, development and approval of a new Pg. Cert Researcher Skills.

Prior to joining Edinburgh Napier University in July 2012, I held an ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Edinburgh. I was then a fixed term lecturer in Social Anthropology, before holding an ESRC Research Fellowship in Socio-Legal Studies. As a Senior Researcher in Justice Analytical Services, the Scottish Government I led on a range of civil and criminal research to support policy development and professional practice. My ESRC funded PhD research was a ground breaking ethnography of legal transformation in Bhutan for which I was received the Royal Anthropological Institute Sutasoma Award. Before returning to university, I was a practising lawyer with commercial experience working in Edinburgh and London.

Esteem

Advisory panels and expert committees or witness

  • Committee of Heads of UK Law Schools - Elected Board Member
  • Joint Standing Committee for Legal Education Scotland
  • Convener Committee of Heads of Law Schools Scotland
  • Advanced HE De-colonising the curriculum Working Group
  • Convenor, Law Society of Scotland Board of Examiners
  • Member of Scottish Parliament Cross Party Working on Male Violence Against Women and Girls
  • Vice Convener of Committee of Heads of Law Schools Scotland
  • Academic Lead of Working Group preparing Trauma informed training for the judiciary and legal profession
  • Academic Lead for Edinburgh Napier - Law Catalyst - Scottish Graduate School for Arts and Humanities, Doctoral Training Programme
  • Law Society of Scotland Nominated Member of the Scottish Parliament Cross Party Working Group on Racial Equality
  • Expert Witness to the Scottish Parliament Justice Committee - Children (Scotland) Bill
  • Member of the Scottish Government Child and Family Law Review Working Group
  • Expert Contributor - Varieties of Democracy Project, Kellog Institute of Governance, USA and Gothenburg University, Sweden
  • Academic Adviser to World Bank Project on migration, refugees and the law
  • Invited Member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Working Group on BA Skills Consultation
  • Member of the Equalities Committee, Law Society of Scotland
  • Expert Witness - Asylum and Refugee Applications UK and International
  • Member of the Scottish Government Working Group - Administrative Justice Reform
  • Invited Member of the Immigration and Asylum Committee, Law Society of Scotland
  • Vice-Convenor Administrative Justice and Tribunals Sub-Committee of the Law Society of Scotland
  • Expert Contributor on Civil Justice in Scotland - World Rule of Law Project, American Bar Foundation, Chicago, USA.
  • Expert witness on Review of administrative justice - Scottish Government
  • Member of Research Advisory Board for Nuffield funded research on Matrimonial Agreements
  • Member of Advisory Board for Scottish Legal Aid Board funded research on Civil Court Users Experiences - a Qualitative study, Scottish Legal Aid Board

 

Conference Organising Activity

  • Presenter, 4th European Conference on Domestic Violence, Ljubljana, Slovenia
  • Himalayan Law, University of Vienna and Kokoro Institute, Kyoto
  • Panel Chair and Presenter - Third Sector Research Conference, CoSLA, October 2019
  • Invited Presenter, Inaugural Edinburgh Buddhist Studies Workshop, October 2019
  • Invited Presenter and Chair, 13th International Association for Tibetan Studies, Paris, July 2019.
  • Invited Panel Chair and Presenter, European Conference on Domestic Violence, Oslo, Norway, September 2019
  • Co-organiser, chair and presenter, RSE Twenty Years of the Scottish Parliament: Child and Family Law
  • Domestic Violence Symposium, Inns of Court, Temple Bar, London, May 2017
  • Invited Participant, Tibetan Legal History Colloquium, Wolfson College, Oxford, January
  • Invited Participant and Chair, Law and Buddhism, SUNY(Buffalo) Law School
  • Conference Convener, Chair and Discussant - RSE Unaccompanied Minors Workshops Series
  • Invited Contributor, UK Council for Graduate Education Conference, Belfast, Northern Ireland, March 2016
  • Panel Chair and Presenter, European Operations Management Association, Trondheim, Norway, June 2016
  • Invited Participant, UNCRC Article 3 Implementation Workshop, University of Stirling, June 2015
  • Panel Organiser, Chair, and Presenter, Conference Panel (Full Day), Challenges to Development, European Association for South Asian Studies, Zurich, Switzerland, July 2014.
  • Invited Chair and Discussant, Conference Panel: Politics and Violence, European Association for South Asian Studies, Zurich, Switzerland, July 2014.
  • Invited Chair and Discussant, Resettled Refugees, School of Oriental and African Studies, London, June 2013.
  • Conference Organiser, Scottish Civil Court Reform, Scottish Civil Justice Network, March 2010
  • Programme Committee Chair, Public Legal Capacity Scotland, March 2009
  • Programme Chair and Convenor, Administrative Justice in Scotland, December 2008
  • Conference Chair, Presenter and Discussant. Family Law in Scotland: Issues and Challenges, January 2008
  • Invited Colloquium Presenter, Law and Buddhism Workshop, The Rockefeller Foundation, Bellagio, Italy, March 2006.
  • Invited Presenter and Discussion Panellist, Law, Buddhism and Social Change: A Conversation with the 14th Dalai Lama, SUNY (Buffalo) Law School, USA, September 2006.
  • Invited Presenter, Discussant and Panel Chair, Migrants and Refugees, Spatializing Law Symposium,University of Edinburgh, June 2005.
  • Invited Presenter, Law in a Transnational World, University of Edinburgh, June 2004.
  • Invited Presenter and discussant with HRH Princess Sonam Dechen Wangchuck, 1st International Conference for Bhutanese Studies, Thimphu, August 2003.
  • Invited Presenter, 10th International Association for Tibetan Studies, St Hugh's College, Oxford, September 2003
  • Invited Presenter, Tibetan and Himalayan Studies Doctoral Conference, SOAS, London, September 2001.
  • Prorgamme Chair, and Presenter, European Asian Studies Association Conference, University of Edinburgh, September 2000.

 

Editorial Activity

  • Asian Survey (Special Issue)
  • Editorial Board Member Buddhism, Law and Society
  • Editorial Board member Scottish Parliamentary Review

 

External Examining/Validations

  • Appointed as Law Society of Scotland Examiner - Scots Private Law and Obligations, December 2017.
  • External Programme Examiner - DBA and Professional Doctorates, Northampton University

 

Fellowships and Awards

  • Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Authority
  • Principal Fellow Advanced HE
  • Recipient of the Above & Beyond Inclusivity Award
  • Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts
  • Fellow of the Higher Education Authority
  • Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society
  • Honorary Fellow, College of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh
  • ESRC Postdoctoral Research Fellowship
  • Recipient of the Royal Anthropological Institute Sutasoma Prize 2001
  • Associate Member of Centre Nationale de Recherche Scientifique (Paris) Research Team "Equipe sur l'aire et l'environment tibetain"
  • Fellow of Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland
  • Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

 

Grant Reviewer

  • MRUK/ESRC Peer Reviewer
  • Peer Reviewer UKRI Future Leaders Fellowships
  • Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland Peer Reviewer
  • ESRC Peer Review College Member
  • Peer Reviewer - The British Academy
  • Arts and Humanities Research Council - Peer reviewer

 

Invited Speaker

  • Race and the legal profession, Fair Justice System for Scotland
  • Invited Colloquium Presenter, Law, Buddhism and Constitutions, American Bar Foundation - Chicago, USA.
  • Invited Presenter, Second Conference on Buddhism and Law, SUNY (Buffalo) USA, September 2019
  • Invited Speaker to Scottish Government, Civil and Family Law Policy, October 2019
  • Invited Presenter, with Professor J Mair, Children (Scotland) Bill and Contact , Children and Young People's Commissioner Scotland, October 2019.
  • Keynote Speaker, Law and Buddhism Conference, Department of Legal Philosophy, University of Seville, Spain, March 2019
  • Keynote Speaker, Trauma and Domestic Abuse, Scottish Government and Law Society of Scotland, February 2019.
  • Invited Presenter, Scottish Government, June 2018
  • Invited Speaker, Female Victims of Domestic Abuse and Contract Cases, Rape Crisis Scotland, November 2018
  • Invited Speaker - Queen Margaret University, Dispute Resolution, May 2017
  • Invited Speaker, Chair and Discussant - Religion, Environment and Global Conservation in South Asia Colloquium, School of Oriental and African Studies, London, February 2015.
  • Invited Seminar , Legal Education and Judicial Education - St Anthony's College, Oxford
  • Invited Speaker, Social Research and Public Policy - University of Glasgow, October 2010
  • Invited Speaker, University of Stirling - Family Law, April 2010
  • Invited discussant Insurance, Road maintenance and Local Authority Liability, University of Strathclyde Law,June 2010
  • Invited Seminar, Administrative Justice, Strathclyde Law School, February 2007.
  • Invited Seminar presentation, Mongolia and Inner Asia Studies, University of Cambridge, February 2007.
  • Invited Presenter, Comparative Constitutionalism in South Asia, John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, Baltimore, USA, November 2006
  • Invited Colloquium Participant and Discussant, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA May 2006
  • Invited Seminar Presentation, Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, Oxford, March 2005.
  • Invited Speaker, Centre de Recherche Scientifque (Paris), May 2004.
  • Invited Seminar Presentation, University of Florence, Department of Comparative Law.
  • Invited Seminar Presentation, University of Edinburgh, March 2004.
  • Invited speaker - Centre Nationale de Recherche Scientifique, Paris, April 2002.

 

Media Activity

  • Experts and campaigners warn plight of domestic abuse victims and their children ignored in Scottish courts
  • Holyrood’s focus on the family is an important facet of its 20-year work, The Scotsman, 2 October 2019
  • Bhutan: A rock and a hard place. Policy Forum, 2 December 2018
  • Lessons from the Doklam Pass: how little Bhutan faced down China over a border dispute, The Conversation, 25 September 2017

 

Membership of Professional Body

  • Society of Legal Scholars
  • Member of Legal Education and Development Scotland
  • Member of UK Legal Education Research Network
  • Socio-legal Studies Association
  • Law and Society Association (USA)
  • Member of Law Society of Scotland

 

Public/Community Engagement

  • Academic Partner on two projects (edible estates and urban planning) "Seven Kingdoms Project; Wester Hailes".
  • Research Presentation to invited audience of victims of domestic abuse, Scottish Women's Aid, September 2018
  • Organiser and presenter, Age Assessment and Unaccompanied Minors, Social Workers, September 2017
  • Adviser and presenter, Daisy Project - Support for Female Victims of Domestic Abuse, Castlemilk, Glasgow, June 2017 - October 2019
  • Academic Lead - Edinburgh Napier Law Clinic - a free student run community focused legal advice centre

 

Research Degree External Examining

  • PhD Examiner, T C Beirne School of Law, University of Brisbane
  • PhD Examiner - Aalborg University, Denmark
  • PhD Panel Member - Stanford University

 

Reviewing

  • Peer Reviewer, Contemporary Buddhism
  • East Asia Forum - Peer Reviewer
  • Academic Peer reviewer Journal of Social Identities
  • Asian Law Journal- Journal article review
  • Asian Survey - Journal article review
  • Journal of Asian Law - Journal article review
  • University of Edinburgh Press - Book proposal review
  • Journal of Commonwealth Law and Legal Education - Journal article review
  • Berghahn Press - Book Proposal Review
  • Cambridge University Press -Book review
  • Law and Social Inquiry - Journal article review
  • Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute - Journal article review
  • Oxford University Press - Book proposal review
  • Law and Social Inquiry -Journal article review

 

Date


37 results

The Zhabdrung's Legacy: Buddhism and Constitutional Transformation in Bhutan

Book Chapter
Whitecross, R. (2023)
The Zhabdrung's Legacy: Buddhism and Constitutional Transformation in Bhutan. In T. Ginsburg, & B. Schonthal (Eds.), Buddhism and Comparative Constitutional Law (73-98). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009286022.007
The charismatic Tibetan religious hierarch, the Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal unified Bhutan in the second quarter of the seventeenth century. The Zhabdrung introduced a “dual sys...

Bhutan in 2020: Controlling the pandemic

Journal Article
Whitecross, R. W. (2021)
Bhutan in 2020: Controlling the pandemic. Asian Survey, 61(1), 207-210. https://doi.org/10.1525/as.2021.61.1.207
The year 2020 in Bhutan was dominated by the coronavirus pandemic, a decline in state revenues, and territorial claims by China. In 2019, Bhutan’s strong economy suggested tha...

Bhutan in 2019: A Change in Government

Journal Article
Whitecross, R. W. (2020)
Bhutan in 2019: A Change in Government. Asian Survey, 60(1), 204-206. https://doi.org/10.1525/as.2020.60.1.204
Bhutan in 2019 was dominated by the change of government in late 2018, better diplomatic relations with India, and cultivation of relations with China. The economy was strong,...

Holyrood’s focus on family is an important facet of its work

Other
Whitecross, R. (2019)
Holyrood’s focus on family is an important facet of its work. https://www.scotsman.com/news/opinion/dr-richard-whitecross-holyroods-focus-family-important-facet-its-work-1406263
Whitecross, R. (2019). Holyrood’s focus on family is an important facet of its work. https://www.scotsman.com/news/opinion/dr-richard-whitecross-holyroods-focus-family-importa...

Domestic Abuse in Civil and Criminal Proceedings

Presentation / Conference
Whitecross, R., & Mair, J. (2019, October)
Domestic Abuse in Civil and Criminal Proceedings. Paper presented at Reforming the Children (Scotland) Act 1995, Edinburgh
Whitecross, R., & Mair, J. (2019, October). Domestic Abuse in Civil and Criminal Proceedings. Paper presented at Reforming the Children (Scotland) Act 1995, Edinburgh.

The Absent Voice: Domestic Abuse and Contact Cases in the Scottish Legal Context

Presentation / Conference
Whitecross, R. (2019, May)
The Absent Voice: Domestic Abuse and Contact Cases in the Scottish Legal Context. Presented at Domestic Abuse, University of Stirling
Whitecross, R. (2019, May). The Absent Voice: Domestic Abuse and Contact Cases in the Scottish Legal Context. Presented at Domestic Abuse, University of Stirling.

Law, Buddhism and Constitutional Change

Presentation / Conference
Whitecross, R. (2019, March)
Law, Buddhism and Constitutional Change. Presented at International Conference on Law, Buddhism and Himalayan Studies, University of Seville, Spain
Whitecross, R. (2019, March). Law, Buddhism and Constitutional Change. Presented at International Conference on Law, Buddhism and Himalayan Studies, University of Seville, Spa...

The Mirror of Justice: Law, Religion and Buddhism

Presentation / Conference
Whitecross, R. (2019, March)
The Mirror of Justice: Law, Religion and Buddhism. Presented at International Conference on Law, Buddhism and the Himalayas, University of Seville
Whitecross, R. (2019, March). The Mirror of Justice: Law, Religion and Buddhism. Presented at International Conference on Law, Buddhism and the Himalayas, University of Sevill...

Thrims khang and the Setting of Justice: the spatial evolution of the Bhutanese Court of Justice

Book Chapter
Whitecross, R. (2018)
Thrims khang and the Setting of Justice: the spatial evolution of the Bhutanese Court of Justice. In S. Kumagai (Ed.), Buddhism, Culture and Society in BhutanNepal: Vajra Books/ Vajra Publications
No abstract available.

"Like a pot without a handle": Law, Meaning and Practice in Medieval Bhutan

Journal Article
Whitecross, R. (2018)
"Like a pot without a handle": Law, Meaning and Practice in Medieval Bhutan. Cahiers d'Extrême-Asie, 26, 87-103. https://doi.org/10.3406/asie.2017.1490
No abstract available.

Pre-Napier Funded Projects

  • Mapping the Landscape of Administrative Justice in Scotland Dr Richard Whitecross (PI) (£10,000)
  • Frederick Williamson Trust, University of Cambridge Research Award, (£1,500)
  • Society of South Asian Studies (£1,000)
  • University of Edinburgh Research Award - Constitution making in Bhutan (£2,000)
  • Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland Research Award (£2,500)
  • ESRC PhD Studentship
  • ESRC MSc (Research)

Current Post Grad projects

Previous Post Grad projects

Non-Napier PhD or MSc by Research supervisions

  • Dr Yu Shan Liu A minority within a minority - Being Bonpo in the Tibetan Community in Exile