Profile of Dr Alison Mawhinney

Name:

Dr Alison Mawhinney

Position:

Lecturer in Law

Email:

a.mawhinney@bangor.ac.uk

Location:

Room 205, Athrolys

Phone:

01248 388204

Alison Mawhinney completed her undergraduate studies at Trinity College Dublin where she graduated with a BA (Hons) in Political Science. She completed a LLM in International Human Rights Law (Distinction) at the University of Essex and a PhD at Queen's University Belfast. Prior to undertaking her PhD studies she worked for a variety of organizations in the field of human rights including the Council of Europe, the Organization for Co-operation and Security in Europe (OSCE) and the United Nations. From 2006-2010, she was a lecturer at the School of Law, Queen's University Belfast, where she served as Assistant Director of the Human Rights Centre. She joined the School of Law at Bangor University in 2011.

Dr Mawhinney’s main research interests are in the areas of freedom of religion in schools, religious discrimination in employment and the human rights obligations of non-state service providers. In 2009-2010, she was principal investigator on an AHRC/ESRC funded research project entitled 'Opting out of religious education: the views of young people from minority belief backgrounds'. She is currently involved in conducting a SLS (Society of Legal Scholars) funded research project: 'Small legal jurisdictions in the UK: the legal and practical considerations' with colleagues Osian Rees and Sarah Nason. The aim of this project is to examine the experience of Northern Ireland as an example of a small, UK legal jurisdiction in order to see what lessons may be learned with regard to the future of legal organization in Wales.

Dr Mawhinney would be interested in supervising PhDs related to issues of freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

Selected Publications

Journal articles

Mawhinney A. & Niens U., Richardson N., Chiba Y. (2012) ‘Opting out or opting in? Conscience clauses and minorities’ British Journal of Religious Education (forthcoming 2012)

Mawhinney A. & Griffiths, I. (2011) ‘Ensuring others behave responsibly: Giddens, governance and international human rights law’ 20 Social and Legal Studies 481-498

Mawhinney A. (2012) ‘A discriminating education system: religious admission policies in Irish schools and international human rights law’ International Journal of Children’s Rights (forthcoming, Vol 20, Issue 3)

Mawhinney A. (2007) ‘Freedom of religion in the Irish primary school system: a failure to protect human rights?’ 3 Legal Studies 379

Mawhinney A. (2007) 'The Rights of Foreigners in the United Kingdom' (2007) 19 European Review of Public Law 355

Mawhinney A. (2006) ‘The opt-out clause: imperfect protection for the right to freedom of religion in schools’ 2 Education Law Journal 102-115

Books: authored

Mawhinney A. (2009) Freedom of Religion and Schools: the Case of Ireland (VDM Verlag, Saarbrucken)

Books: chapters/sections

Mawhinney A. (2012) ‘Crucifixes, classrooms and children: a semiotic cocktail’. In The Lautsi Papers: Multidisciplinary Reflections on Religious Symbols in the Public School Classroom. Temperman J. (ed) (Leiden: BRILL/Martinus Nijhoff, forthcoming 2012)

Mawhinney A. & Niens U., Richardson N., Chiba Y. (2012) 'Religion, Human Rights Law, and ‘Opting Out’ of Religious Education'. In Religious Change in Britain. Woodhead, L. & Catto, R. (eds) (London: Routledge, 2012)

Mawhinney A. & Niens U., Richardson N., Chiba Y. (2012) 'Religious education and Religious Liberty: Opt-outs and Young People’s Sense of Belonging'. In Law, Religious Freedoms and Education in Europe. Hunter-Henin, M. (ed) (London: Ashgate, 2012)

Mawhinney A. & Chiba Y. (2010) ‘Religious education, opt-outs and freedom of religion in schools’. In Welfare of the Child and Beliefs of the Parents. Emilianides, A. Cyprus: University of Nicosia Press 159

Books: reviews

Mawhinney A. (2009) P Taylor, Freedom of Religion: UN and European Human Rights Law and Practice, European Human Rights Law Review and S Knights, Freedom of Religion, Minorities and the Law, 3 European Human Rights Law Review 455

Mawhinney A. (2009) M Hamilton, God vs. the Gavel: Religion and the Rule of Law 11 Ecclesiastical Law Journal 113.

Mawhinney A. (2006) J Deegan, D Devine and A Lodge (eds) Primary Voices – Equality, Diversity and Childhood in Irish Primary Schools, Fortnight, January 2006

Reports

Mawhinney A. & Niens U., Richardson N., Chiba Y. (2010) Opting out of Religious Education: the Views of Young People from Minority Belief Backgrounds. Research report for AHRC/ESRC Religion and Society Research Programme

Mawhinney A. (1999) ‘A preliminary survey of human rights education and training in member States of the Council of Europe and States with special guest status’ (Council of Europe, Strasbourg, 1999, (H (99) 6))

Other publications

Mawhinney A. (2008) 'Indoctrinating Education' Fortnight, September No 461

Mawhinney A. (2008) 'Other faiths and none: Lessons from the Republic', Fortnight Supplement 'A Shared Educational Future', No 485

Research grants awarded

AHRC/ESRC Religion and Society Research Programme £80,250 award (with U Niens and N Richardson): 'Opting out of religious education: the views of young people from minority belief backgrounds'. Role: principal investigator.

Teaching

Undergraduate

Public Law (module leader)

Law and Religion (module leader)

Postgraduate

European Human Rights Law (module leader)

Devolution in Wales and Europe

Legal Research Skills