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Dr Theodora Christou | Consultant in Transnational Law and Governance, Sustainability, Human Rights, International and Comparative Law.
Theodora Christou's Bio:
Theodora Christou's Experience:
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Co-Founder and Director at Centre for Applied Sustainable Transition Law (CASTL)
September 2019 - PresentThe CASTL’s guiding principle is the role of law in achieving sustainable transition in all areas in need of transformation. Its focus areas are industries most in need of change to achieve sustainable outcomes and services as enablers of just transition.
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Post-Doctoral Research and Teaching Fellow at Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary University of London
January 2014 - Present | London, UKModule Convenor of Transnational Law and Goverance LLM. Heads the Research at the Energy and Natural Resources Law Institute.
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Convener of Transnational Law and Governance at CCLS, Queen Mary University of London
January 2014 - Present | LondonThere is no definitive definition of Transnational Law and this is what makes it so enjoyable to teach. Depending on the context it can include or exclude the state from the law making, implementation and enforcement processes. What we look at is how the law responds to the irritation of globalisation, new business models, new technology and innovations. Topics covered include transnational commercial law, legal theory, human rights and business, disruptive technology, labour rights, ADR including online dispute resolution, sustainable development goals, International Financial Institutions, Energy and Environmental law, and ESG compliance and reporting/disclosure.
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Consultant at Law School of Tanzania
2012 - Present | Dar es SalaamAssisting the Law School of Tanzania to establish and run a Legal Aid Clinic, to provide legal assistance. The policy and procedures for the Legal Aud Clinic have been drafted and funding is being sought. Currently drafting the Handbooks for students and supervisors.
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Advisory Board Member at Lex:Lead http://www.lex-lead.org/
2010 - Present | Global -
Member of LEAP at Fair Trials International - http://www.fairtrials.net/
2009 - PresentThe Legal Experts Advisory Panel (LEAP) brings together experts in criminal justice, fundamental rights and access to justice from across the European Union. Participated in meetings and also trained on their European Young Defenders Training Programme, focussing on fair trial rights.
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Consultant and Company Secretary at Open Computing Alliance http://www.opencomputingalliance.org
2009 - Present | London United Kingdom -
Elected Executive Committee Member at Bar Human Rights Committee (BHRC)
October 2007 - Present | LondonAs an elected Member of the Executive Committee I have attended meetings with human rights lawyers from around the world, often under threat for their work as human rights defenders. The assistance provided varies from issuing statements of concern, to assisting them with their cases. Member of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network whose focus is on transitional justice and independence of the judiciary in the region. ▪ 2014: Editor of report: Witchcraft Accusations and Persecution in Nepal - Country Report 2014 (with WHRIN and PPR Nepal) ▪ 2014: Consulted on the International Law relevant to the report: An Unfinished War: Torture and Sexual Violence in Sri Lanka, 2009-2014 (with Yasmin Sooka and the International Truth & Justice Project, Sri Lanka) ▪ 2014: Chair of the Violence Against Women Working Group which made submissions to the Inquiry on VAW. ▪ 2014: Drafted the Report of the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales on Human Rights in Iran and the Draft Citizenship Rights Charter. ▪ 2014: A Member of the Working Group on Female Genital Mutilation which made submissions to the Parliamentary Inquiry on FGM. ▪ 2012: edited and co-produced a manual on Elections and trained lawyers, journalists, NGOs and election observers in Zimbabwe in conjunction with the John Smith Memorial Trust; as part of a FCO funded project, “Tracking Expression: Monitoring, Reporting and Addressing Human Rights Violations During Elections”. ▪ 2012: provided legal research assistant (in my personal capacity) in the case against the former President of the Maldives on the meaning of public servant in the Criminal Code. ▪ Assisted in the establishment of the Public Interest Case Support (PICS) for Malawi (2009), expanded to include Tanzania in 2010 and Zimbabwe in 2012. ▪ Devised and implemented the Criminal Procedure module at the Law School of Tanzania; drafting student materials and tutor lesson plans, as well as training the local tutors to teach in a student led manner (2010, 2011 & 2012). This module is part of a project coordinated by the International Senior Lawyers Project. ▪ Following a scoping mission to Ramallah and Jerusalem meeting human rights NGOs, I authored a handbook (translated into Arabic) to build the capacity of Palestinian lawyers to identify, investigate and prosecute human rights violations by Palestinian Authorities (2005). This was an FCO funded project carried out in conjunction with the Palestinian Independent Commission for Citizens’ Rights and the Palestinian Bar Association.
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Consultant at The AIRE Centre - http://www.airecentre.org
April 2002 - PresentProject Manager of the European Cross Border Justice Project (EC funded project): held workshops and produced the publication European Cross Border Justice. As an extension of the project Thomas LJ and myself established a network of judges working on the EAW across the EU and held 2 meetings (London and Amsterdam) where the judges discussed common issues. Advised in over 200 cases covering EU law issues and Human rights. Training has included for the OSCE in Montenegro of judges and lawyers on Property Rights and conducted intern inductions on giving advice and key concepts.
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Consultant at Thomson Reuters Aranzadi
Present | Spain▪ Editor, member of the coordination team and national contact point for Cyprus on a Thomson Reuters-Aranzadi EC funded project -JUST/2011/JPEN/PR/1012/B3 "Study on criminal sanction legislation and practice in representative Member States" (http://ec.europa.eu/justice/criminal/document/files/sanctions_delivery_en.pdf)
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Advisory Board Member at Royal Courts of Justice Judicial Office
2012 - April 2015▪ Advisory board member in a Royal Courts of Justice Judicial Office EC funded project - EAW Judicial Network Project - which seeks to develop a permanent network of EAW judges across the EU. The foundations of the network were created by Thomas LJ and myself as an extension of the AIRE Centre project.
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Graduate Teaching Associate at Queen Mary University of London
2009 - 2012Taught Criminal law tutorials on the LLB under the leadership of Prof Omerod, Prof Wilson and Amber Marks. My method was to teach students to think logically, this guidance led to a marked improvement in both preparation, participation and in their final marks (over 90% of my students passed first time). Also obtained a Certificate in Learning and Teaching.
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Research Fellow at British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL) - http://www.biicl.org
2001 - 2007Research Fellow: Worked on a variety of research projects in the fields of International, European and Comparative law and the Commonwealth Legal Advisory Service. Project Coordinator of the Death Penalty Project (2004-2006): EC capacity building project, Legal Tools for Commonwealth Africa, which looked at the application of the death penalty through the importance of human rights in the criminal justice system. Project participants successfully challenged the mandatory death penalty in Uganda and Malawi. Its 3 aspects were: ▪ Network: Coordinating a network linking over 200 human rights lawyers across Africa and a team of 13 National coordinators across Commonwealth Africa. ▪ Training: May 2004 organised the 1st international conference on the subject in Africa (Uganda); October 2004 organised with the BHRC a lawyers’ advocacy workshop (Malawi), aiming to ‘train the trainers’ and along the same lines, April 2005, organised a judicial colloquium (Kenya). Trained lawyers and judges on how to use international and regional norms in their domestic courts as tools for interpretation of their Constitutional rights. Produced the training manuals and developed the programmes in conjunction with Peter Carter QC and facilitated the training. ▪ Publication: The project’s research publication was the first of its kind for the African Region and has proved an invaluable resource. The first part on human rights standards was co-authored with Sir Keir Starmer QC. The second part on the legal systems and human rights protection in the target countries was compiled from questionnaires completed by the National coordinators and their teams. Work continues with the network on a pro bono basis. Interim Director of the Data Protection Research and Policy Group (DPRPG) (2006): produced research reports and arranged high powered forum meetings with the opportunity to influence policy development on the Data Protection Directive and whistle-blowing. Ad hoc Consultant (2007): continued to act as an ad hoc consultant, in particular by identifying and developing potential new projects and work. This has included the proposal to the World Justice Project and discussions about the Bingham Centre at its early conception phase.
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Lincoln's Inn Peter Duffy Scholar at European Court of Human Rights
2006 - 2006 | Strasbourg, FranceAwarded the Peter Duffy Human Rights Award by Lincoln’s Inn to undertake a 3 month study visit at the ECtHR under the supervision of Karen Reid and Sir Nicolas Bratza. Drafted case reports for judges on the admissibility of cases as well as admissibility decisions. Attended closed door judicial deliberations on cases and Council of Ministers meetings on enforcement of judgments. This gave me an unprecedented insight into the workings of the ECtHR. Nuala Mole and Keir Starmer QC provided the supporting references.
Theodora Christou's Education:
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Queen Mary, University of London
2009 – 2013PhDConcentration: Law -
Inns of Court School of Law
Bar Vocational Course (BVC) and PgDL in Legal PracticeConcentration: Law -
King's College, University of London
LLMConcentration: LawActivities: International Protection of Human Rights; ▪ International Criminal law; ▪ Analysis of Evidence; ▪ Russian and CIS Legal Systems; ▪ Long essay: ‘Unilateral Intervention and the Role and Development of Humanitarian Intervention’ (audited Forced Migration and Human Rights); ▪ Short essay: ‘The Russian Approach to International law’ (in lieu of an exam for Forced Russian and CIS Legal Systems).
Theodora Christou's Interests & Activities:
- Blue Print Paper on Digital Trade and the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records (MLETR), 2023 - produced for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). ▪ Theodora A Christou, The European Arrest Warrant in the Context of Cyprus, Cyprus Human Rights Law Review, Issue 1, 2013 ▪ Theodora A Christou (Editor and Contributor), European Cross Border Justice: A Case Study of the EAW, AIRE Centre: 2010 (cited in the Assange case [2011] EWHC 2849 (Admin)) ▪ Theodora Christou and Karen Weis, The European Arrest Warrant and Fundamental Rights: An Opportunity for Clarity, New Journal of European Criminal Law, Vol. 1/1 2010 ▪ Theodora Christou and Catherine Meredith, Not in my Front Yard: Security and Resistance to State Responsibility for Extraterritorial Acts and Omissions, Wolf: 2009 ▪ Theodora Christou, Eleni Kouzoupi and Helen Xanthaki, Mutual Recognition in Criminal Matters in Cyprus, European Journal of Law Reform Issue 1 2009 ▪ Theodora Christou, Eleni Kouzoupi and Helen Xanthaki, Mutual Recognition in Criminal Matters in Cyprus, Amicus Curiae, Issue 78 Summer 2009, pp.2-7 ▪ Keir Starmer QC and Theodora Christou, Foreword Lord Bingham of Cornhill, A Human Rights Manual and Sourcebook for Africa (BIICL, 2005). ▪ Theodora Christou and Juan Pablo Raymond (Eds), Foreword by Sir Nicolas Bratza QC, European Court of Human Rights: Remedies and Execution of Judgments (BIICL, 2005) ▪ Theodora A Christou, A Human Rights Manual for Palestinian Lawyers: Identifying, Investigating and Prosecution Violations (2006) ▪ Taking a Case under the ECHR, N.Mole, L.Clements and A.Simmons (updated and translated into Albanian, 2004) ▪ European Human Rights Law Review, Case summaries and commentaries ▪ European Human Rights Reports, Headnotes - Human Rights Training Manual for the Council of Europe (co-editor and contributor - to be translated into the local languages and aiming to assist trainers to develop their training programmes), appears as modules on the Council of Europe training site.