Dr Francesca Farrington

Biography

Francesca joined the School in August 2022 after completing her doctoral studies at the Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge. She has a broad interest in law and development, business and human rights and legal theory. In the development context, her research focuses on rule of law promotion, institutional theories of law,  development policy, and rights-based approaches to development. In this regard, she is interested in how research on the ontology of law can inform development practice, particularly as it relates to legal transplants. As for business and human rights, she is primarily interested in transnational corporations' accountability for human rights violations. 

In Aberdeen, she is an active member of the Anti-SLAPP Research Hub where she and her colleagues investigate the strategic use of litigation to suppress freedom of expression on matters of public interest. She has acted as a consultant on SLAPPs for the European Parliament and the United Nations' Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights.

Outside of the University of Aberdeen, Francesca is an Associate Researcher on the POPBACK project (funded by the NORFACE network) which examines democratic backsliding and the crisis of the rule of law in the European Union from a multi-disciplinary perspective. She is also a member of the Rule of Law and Economic Development Working Group at McGill University.

Prizes and Awards

Yorke Prize (Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge 2023)

Teaching Responsibilities

Law and Sustainable Development

Law and Sustainable Global Value Chains

Politics of Human Rights

Jurisprudence

Corporate Governance

Comparative and International Perspectives on Company Law

Private International Law