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Dr Tomoya Obokata

Senior Lecturer

Contact Details
Email address t.obokata@qub.ac.uk
Telephone Direct Line (+44) 028 9097 1365
Room 29.LG04, 29 University Square

Degrees
BA (Honours), University of Southern California
MA, University of Essex
LLM (Distinction), University of Sussex
PhD, University of Nottingham 

Biography
Tom is a Japanese scholar who joined the School in 2006. After finishing his first degree in International Relations (1997), Tom came to the UK to pursue postgraduate studies. He obtained MA in Theory and Practice of Human Rights at Essex (1998), LLM in International Criminal Law at Sussex (1999), and PhD in Law at Nottingham (2000). Before starting his PhD, Tom worked for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Regional Office of Japan and the Republic of Korea (1999-2000). Prior to joining the School, Tom lectured at University of Dundee (2004-2006).

His research focus has been on trafficking of human beings, and he served as an expert for organisations including the UK Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, the European Union, and the International Organisation for Migration.   He recently completed a monograph entitled Transnational Organised Crime in International Law and is currently involved in a research project entitled "North-South Irish Responses to Transnational Organised Crime" as the principal investigator (funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council).

Teaching

Undergraduate:

  • Criminal Law
  • Confronting Transnational Crime

         Postgraduate

  • Human Rights and the Environment 

Research

Transnational Organised Crime, International Human Rights Law, European Criminal Justice, Refugee and Migration Law.

Selected Publications

'Key EU Principles to Combat Transnational Organised Crime' (2011) 48 Common Market Law Review 801-828

Transnational Organised Crime in International Law (Hart Publishing 2010)

‘Global Governance and International Migration: A Case Study of Trafficking of Human Beings’ (2010) 29 Refugee Survey Quarterly 120-136

‘International Legal Framework to Address Migrant Smuggling at Sea,’ Ryan and Mitsilegas (eds.), Extraterritorial Immigration Control: Legal Challenges (Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers)(2010), pp. 151-166

‘Illicit Cycle of Narcotics from a Human Rights Perspective’ (2007) 25 Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights 159-187

Trafficking of Human Beings from a Human Rights Perspective: Towards a Holistic Approach (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers 2006)

‘Trafficking of Human Beings as a Crime against Humanity: Some Implications for the International Legal System' (2005) 54 International & Comparative Law Quarterly 445-457

‘EU Council Framework Decision on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings: A Critical Appraisal' (2003) 40 Common Market Law Review 917-936

Administration 

  • Director of External Affairs 2010 to present
  • Member of the School Management Board 2010 - 2011
  • Assistant Director of the Human Rights Centre 2006 - 2010