Project Code

Project Title

Primary Supervisor

LAW-G-IPT04

Crafting “Identity” through Place: The Legal Potential of Geographical Indications for Rural Development and Tourism

This project will explore how legal protection of Geographical Indications (GIs) can strengthen Northern Ireland’s rural economy by linking distinctive products to their place of origin, safeguarding cultural heritage, and differentiating local goods in global markets. It will assess established agricultural GIs such as Lough Neagh Eels and Comber Early Potatoes, while also examining opportunities for new agricultural and non-agricultural GIs, including Irish linen, Donegal tweed, and local crafts.

Dr Pratyush Upreti

LAW-G-IPT05

AI and Digital Inequality for Inclusive and Equitable Futures

This project will investigate how AI adoption can exacerbate digital inequality and foster new forms of “technocolonialism,” drawing on comparative insights from the Global South to inform local strategies. By assessing how global AI frameworks (e.g. the EU AI Act or humanitarian AI deployments) align with or diverge from local needs, it identifies pathways towards digital sovereignty and inclusive growth – directly supporting Programme for Government 2024–27 goals of reducing inequality and addressing skills gaps.

Dr Pratyush Upreti

LAW-TJ-02

Analysing the relationship between conflict, peace and environmental harm in Northern Ireland 

This project will examine the effects of the conflict and the peace process in Northern Ireland on the natural environment and consider how these might be addressed to better protect the environment going forward. Globally, conflict can directly and indirectly harm the environment. Subsequent efforts to build peace may also have detrimental effects on the environment, as development is prioritised over environmental protections.

Dr Lauren Dempster

LAW-PCL-06

Modern Slavery in NI: Farms, Factories and Fisheries 

This project will focus on how farms, fisheries and factories are at risk of supply chain mismanagement and negative impacts on workers. We would be addressing how these industries are vulnerable to exploitation and how the government can better enhance their approach to transparency in the supply chain.

Dr Ciaran O’Kelly

LAW-PCL-07

How can Business and Human Rights be understood and actioned in small regional economies like NI?

This project will investigate how a small regional economy becomes an initiator for change in the business and human rights sector. It will involve theoretical engagement with political economy theorists on small regional economies but applying this to sector specific instances within NI. We would also be addressing the various policies and initiatives emerging from the NIHRC and also the government generally, particularly from the DOJ. Northern Ireland’s economic history together with his legacy of conflict and its current position both within/and outside the European Union.

Dr Ciara Hackett

LAW-QIEL-03

Agri-good Trade Governance in the post-Brexit UK: From Exceptionalism to Risk Regulation?

The project will examine the emerging contours of UK agri-food trade regimes post-Brexit. It will examine whether UK agri-food governance has shifted away from the EU’s focus on the principle of precaution and is moving towards a more ‘science-based’ approach to agri-good regulation. It will also assess the implication of this shift and some of the challenges it may present for the UK agri-food industry and consumers. This research is particularly relevant for NI’s given its unique agri-food regime under the Windsor Framework.

Dr Alessandra Guida

LAW-QIEL-06

Carbon Markets and Linkages: Exploring Emissions Trading Schemes Alignment Frameworks

This project examines the legal frameworks governing the linking of Emissions Trading Schemes (ETS), focusing on the design choices, institutional arrangements, and treaty mechanisms that facilitate or hinder such cooperation. As more and more economies adopt ETS - including the EU and the UK - the question of how these systems interact has gained importance. In particular, the ability to link ETS across jurisdictions has emerged as a key tool to reduce administrative complexity and avoid the imposition of carbon levies on traded goods.

Professor Billy Melo Araujo

LAW-QIEL-08

Law, Sustainable Innovation, and Greening Trade

This project examines how law can integrate sustainable innovation into trade frameworks, drawing on the EU Green Deal as a model for embedding low-carbon and circular economy obligations in free trade agreements. It will analyse the role of legal instruments such as the right to repair, environmental regulation, intellectual property to name a few in aligning trade with sustainability and competitiveness.

Dr Pratyush Upreti