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HomeAcademic staffDr David Birchall
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I am a Senior Lecturer in Law with the School of Law and Social Sciences. I joined LSBU in September 2021, having previously worked in a Hong Kong law school and at the University of Nottingham. My research investigates business-related human rights issues with a focus on socio-economic rights and markets for essential resources.

I have published extensively in the field of business and human rights, including in International and Comparative Law Quarterly, the Business and Human Rights Journal, and Transnational Legal Theory. I co-edited the Edward Elgar Research Handbook on Human Rights and Business, and I currently lead the Human Rights and Political Economy research group at the Business and Human Rights Global Scholars Association.

Courses taught

Law - PhD / MRes

Law - LLB (Hons)

Business Law - LLB (Hons)

International Commercial Law - LLM

Postgraduate Research Supervision
Current
Miss Orlagh Isobel MayeDoctoral Research ProjectPhD
Mr Artem NazarkoDoctoral Research ProjectPhD
Ms Cheryl Ann MayLeadership for Social and Environmental Goals within Canadian Social Purpose OrganisationsPhD
Mr Souleymane ToureDoctoral Research ProjectPhD
Mx Sanna StrömAlternatives to Shareholder PrimacyPhD
Mr Chris OkaforImplementing the right to a healthy environment: The case of oil mining in Nigeria Niger DeltaPhD

Awarded in the last 5 years
Epigeum Supervisory TrainingPhD

Climate Litigation Unleashed: Catalysing Action against States and Corporations
Birchall, D. (2024). Climate Litigation Unleashed: Catalysing Action against States and Corporations. Oxford Oxford University Press (OUP).

How European Human Rights Law Will Reshape U.S. Business
Birchall, D. and Chambers, R. (2024). How European Human Rights Law Will Reshape U.S. Business. UC Law Business Journal. 20 (1), pp. 3-58.

Many global corporations will soon have to police up and down their supply chains as EU human rights ‘due diligence’ law nears enactment
Birchall, D. and Chambers, R. (2023). Many global corporations will soon have to police up and down their supply chains as EU human rights ‘due diligence’ law nears enactment. The Conversation Trust.

Human Rights: The Right to Work in Academia
Birchall, D. and Martin, N. (2023). Human Rights: The Right to Work in Academia. Journal of Inclusive Practice in Further and Higher Education. 15 (1), pp. 75-101.

Private equity: when big profits come at a heavy price for human rights
Birchall, D. and Bernaz, N. (2023). Private equity: when big profits come at a heavy price for human rights. The Conversation Trust.

Business Strategy as Human Rights Risk: the Case of Private Equity
Birchall, D. and Bernaz, N. (2023). Business Strategy as Human Rights Risk: the Case of Private Equity. Human Rights Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12142-023-00680-w

Power, Participation, and Private Regulatory Initiatives: Human Rights Under Supply Chain Capitalism (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2021) Edited by Daniel Brinks, Julia Dehm, Karen Engle and Kate Taylor
Okafor, C. and Birchall, D. (2023). Power, Participation, and Private Regulatory Initiatives: Human Rights Under Supply Chain Capitalism (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2021) Edited by Daniel Brinks, Julia Dehm, Karen Engle and Kate Taylor. Business and Human Rights Journal. https://doi.org/10.1017/bhj.2023.5

Human Rights and Political Economy: Addressing the Legal Construction of Poverty and Rights Deprivation
Birchall, D. (2022). Human Rights and Political Economy: Addressing the Legal Construction of Poverty and Rights Deprivation. The Journal of Law and Political Economy. 3 (2), pp. 393-416. https://doi.org/10.5070/LP63259636

Human Rights and Business Ethics
Birchall, D. (2022). Human Rights and Business Ethics. Springer Nature. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23514-1_1293-1

Human Rights and the Multinational Corporation
Birchall, D. (2022). Human Rights and the Multinational Corporation. Springer Nature. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23514-1_1294-1

Corporate Power over Human Rights
Birchall, D. (2022). Corporate Power over Human Rights. Springer Nature. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23514-1_1289-1

Reconstructing State Obligations To Protect And Fulfil Socio-Economic Rights In An Era Of Marketisation
Birchall, D. (2021). Reconstructing State Obligations To Protect And Fulfil Socio-Economic Rights In An Era Of Marketisation. International and Comparative Law Quarterly. pp. 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020589321000282

Challenging the Commodification of Human Rights: The Case of the Right to Housing
Birchall, D. (2021). Challenging the Commodification of Human Rights: The Case of the Right to Housing. Santa Clara Journal of International Law. 19 (1).

Between Apology and Utopia: The Indeterminacies of the Zero Draft Treaty on Business and Human Rights
Birchall, D. (2020). Between Apology and Utopia: The Indeterminacies of the Zero Draft Treaty on Business and Human Rights. Suffolk Transnational Law Review.

Corporate Power over Human Rights: An Analytical Framework
Birchall, D. (2020). Corporate Power over Human Rights: An Analytical Framework. Business and Human Rights Journal. 6 (1), pp. 42-66. https://doi.org/10.1017/bhj.2020.23

Research Handbook on Human Rights and Business
Deva, S. and Birchall, D. Birchall, D. (ed.) (2020). Research Handbook on Human Rights and Business. Edward Elgar.

The role of civil society and human rights defenders in corporate accountability
Birchall, D. (2020). The role of civil society and human rights defenders in corporate accountability. in: Birchall, D. and Deva, S. (ed.) Research Handbook on Human Rights and Business Edward Elgar.

Just a Slap on the Wrist? Parental Corporal Punishment of Children and the Defence of Reasonable Chastisement in Hong Kong
Birchall, D. (2020). Just a Slap on the Wrist? Parental Corporal Punishment of Children and the Defence of Reasonable Chastisement in Hong Kong. Hong Kong Law Journal.

Irremediable impacts and unaccountable contributors: the possibility of a trust fund for victims to remedy large-scale human rights impacts
Birchall, D. (2019). Irremediable impacts and unaccountable contributors: the possibility of a trust fund for victims to remedy large-scale human rights impacts. Australian Journal of Human Rights. 25 (3), pp. 428-447. https://doi.org/10.1080/1323238X.2019.1687191

Human rights on the altar of the market: the Blackstone letters and the financialisation of housing
Birchall, D. (2019). Human rights on the altar of the market: the Blackstone letters and the financialisation of housing. Transnational Legal Theory. 10 (3-4), pp. 446-471. https://doi.org/10.1080/20414005.2019.1692288

Any Act, Any Harm, to Anyone: The Transformative Potential of'Human Rights Impacts' under the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
Birchall, D. (2019). Any Act, Any Harm, to Anyone: The Transformative Potential of'Human Rights Impacts' under the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. University of Oxford Human Rights Hub Journal. 2 (1), pp. 99-121.

The consequentialism of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: towards the fulfilment of ‘do no harm’
Birchall, D. The consequentialism of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: towards the fulfilment of ‘do no harm’. Electronic Journal of Business Ethics and Organization Studies.