Professor Graham Gee
School of Law
Faculty Director of Education (Social Sciences)
Professor of Public Law
Full contact details
School of Law
Bartolomé House
Winter Street
Sheffield
S3 7ND
- Profile
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I joined Sheffield as professor of public law in September 2015 after seven years at the University of Birmingham. Much of my teaching and research focus on the UK’s changing constitution, with some of my research examining changes to the governance, leadership and appointment of the judiciary in England and Wales. My work has been cited by, amongst others, multiple Lord Chief Justices, the President, Deputy President and several Justices of the UK Supreme Court, the Chief Justice of Canada, former Lord Chancellors, the Ministry of Justice, the Judicial Appointments Commission and the House of Lords Constitution Committee. In 2016, I sat on the panel that recommended candidates for selection as the UK judge on the European Court of Human Rights. Before my academic career, I qualified as a solicitor at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in London.
At the University of Sheffield, I have served as Head of the School of Law and I’m currently Director of Education in the Faculty of Social Sciences. I also chair the Senate Academic Assurance Committee and Council EDI Committee and sit on the University Council. In 2022 I led the refresh of the University’s LGBT+ Strategy, which resulted in a new LGBT+ Equality Action Plan, and I now serve as the University’s Senior LGBT+ Champion.
- Qualifications
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- LLB (Exeter)
- LLM (Harvard)
- MSt (Oxford)
- Research interests
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- Constitutional Law
- Constitutional Theory
- Public Law and Political Ideologies (especially Conservatism)
- Judicial Independence (especially judicial appointments)
- Publications
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Books
- Judicial Power and the Left: Notes on a Sceptical Tradition. London: Policy Exchange.
- The Politics of Judicial Independence in the UK's Changing Constitution. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Journal articles
- A conservative disposition and constitutional change. Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, 39(3), 526-552. View this article in WRRO
- The political constitution and the political right. King's Law Journal, 30(1), 148-172. View this article in WRRO
- The Political Constitution at 40. King's Law Journal, 30(1), 1-4.
- The Codes of the Constitution. By Andrew Blick . [Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2016. xi + 260 pp. Hardback £59.99. ISBN 978-1-84946-681-3.]. The Cambridge Law Journal, 77(1), 215-218.
- Putting judicial power in its place. University of Queensland Law Journal, 36(2), 375-398. View this article in WRRO
- Rethinking the Lord Chancellor’s role in judicial appointments. Legal Ethics, 20(1), 4-20. View this article in WRRO
- Introduction: The Legal, Political and Economic Implications of a UK Exit from the EU. European Public Law.
- Regaining Sovereignty, Brexit, the UK Parliament and the Common Law. European Public Law, 22(1), 131-147.
- Reforming the Human Rights Act. Quaderni Costituzionali.
- The Financial and Administrative Independence of the UK Supreme Court: Five Years On. European Journal of Current Legal Issues.
- What are Lord Chancellors For?. Public Law: the constitutional and administrative law of the commonwealth, 11-27.
- A Grammar of Public Law. German Law Journal, 14, 2137-2155.
- Guarding the Guardians: The Chief Executive of the UK Supreme Court. Public Law: the constitutional and administrative law of the commonwealth, 538-555.
- Rationalism in Public Law. The Modern Law Review, 76(4), 708-734.
- What Is a Political Constitution?. Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, 30(2), 273-299.
- The Political Constitutionalism of J.A.G. Griffith. Legal Studies, 28, 20-45.
- Regulating Abortion in the United States after Gonzales v Carhart. Modern Law Review, 70, 979-992.
- A Confused Court: Equivocations on Recognising Same-Sex Relationships in South Africa. Modern Law Review, 69, 631-642.
- Same-Sex Marriage in Canada: Contributions from the Courts, the Executive and Parliament. King's Law Journal, 16(1), 132-143.
- Same-Sex Marriage in Massachusetts: Judicial Interplay between Federal and State Courts. Public Law: the constitutional and administrative law of the commonwealth, 252-265.
Chapters
- Ten Myths about Parliamentary Sovereignty In Horne A, Thompson L & Yong B (Ed.), Parliament and the Law
- Judicial Policy and New Labour's Constitutional Project In Gordon M & Tucker A (Ed.), The New Labour Constitution: Twenty Years On Hart
- Lord Chancellors and Judicial Independence In Galligan DJ (Ed.), The Courts and the People: Friend or Foe? (pp. 205-221). Oxford: Hart.
- Miller, Constitutional Realism and the Politics of Brexit In Elliott M, Williams J & Young A (Ed.), The Constitution after Miller: Brexit and Beyond Oxford: Hart. View this article in WRRO
- Judging the JAC: How much judicial influence over judicial appointments is too much? In Gee G & Rackley E (Ed.), Debating Judicial Appointments in an Age of Diversity London: Routledge. View this article in WRRO
- Judicial policy in England and Wales: A new regulatory space, Regulating Judges: Beyond Independence and Accountability (pp. 145-162).
- (Expert Commentary) Judicial Independence in a Changing Constitution In Elliott M & Thomas R (Ed.), Public Law (pp. 268-270). Oxford: OUP.
- The Persistent Politics of Judicial Selection In Seibert-Fohr A (Ed.), Judicial Independence in Transition (pp. 121-145). New York: Springer Science & Business Media.
- The Persistent Politics of Judicial Selection: A Comparative Analysis, Judicial Independence in Transition (pp. 121-145). Springer Berlin Heidelberg
- The Politics of Judicial Appointments in Canada In Jowell J (Ed.), Judicial Appointments Balancing Independence, Accountability and Legitimacy (pp. 99-114).
- Defending Judicial Independence in the British Constitution In Dodek A & Sossin L (Ed.), Judicial Independence in Context (pp. 381-410). Toronto: Irwin Law.
- Devolution and the Courts In Hazell R & Rawlings R (Ed.), Devolution, Law Making and the Constitution (pp. 252-294). Exeter: Imprint Academic.
- Debating Judicial Appointments in an Age of Diversity Routledge View this article in WRRO
- Judicial Conduct, Complaints and Discipline in England and Wales: Assessing the New Approach In Devlin R & Wildeman S (Ed.), Disciplining Judges (pp. 130-154). Edward Elgar
Book reviews
- Alan Paterson, Final Judgment: The Last Law Lords and the Supreme Court, Oxford: Hart, 2013, xxx + 335 pp, £25.00.. The Modern Law Review, 78(1), 181-184.
- Sitting in Judgment: the Working Lives of Judges, by Penny Darbyshire. Oxford: Hart, 2011, 456 (+ index) (£27.50 hardback). ISBN: 978-1-84946-239-6.. Legal Studies, 32(4), 680-682.
- Book Review: The Limits of Judicial Independence. Public Law, 374-377.
- Book reviews. Educational Review, 62(4), 487-498.
- Book review: Inside and Outside Canadian Administrative Law: Essays in Honour of David Mullan by G Huscroft and M Taggert (eds). Public Law, 401-403.
- Book review: Same-Sex Marriage and the Constitution by E. Gerstmann. Common Law World Review, 85-89.
- Book review: The Rehnquist Court: A Retrospective by M. Belsky (ed). Common Law World Review, 182-185.
Reports
- Submission to the Triennial Review of the Judicial Appointments Commission
Website content
- Conventional wisdom and the Human Rights Act.
- Five Thoughts on Conservatism and Constitutionalism.
- Selecting the Justices: Four Suggestions.
- Do Lord Chancellors defend judicial independence?. Retrieved from http://ukconstitutionallaw.org/2014/08/18/graham-gee-do-lord-chancellors-defend-judicial-independence/
- Judicial Appointments, Diversity and the Equal Merit Provision.
- The Lord Chief Justice and Section 5 of the Constitutional Reform Act.
- Who should have the final say in lower level judicial appointments?.
- The Crime and Courts Bill and the JAC.
- When the Supreme Court Won’t Hear. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/law/2011/nov/02/when-the-supreme-court-says-no
- Rights, Independence of Mind and Conservatives.
- Are Executive-Judicial Relations Strained?.
Other
- Oral and Written Evidence to House of Lords Constitution Committee, Inquiry on the Office of Lord Chancellor.
- Response to the Judicial Appointments Commission’s Consultation on Changes to the Judicial Appointments Process resulting from the Crime and Courts Act 2013: Consultation on Diversity Considerations where Candidates are of Equal Merit.
- Interview on the Phil Upton Show, BBC Radio WM, about the judicial review action brought by Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council..
- Response to the Ministry of Justice Consultation Paper on Appointments and Diversity: A Judiciary for the 21st Century.
- Written Evidence to the House of Lords Constitution Committee, Inquiry on The Judicial Appointments Process, 97-102.
Preprints
- Judicial Power and the Left: Notes on a Sceptical Tradition. London: Policy Exchange.
- Research group
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Areas of Research Supervision
- UK Constitutional Law
- Constitutional Theory
- Judicial Independence
- Judicial Appointments
- Grants
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Title/description Awarding body People involved Years funded Amount Forty Years On From 'The Political Constitution': Reflections on Law, Politics and Authority Modern Law Review Seminar Series Chris McCorkindale (Strathclyde) 2016 £3,498 "Appointing Judges in an Age of Diversity” Socio Legal Studies Association
Erika Rackley (University of Birmingham)
2015 £2,500 "The Politics of Judicial Independence in the UK’s Changing Constitution”
AHRC Robert Hazell (UCL), Kate Malleson (Queen Mary)
2011-13 £110,000
- Teaching interests
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Studying Public Law is great fun, but also hard work. It is great fun because it helps us to make sense of many of the most important political debates of our time (e.g. human rights, devolution, and the UK’s political and legal relationships with supranational regimes). One of the reasons why it is hard work is that it involves questioning many of the assumptions that we tend to make about law and politics (e.g. What exactly is law, and what do we understand by politics? What is the proper relationship between law and politics? Do legal and political modes of decision-making differ? Is one superior to the other? Who are the insiders and outsiders, the winners and losers, the privileged and the marginalised in the legal and political systems?).
How we understand many of the most important ideas in Public Law—democracy, the rule of law, parliamentary sovereignty, political equality, human rights—is informed and underpinned by the implicit assumptions that we make about law and politics, the legal and political systems, and ultimately judges and politicians. In my classes, I encourage students to reflect on how some of their assumptions about law, politics, judges and politicians influence their responses to the questions addressed by Public Law, and in particular the question of how the exercise of public power ought to be controlled.
- Teaching activities
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The modules I teach are:
Undergraduate
- Contemporary Issues in Law and Justice
- Public Law in the UK and EU
- Advanced Constitutional Law
- Legislatures and Legislative Processes
- Professional activities and memberships
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- Appointed by the Lord Chancellor as the independent member of the panel to select candidates for appointment as the UK judge on the European Court of Human Rights
- Editor of the Judicial Power Project website (2015+)
- Advisory Council, Policy Exchange Judicial Power Project (2014+)
- External Examiner, LSE (2012+) and University of Strathclyde (2015+)
- Finalist, University of Birmingham Joseph Chamberlain Award for Academic Excellence (2015)
- Award for Excellence in Teaching, Birmingham Law School (2010)
Recent invited papers and keynote lectures
- “Is the Political Constitution Deliberative?” University of Oxford (March 2015)
- “The Independence of the UK Supreme Court: Five Years On”, Seminar on the UK Supreme Court’s 5th Anniversary, UK Supreme Court (October 2014)
- “Judicial Accountability”, Briefing to the Judicial Executive Board, Royal Courts of Justice (May 2014)
- “Conservatism, Constitutionalism and Ideologies of Public Law”, Human Rights Centre, University of Durham (March 2014)