Dr Jonathan Collinson
School of Law
Lecturer in Law
Full contact details
School of Law
AF25
Bartolomé House
Winter Street
Sheffield
S3 7ND
- Profile
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Jonathan joined the University of Sheffield as a Lecturer in January 2023. He is the Book Review Editor for the Journal of Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Law and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
Jonathan's research interests are primarily in immigration law, and his research and writing are informed by the methodologies of human rights law and administrative law.
His research articles to date have appeared in a number of prestigious law journals and are concerned primarily with the best interests of the child and the deportation of foreign national offenders. He has written about children in different aspects of the UK’s immigration system including citizenship, employment migration, and access to justice. His articles often develop practical policy or legal responses which would make the best interests of the child realisable, actionable, and operational.
Jonathan is a frequent contributor to academic blogs, particularly those for the UK Constitutional Law Association, The UK Administrative Justice Institute, and the Refugee Law Initiative. He has made a number of research-led, written contributions to government and other consultations.
Jonathan’s research interests in the best interests of the child led him to be invited to conduct a literature review for NGO defenddigitalme about how the best interests of the child is currently understood in the context of children’s digital rights. This led to a co-authored report and academic article with the Director of defenddigitalme. It is also the starting point for his current main research project, which aims to further the understanding and protection of the best interests of the child in this area.
He was a Lecturer and Senior Lecturer at the Law School, University of Huddersfield from 2018-2023. He conducted his doctoral work at the University of Birmingham, whilst also acting as a graduate teaching associate. Prior to that, Jonathan worked as a caseworker in a well-respected legal aid firm of solicitors in Birmingham, working exclusively in the area of asylum and immigration law. His practice included the representation of some of the most marginalised migrant groups, including asylum applicants and foreign national offenders.
- Qualifications
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- PhD, University of Birmingham, UK
- LLM, University of Birmingham, UK
- Research interests
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Research interests in summary:
- Immigration law;
- Deportation and foreign national offenders;
- The best interests of the child principle, especially in immigration, nationality, and data protection law;
- Accountability forums in asylum and immigration;
- Human rights law.
- Publications
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Journal articles
- Rights claims of citizen children of foreign national parents in South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the European Court of Human Rights: hierarchies of ‘illegality’ and deservingness. International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family, 37(1). View this article in WRRO
- Integrating music into the study of law to engage students. The Law Teacher, 57(2), 155-170. View this article in WRRO
- The UK’s points based system for employment migration: the missing social dimension. Journal of Immigration Asylum and Nationality Law, 36(3), 227-227. View this article in WRRO
- What does the ‘best interests of the child’ mean for protecting children’s digital rights? A narrative literature review in the context of the ICO’s Age appropriate design code. Communications Law, 27(3), 132-148. View this article in WRRO
- Beyond decisions about a child and decisions affecting a child in deportation cases. The International Journal of Children’s Rights, 30(3), 703-728.
- Deporting EU national offenders from the UK after Brexit: moving from a system that recognises individuals, to one that sees only offenders. New Journal of European Criminal Law, 12(4), 575-593.
- A fateful legacy of childhood: the deportation of non-citizen offenders from the UK. Journal of Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Law, 35(3), 230-251. View this article in WRRO
- Making the best interests of the child a substantive human right at the centre of national level expulsion decisions. Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights, 38(3), 169-190.
- Reconstructing the European Court of Human Rights’ Article 8 jurisprudence in deportation cases: the family’s right and the public interest. Human Rights Law Review, 20(2), 333-360.
- Suspended deportation orders: a proposed law reform. Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, 40(2), 291-319.
- Complexity in the Immigration Rules: Politics or the Outcome of Judicial Review?. Judicial Review, 24(2), 85-92.
- Disciplining the Troublesome Offspring of Section 19 of the Immigration Act 2014: The Supreme Court in KO (Nigeria). Journal of Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Law, 33, 8-27.
- The troublesome offspring of section 19 of the immigration act 2014. Journal of Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Law, 31(3), 244-261. View this article in WRRO
- Immigration tribunal fees as a barrier to access to justice and substantive human rights protection for children. Public Law, 1, 1-10. View this article in WRRO
Book reviews
- Refugee Law, Colin Yeo. Journal of Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Law, 38, 197-197.
- The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child – A Commentary, edited by John Tobin. The International Journal of Children’s Rights, 32(1), 219-232.
- Grasping Legal Time: Temporality and European Migration Law. Journal of Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Law, 38(1), 105-108. View this article in WRRO
- Book Reviews: The margins of discretion in transnational administrative acts: expulsion decisions and entry bans following a criminal conviction. Journal of Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Law, 37(1), 110-113. View this article in WRRO
- Book Reviews: Constructions of migrant integration in British public discourse: becoming British. Journal of Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Law(36), 266-269. View this article in WRRO
- Open Borders: The Science and Ethics of Immigration, Bryan Caplan (author) and Zach Weinersmith (illustrator). Journal of Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Law(35), 293-293.
Reports
- A reflection on the UNCRC Best Interests of the Child principle: in the context of The Age Appropriate Design Code
Website content
- The decision to deport a Nigerian man from Denmark was made without considering the best interests of his children: Communication No. 145/2021, OM v Denmark.
- Pay to prove that you are a child: the UK government consults on fees for age assessment appeals to the Immigration and Asylum Chambers.
- Pay to prove that you are a child: the government consults on fees for age assessment appeals to the Immigration and Asylum Chambers.
- Sunak’s “ten-point plan” for asylum: legal illiteracy and policy statements in search of a problem.
- Administrative Law Challenges in the Information Commissioner’s Office Age Appropriate Design Code.
- “Foreign National Offenders”: Not All Foreigners Who Commit Crimes Deserve to Be Deported.
- Redesigning English Football: Lessons from Constitutional Law Scholarship.
- The Post-Brexit Immigration Rules: Law Commission’s Simplification Recommendations Ignored.
- Simplifying the Immigration Rules: the government response makes the solution sound so simple.
- The Law Commission Report on Simplification of the Immigration Rules: Proposals to reformat the Immigration Rules fail to tackle the hard issues.
- Disqualifying Dual-National Parliamentarians in Australia: A Problem of Legal Status or of Their True “Belonging” to Australia?.
- Rights claims of citizen children of foreign national parents in South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the European Court of Human Rights: hierarchies of ‘illegality’ and deservingness. International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family, 37(1). View this article in WRRO
- Teaching activities
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UG Modules
- Immigration and Asylum Law
- Public Law in the UK and EU
- Advanced Administrative Law
- Law, Accountability, and Government
- Professional activities and memberships
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- Deputy Editor, Journal of Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Law
- Socio-Legal Studies Association
- Society of Legal Scholars