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Role:
Department staff:
Research staff:
- International Refugee Law
- International Human Rights Law
- Common European Asylum System
- Comparative Research
- Feminist Approaches
- Judicial Decision-Making
- Contemporary Armed Conflicts
Teaching staff:

- Qualifications:BA, MA, LLM, GDL, BPTC, Barrister (Middle Temple), PhD
- Position:Wallscourt Fellow in Law
- Department:FBL - Law
- Telephone:+4411732 87738
- Email:Christel.Querton@uwe.ac.uk
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Social media:
About me
Research:
My research focuses on international refugee law with a particular focus on the protection of persons fleeing contemporary armed conflicts and refugee women. My work is informed by comparative (mainly within Europe) and feminist methods. I have published in the Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights, the International and Comparative Law Quarterly and the Refugee Survey Quarterly.
I was awarded my doctorate in September 2020 by Newcastle University for research funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (2016-2019). The research compared judicial interpretation of international refugee law in the appeals of Afghan, Iraqi and Syrian nationals determined in six jurisdictions (Belgium, Denmark, France, Spain, the Netherlands and the UK). My monograph "Conflict Refugees: European Union Law and Policy" will be published by Cambridge University Press (2023).
Projects:
I co-convene the Women in Refugee Law (WiRL) Network, comprised of refugee women, senior and early career scholars, practitioners, policymakers and activists working in this field around the globe. The aim of the initiative is to recentre the study of refugee women within refugee law and identify new challenges and opportunities for collaborative work. WiRL will be organising events and facilitate the exchange of information and resources of relevance to refugee women.
UWE Vice-Chancellor Early Career Award (2021-2022): The project aimed to evaluate country guidance issued by the European Union Agency for Asylum to support national authorities in the European Union (EU) when determining asylum claims. A Panel Discussion in September 2022 presented research findings followed by presentations by the Agency, UNHCR, the European Council for Refugees and Exiles and academics. See the recording here.
Affiliations/Responsibilities:
- Member of the Global Crime, Justice and Security Research Group (UWE)
- FBL Ethics Committee member (UWE)
- Research Affiliate at the Refugee Law Initiative (University of London)
- Editorial Board Member of the Refugee Law Initiative's Working Paper Series (2018-2022)
- Immigration Law Practitioners' Association (2013-2021)
- Bar European Group (2016-2020)
Background:
Prior to entering academia, I was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 2013 (Middle Temple Diplock Scholarship 2012) and practised as an asylum, immigration and human rights barrister from Lamb Building in London.
In addition to experience in legal practice, I have strong ties to the charity sector. I was an Advisory Committee member of the Women's Project at Asylum Aid (2012-2019) and a founding Trustee of the Asylum Research Centre Foundation (2016-2020).
I previously worked at Asylum Aid (2010-2012) and Wilson Solicitors LLP (2009-2010).
Area of expertise
International Refugee Law, Human Rights Law, Public Law, UK Asylum Law, Judicial Review, Gender
Publications
