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Staff Profile

Professor Richard Mullender

Professor of Law and Legal Theory

  • Address: Â鶹´«Ã½ Law School
    Â鶹´«Ã½
    Â鶹´«Ã½ upon Tyne
    NE1 7RU
Background

Introduction

I studied Law in Exeter (LL.B.) and Oxford (B.C.L.).  I lectured in Exeter Law School before moving to Â鶹´«Ã½ in 1996.  In 2006, I became a reader and in 2012 a professor.  I am currently the subject co-ordinator for both Tort Law and Legal Theory and have, at various times, taught (among other things) Criminal law, Medical Law, and research method.  Both Tort and Legal Theory are central areas of research-related concern for me.  I have, in recent years, written on the relationship between law and the ideal of community.  I am currently exploring this relationship by reference to the legal theories of H.L.A. Hart and Ronald Dworkin and the works of two political philosophers, Isaiah Berlin and Michael Oakeshott.  In 2011, I became the School’s Director of Research.  This is a wide-ranging role, concerned with the work of individual researchers and research groups in the School, and also with alliances in the University (e.g., the Â鶹´«Ã½ Institute for Social Renewal) and with partners elsewhere in the world (e.g., Jilin University in China).  Likewise, it is concerned with the delivery of research-led teaching in the School. 

Prior to studying Law, I trained and practised as a Registered Mental Nurse and, at a still earlier point in my life, I worked in a bank. 

Roles

Research Director

Unit of Assessment Co-ordinator (for the Research Excellence Framework 2014)

Chair of the School Research Committee

Member of the Faculty Research Strategy Group

Member of the Faculty Research Development Group

 

Research

 

My research focuses on the processes of development within and the moral impulses that inform law.  In pursuing these interests, my central area of concern has been tort law (and in particular the law of negligence).  However, I have applied the analyses that have emerged from this work to other areas of law (including human rights law and public law more generally).  I am currently seeking to develop an interdisciplinary approach to the analysis of law that draws on the legal philosophy of Herbert Hart and the contributions to political philosophy of Isaiah Berlin and Michael Oakeshott.  The aim is to demonstrate that Hart offers an account of law as a field of interpretative possibility into which it is possible to integrate considerations that he does not address (including value pluralism and the models of human association that legal systems work to sustain). 

Selected Publications

“Judging and Jurisprudence in the USA” (2012) 75 Modern Law Review 919-940.

“Human Rights, Responsibilities and the Pursuit of a Realistic Utopia” (2010) 61 Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly 33-52. 

“Negligence, Public Bodies, and Ruthlessness” (2009) 72 Modern Law Review 961-983.  (Cited by the Supreme Court of India in MCD v Asscn, Victims Of Uphaar Tragedy (13th October, 2011), [9] and [19], per Raveendran J.) 

“English Negligence Law as a Human Practice” (2009) 21 Law & Literature 321-353.

 “Law, Morality and the Egalitarian Philosophy of Government” (2009) 29 Oxford Journal of Legal Studies 389-411.  

“Nazi Law and the Concept of Community” (2008) University of Toronto Law Journal 377-387. 

“Hate Speech and Pornography in Canada: a Qualified Deontological Response to a Consequentialist Argument” (2007) 20 Canadian Journal of Law and Jurisprudence 241-255. 

“Hegel, Human Rights, and Particularism” (2003) 30 Journal of Law and Society 554-574.   

“Tort Law, Human Rights, and Common Law Culture” (2003) 23 Oxford Journal of Legal Studies 301-318. 

“Theorising The Third Way: Qualified Consequentialism, The Proportionality Principle and the New Social Democracy” (2000) 27 Journal of Law and Society 493-516.  

Recent Papers   

“Privacy, Public Bodies, and Welfare Consequentialism”, Northumbria Law School-Â鶹´«Ã½ Law School Research Forum, Northumbria Law School (July 2013).

 “Tort, Human Rights, and Ruthlessness”, Bangor Law School, University of Bangor (February 2013).  

Research Supervision  

Postgraduate degree projects successfully completed include: 

N. Binlebdah, ‘A Comparative Study of Judicial Review in Saudi Arabia and the UK’ (Ph.D) (2009). 

A. Alsaif, ‘Discrimination and the Rights of Disabled People’ (Ph.D) (2008).  

H. Dziyauddin, ‘Freedom of Expression and Privacy and Malaysia and the UK’ (Ph.D) (2006). 

Other  

I am a member of the editorial advisory board of the Journal of Professional Negligence. 

If you would like further information on reading for a research degree at Â鶹´«Ã½ Law School please see

 

Teaching

Undergraduate Teaching

Currently, I teach:

Tort Law
Legal Theory
Research Method

I have also taught:

Criminal Law
Human Rights Law
Legal Skills

Publications

  • Articles

    • Mullender R. . Polemos 2026, 20(1), 107-133.
    • Mullender R. 'Law and Experience'. Polemos 2026, 20, 107-133.
    • Mullender R. . Pólemos 2025, 19(2), 229-258.
    • Mullender R. 'Law, Politics, and Liberal Hope: A Literary and Anthropological Analysis of Secular Society'. Polemos 2022, 16, 43. In Preparation.
    • Mullender R. 'Decency and Defensive Democracy: Applying George Orwell to the Brexit Imbroglio'. Hong Kong Journal of Law and Public Affairs 2020, 2, 63-93. In Preparation.
    • Mullender R. . Modern Law Review 2019, 82(3), 549-576.
    • Mullender R. . Legal Studies 2019, 40(1), 172-181.
    • Mullender R. . Cardozo Law Review 2018, 39(3), 1019-1040.
    • Mullender R. . University of Toronto Law Journal 2018, 68(4), 694-718.
    • Mullender R. . Journal of Professional Negligence 2016, 32(2), 15.
    • Mullender R. . Journal Jurisprudence 2010, 7, 575-622.
    • Mullender R. . Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly 2010, 61(1), 33-52.
    • Mullender R. . Modern Law Review 2009, 72(6), 961-983.
    • Mullender R. . Journal of Professional Negligence 2009, 25, 187-209.
    • Mullender R. . Oxford Journal of Legal Studies 2009, 29(2), 389-411.
    • Mullender R. . Law and Literature 2009, 21(3), 321-353.
    • Mullender R. . Legal Ethics 2008, 11(2), 272-284.
    • Mullender R. . Tort Law Review 2008, 16, 85-94.
    • Mullender R. . University of Toronto Law Journal 2008, 58(3), 577-587.
    • Mullender R. . Canadian Journal of Law & Jurisprudence 2007, 20(1), 241-255.
    • Mullender R. . Modern Law Review 2005, 68(4), 681-695.
    • Mullender R. . Journal of Law and Society 2005, 32(3), 498-504.
    • Mullender R. . Times Higher Education Supplement 2004, 17.
    • Mullender R. . Oxford Journal of Legal Studies 2003, 23(2), 301-318.
    • Mullender R. . Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy 2003, 6(3), 70-103.
    • Mullender R. . Journal of Law and Society 2003, 30(4), 554-574.
    • Mullender R. . Professional Negligence 2001, 17, 35-55.
    • Mullender R. . Journal of Law and Society 2000, 27(4), 493-516.
    • Mullender R. . Tort Law Review 2000, 8(3), 211-225.
    • Mullender R, Speirs AC. . Oxford Journal of Legal Studies 2000, 20(4), 645-666.
    • Mullender R. . Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly 1998, 49(2), 138-166.
    • Mullender R. . Web Journal of Current Legal issues 1997, 3.
    • Mullender R. . SPTL Reporter 1997, 14, 5-5.
    • Mullender R. . Bracton Law Journal 1997, 29, 23-33.
    • Mullender R, Dolding L. . Northern Irelland Legal Quarterly 1996, 47, 12-34.
    • Mullender R. . Times Higher Education Supplement 1996, 11-11.
    • Mullender R. . Times Higher Education Supplement 1996, 10.
    • Mullender R. . Times Higher Education Supplement 1995, 13.
    • Mullender R. . The Canadian Bar Review 1995, 74(1), 143-154.
    • Dolding L, Mullender R. . Journal of Business Law 1995, 93-101.
    • Mullender R. . Professional Negligence 1993, 9, 158-161.

  • Book Chapters

    • Mullender R. . In: M. Beckstein and D. McGrogan, ed. The Conservative Critique of Liberalism. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar, 2026, pp.158-184.
    • Mullender R. 'Apostle of Progress, Harbinger of Hope: John Stuart Mill and the British Political Tradition'. In: McManus, M, ed. Liberalism and Socialism: Mortal Enemies or Embittered Kin?. Palgrave/Macmillan, 2021. In Preparation.
    • Mullender R. . In: Richard Mullender, Matteo Nicolini, Thomas D C Bennett, Emilia Mickiewicz, ed. Law and Imagination in Troubled Times: A Legal and Literary Discourse. London and New York: Routledge, 2020, pp.133-156.
    • Bennett TDC, Mickiewicz E, Nicolini M, Mullender R. . In: Mullender R; Nicolini M; Bennett TDC; Mickiewicz E, ed. Law and Imagination in Troubled Times. A Legal and Literary Discourse. Abingdon: Routledge, 2020, pp.12.
    • Mullender R. . In: Barber N; Cahill M; Ekins R, ed. The Rise and Fall of the European Constitution. Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2019.
    • Mullender R. . In: Ward, I, ed. Literature and Human Rights: the Law, the Language and the Limitations of Human Rights Discourse. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2015, pp.27-66.
    • Mullender R. . In: Ghanea, N, ed. Religion and Human Rights. London, UK: Routledge, 2010.
    • Mullender R. . In: Thiel, M, ed. The 'Militant Democracy' Principle in Modern Democracies. Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate, 2009, pp.311-356.
    • Mullender R. . In: Kramer, MH, ed. Rights, Wrongs and Responsibilities. Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2001, pp.175-208.
    • Mullender R. . In: Alder, J, ed. Constitutional & Administrative Law. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan, 1999, pp.Chapter 16.

  • Conference Proceedings (inc. Abstract)

    • Mullender R. . In: Symposium: Robert M. Cover: Nomos and Narrative. 2006, Â鶹´«Ã½: Issues in Legal Scholarship, Berkeley Electronic Press.

  • Edited Book

    • Mullender R, Nicolini M, Bennett TDC, Mickiewicz E, ed. . London and New York: Routledge, 2020.

  • Editorial

    • Mullender R. . Journal Jurisprudence 2010, 7, 273-287.

  • Letters

    • Mullender R. '"Woke" Universities' (a response to John Maier and Daniel Kodsi, Weekend Essay, August 23rd 2025). The Times 2025, August 25 2025, 20. In Preparation.
    • Mullender R. . The Guardian 2006, (1st July 2006).
    • Mullender R. . The Guardian 2006, (5th October 2006).
    • Mullender R. . The Sunday Times (News) 2001, 20-20.
    • Mullender R. . The Sunday Times 1998, 8 (New Review).
    • Mullender R. . The Independent (education section) 1996, 7.

  • Notes

    • Mullender R. . Cambridge Law Journal 2010, 69(3), 443-445.
    • Mullender R. . Law Quarterly Review 2010, 126, 368-372.
    • Mullender R. . Tort Law Review 2009, 17, 12-15.
    • Mullender R. . Cambridge Law Journal 2009, 68(3), 507-509.
    • Mullender R. . Law Quarterly Review 2009, 125, 384-388.
    • Mullender R. . Tort Law Review 2008, 16, 125-127.
    • Mullender R. . Tort Law Review 2008, 16, 65-67.
    • Mullender R. . Law Quarterly Review 2000, 116, 40-43.
    • Mullender R. . Modern Law Review 1999, 62(3), 425-434.
    • Mullender R. . The Company Lawyer 1999, 20, 121-121.
    • Mullender R. . Tort Law Review 1999, 7, 98-101.
    • Mullender R. . Cambridge Law Journal 1999, 58(1), 15-18.
    • Mullender R. . Modern Law Review 1998, 61(2), 236-244.
    • Mullender R. . Public Law 1998, 384-388.
    • Mullender R. . The Juridical Review 1998, 128-131.
    • Mullender R. . Tort Law Review 1997, 5, 9-12.
    • Mullender R. . The Company Lawyer 1997, 18, 153-153.
    • Mullender R. . Cambridge Law Journal 1997, 56(1), 14-17.
    • Mullender R. . Tort Law Review 1997, 5, 9-12.
    • Mullender R. . Law Quarterly Review 1997, 113, 545-548.
    • Dolding L, Mullender R. . Modern Law Review 1996, 59(2), 296-305.
    • Mullender R. . Law Quarterly Review 1996, 112, 182-186.
    • Mullender R, Dziobon S. . Cambridge Law Journal 1995, 54(1), 23-25.
    • Mullender R. . Cambridge Law Journal 1994, 53, 11-14.
    • Mullender R. . Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly 1993, 44, 380-387.

  • Online Publication

    • Mullender R. . Â鶹´«Ã½ upon Tyne, UK: University of Â鶹´«Ã½ Upon Tyne, 2007. Available at: .

  • Report

    • Mullender R. . London, UK: House of Commons, 2006. 'Compensation Culture': Report of the Consttutional Affairs Committee (HC, 754-II, 2005-06).

  • Reviews

    • Mullender R. . Political Quarterly 2026, 97(1), 168-170.
    • Mullender R. . Political Quarterly 2025, 96(3), 597-599.
    • Mullender R. . Political Quarterly 2025, 96(1), 212-214.
    • Mullender R. . Political Quarterly 2024, 95(1), 203-204.
    • Mullender R. . Journal of Applied Philosophy 2024, 41(2), 388-390.
    • Mullender R. . Political Quarterly 2023, 94(1), 147-148.
    • Mullender R. . Legal Studies 2023, 43(2), 370-379.
    • Mullender R. 'Is Brexit a Manifestation of the "Reactionary Imagination"?' (a review of Robert Tombs, This Sovereign Isle: Britain In and Outside of Europe). Political Quarterly 2021, 92, 572-573. In Preparation.
    • Mullender R. 'Doom, Gloom, and Justice' (a review of Niall Ferguson, The Politics of Catastrophe (2021)). Political Quarterly 2021, 92, 753-755. In Preparation.
    • Mullender R. Questioning the Foundations of Public Law, by Michael A. Wilson and Michael W. Dowdle (2018). Public Law 2020, 199-202. In Preparation.
    • Mullender R. '"Englishness" as a Way of Life' (a review of Jeremy Black, English Nationalism: A Short History (2018)). Political Quarterly 2019, 90, 321-322. In Preparation.
    • Mullender R. 'A Drama of Development: Gary Olson on Stanley Fish' (a review of Gary Olson, Stanley Fish, America's Enfant Terrible: the Authorised Biography (2016). Cardozo Law Review De Novo 2018, 2018, 47-59. In Preparation.
    • Mullender R. . Modern Law Review 2012, 75(5), 914-935.
    • Mullender R. 'Chav Hate and the "Children of Pride"', (a review of Owen Jones, Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class (2011)). Political Quarterly 2012, 83, 191-194. In Preparation.
    • Mullender R. . Political Quarterly 2010, 81(1), 146-147.
    • Mullender R. . Legal Studies 2010, 30(1), 151-160.
    • Mullender R. . Political Quarterly 2009, 80(3), 445-447.
    • Mullender R. . History of Political Thought 2009, 30, 364-369.
    • Mullender R. . Political Quarterly 2009, 80(1), 151-153.
    • Mullender R. . Political Quarterly 2008, 79(4), 640-643.
    • Mullender R. . Political Quarterly 2008, 79(1), 131-133.
    • Mullender R. . War in History 2008, 15(4), 494-496.
    • Mullender R. . Ecclesiastical Law Journal 2008, 10(3), 362-364.
    • Mullender R. . Legal Studies 2008, 28(4), 641-645.
    • Mullender R. . Journal of Law and Society 2008, 35(3), 422-427.
    • Mullender R. . Political Quarterly 2007, 78(2), 334-336.
    • Mullender R. . Political Quarterly 2007, 78(1), 190-191.
    • Mullender R. . History of Political Thought 2007, 28, 368-371.
    • Mullender R. . History of Political Thought 2005, 26, 724-726.
    • Mullender R. . Modern Law Review 2004, 67(5), 872-875.
    • Mullender R. . Professional Negligence 2004, 20, 207-211.
    • Mullender R. . Professional Negligence 2003, 19, 415-418.
    • Mullender R. . History of Political Thought 2002, 23, 366-368.
    • Mullender R. . Journal of Law and Society 2001, 28(4), 618-622.
    • Mullender R. . The Journal of Law and Society 2001, 28(4), 618-622.
    • Mullender R. . Professional Negligence 2000, 16, 194-198.
    • Mullender R. . Professional Negligence 1999, 15, 204-207.
    • Mullender R. . Modern Law Review 1998, 61(2), 287-290.