School of Social and Political Science

Background

My research focuses on law, justice, and development, with particular attention to how legal systems operate in practice in contexts of conflict, inequality, and institutional fragility. I am especially interested in access to justice beyond the state, including the interaction between customary authority, informal justice actors, and formal legal institutions.

A central strand of my work examines reparations as legal and institutional processes, analysing how reparations are designed, implemented, and interpreted, and how these processes shape victims’ trust in law, perceptions of fairness, and institutional legitimacy. This research draws on my involvement in multi-country evaluations of reparations programmes associated with the International Criminal Court.

I also have two emerging research agendas. The first explores intergenerational justice and environmental governance in legally plural societies, examining how responsibilities to future generations are negotiated across customary, statutory, and informal legal orders, particularly in relation to land and natural resources. The second investigates post-hoc legal legitimation by courts, through a comparative study of how judicial institutions retrospectively stabilise contested political decisions in different constitutional contexts.

Methodologically, I use socio-legal and empirical approaches, including qualitative interviews, ethnography, archival research, and mixed-methods evaluation. My primary regional expertise is West Africa, especially Sierra Leone, with comparative work across other African and UK contexts.

I work across law, socio-legal studies, and development studies. I am trained as a lawyer and have over two decades of experience as a practising barrister and solicitor.

Prior to joining the University of Edinburgh, I was the founding Director of Timap for Justice in Sierra Leone, a pioneering community-based paralegal organisation working at the intersection of customary authority, state institutions, and human rights. I continue to advise international and local organisations on access to justice, governance, and post-conflict legal reform. 

PhD Supervision
Daniel Bright Afful

Administrative Role
Programme Director | MSc Conflict, Security and Development