Eloise Scotford (born 1978) is an

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n academic, currently Professor of Environmental Law and Dean at the

UCL Faculty of Laws The UCL Faculty of Laws is the law school of University College London (UCL), a member institution of the federal University of London. It is one of UCL's 11 constituent faculties and is based in London, United Kingdom. With a history dating ...

Early life and education

Scotford grew up in Sydney, Australia. Her mother was a local councillor involved in environmental protection, and her father was a lawyer. She read combined law and sciences at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

, where she won the University Medal in Law, and clerked for

Chief Justice of Australia The chief justice of Australia is the presiding justice of the High Court of Australia and the highest-ranking judicial officer in the Commonwealth of Australia. The incumbent is Stephen Gageler, since 6 November 2023. Constitutional basis Th ...

Murray Gleeson Anthony Murray Gleeson (born 30 August 1938) is an Australian former judge who served as the 11th Chief Justice of Australia, in office from 1998 to 2008. Gleeson was born in Wingham, New South Wales, and studied law at the University of Sydn ...

. Scotford then continued her studies with a

Bachelor of Civil Law Bachelor of Civil Law (abbreviated BCL or B.C.L.; ) is the name of various degrees in law conferred by English-language universities. The BCL originated as a postgraduate degree in the universities of Oxford and Cambridge; at Oxford, the BCL contin ...

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...

, graduating with distinction.

Academic career

While preparing a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

in Law at

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, Scotford taught

European Union law European Union law is a system of Supranational union, supranational Law, laws operating within the 27 member states of the European Union (EU). It has grown over time since the 1952 founding of the European Coal and Steel Community, to promote ...

and

environmental law Environmental laws are laws that protect the environment. The term "environmental law" encompasses treaties, statutes, regulations, conventions, and policies designed to protect the natural environment and manage the impact of human activitie ...

Corpus Christi College, Oxford Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517 by Richard Fo ...

as Career Development Fellow. Following this, she was appointed as a lecturer and later senior lecturer at

the Dickson Poon School of Law The Dickson Poon School of Law is the law school of King's College London, itself part of the federal University of London, and one of the nine faculties within the college. It is situated on the Strand in the East Wing of Somerset House. Th ...

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

, before being appointed Professor of Environmental Law at the Faculty of Laws,

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

(UCL). In 2022, Eloise Scotford was appointed as Dean of UCL Laws. In addition to these academic appointments, Scotford is an associate member of Landmark Chambers.

Research interests

Scotford's research centres on

air quality law Air quality laws govern the emission of air pollutants into the atmosphere. A specialized subset of air quality laws regulate the quality of air inside buildings. Air quality laws are often designed specifically to protect human health by limit ...

climate change law Climate change litigation, also known as climate litigation, is an emerging body of environmental law using legal practice to set case law precedent to further climate change mitigation efforts from public institutions, such as governments and com ...

, waste law, and the interaction of environmental principles with the legal and institutional settings that they find themselves in. Scotford's research is widely drawn upon by policymakers. She has been invited to give oral evidence to the

UK Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...

and the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. ...

, and her research is credited as directly leading to amendments in the

Environment Act 2021 The Environment Act 2021 (c. 30) of the Parliament of the United Kingdom aims to improve air and water quality, protect wildlife, increase recycling and reduce plastic waste. The act is part of a new legal framework for environmental protecti ...

. Scotford has written policy documents for the Commonwealth Secretariat to inform the Senior Officials of Law Ministries meetings on climate change and law, and for the

United Nations Environment Programme The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the Declaration of the United Nati ...

on ambient air quality legislation. In addition, Scotford sits on the advisory group for the UK Office for Environmental Protection.

Selected works

* Eloise Scotford, ''Environmental Principles and the Evolution of Environmental Law'' (Hart Publishing 2017) * Eloise Scotford and Rachael Walsh, ‘The Symbiosis of Property and English Environmental Law – Property Rights in a Public Law Context’ (2013) 76 The Modern Law Review 1010 * Elizabeth Fisher, Eloise Scotford and Emily Barritt, ‘The Legally Disruptive Nature of Climate Change’ (2017) 80 The Modern Law Review 173 * Eloise Scotford, ‘Legislation and the Stress of Environmental Problems’ (2021) 74 Current Legal Problems 299. * Elizabeth Fisher, Bettina Lange, Eloise Scotford and Cinnamon Carlane, ‘Maturity and Methodology: Starting a Debate about Environmental Law Scholarship’ (2009) 21 Journal of Environmental Law 213.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scotford, Eloise Australian academics Living people 1978 births Date of birth missing (living people) Alumni of the University of Oxford University of Sydney alumni Academics of University College London Environmental law Environmental law in Australia Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford