Emma Cave is a British

legal scholar Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the a ...

who specialises in

health law Health law is a field of law that encompasses federal, state, and local law, rules, regulations and other jurisprudence among providers, payers and vendors to the health care industry and its patients, and delivery of health care services, with a ...

and the regulation of

emerging technologies Emerging technologies are technology, technologies whose development, practical applications, or both are still largely unrealized. These technologies are generally innovation, new but also include old technologies finding new applications. Emer ...

. She is Professor of Healthcare Law at

Durham Law School Durham Law School is the law school of Durham University in Durham, England. In 2022, Durham Law was ranked 5th in the UK in a league table which averaged the rankings of the Complete University Guide, ''The Guardian'' and the ''Times'' Univer ...

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

, where she works on the intersection of

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

bioethics Bioethics is both a field of study and professional practice, interested in ethical issues related to health (primarily focused on the human, but also increasingly includes animal ethics), including those emerging from advances in biology, me ...

and

health Health has a variety of definitions, which have been used for different purposes over time. In general, it refers to physical and emotional well-being, especially that associated with normal functioning of the human body, absent of disease, p ...

Early life and education

Born Emma Pickworth, she attended

Lady Manners School Lady Manners School is an English secondary school located in Bakewell, a market town in the Peak District National Park, Derbyshire. It was founded on 20 May 1636 by Grace, Lady Manners, who lived at Haddon Hall, the current home of Lord and ...

, a state secondary school in Bakewell. She went on to complete an LLB, M.Jur and PhD.

Career

Cave took up a research fellowship at the Centre for Professional Ethics,

UCLan The University of Lancashire (previously abbreviated UCLan) is a public university based in the city of Preston, Lancashire, England. It has its roots in ''The Institution For The Diffusion Of Useful Knowledge'', founded in 1828. Previously k ...

in 1998, continuing her PhD part time. She moved to the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

in 2001 and was given a lectureship at the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

in 2001. She was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2008, took up a readership at

in 2013 and became a professor of law in 2016. Cave is a member of

Durham CELLS Durham CELLS (Centre for Ethics and Law in the Life Sciences) is a research centre at Durham University, based in Durham Law School. It focuses on the legal and ethical issues raised by biological science, medicine and regulation: biolaw and b ...

(Centre for Ethics and Law in the Life Sciences).

Advisory roles

Cave has provided expert advice to the UK government, public inquiries and medical professional bodies. She chaired a

Nuffield Council on Bioethics The Nuffield Council on Bioethics is a UK-based independent charitable body, which examines and reports on bioethical issues raised by new advances in biological and medical research. Established in 1991, the Council is funded by the Nuffield F ...

working group on Stem Cell-Based Embryo Models in 2024, reporting on the scientific and ethical issues the new technology raises and setting out governance proposals. Cave chaired the

General Medical Council The General Medical Council (GMC) is a public body that maintains the official register of physician, medical practitioners within the United Kingdom. Its chief responsibility is to "protect, promote and maintain the health and safety of the pu ...

Good Medical Practice Advisory Forum, resulting in new Good Medical Practice guidance in 2024. Cave joined the Medical Ethics Committee of the

British Medical Association The British Medical Association (BMA) is a registered trade union and professional body for physician, doctors in the United Kingdom. It does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The BMA ...

in 2024. She was a core member of the

Health and Social Care Select Committee The Health and Social Care Select Committee (abbreviated to HSC, HSCC and HSCSC) is a Departmental Select Committee of the British House of Commons, the lower house of the United Kingdom Parliament. Its remit is to examine the policy, administ ...

Expert Panel 2022-23 and from 2024, and a member of the

Cass Review The Independent Review of Gender Identity Services for Children and Young People (commonly, the Cass Review) was commissioned in 2020 by NHS England and NHS Improvement and led by Hilary Cass, a retired consultant paediatrician and the former p ...

Assurance Group 2021-23. Between 2018 and 2021, she served as a member of the

Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health and Social Care in the United Kingdom. It is a statutory body that regulates and inspects all clinics in the Unite ...

, where she was Deputy Chair of the Statutory Approvals Committee. In 2018, she was awarded a part time

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'. ...

Academic Fellowship. On public inquiries, Cave was a member of the UK COVID-19 Inquiry ethics advisory group to advise on their 'Every Story Matters' research. And with Professor Bobbie Farsides, she co-convened the Medical Ethics expert group to the UK Infected Blood Inquiry, producing a report and giving evidence to the Inquiry. Media interviews in print, radio and television include the BBC, Lancet, FullFact and ITV’s Exposure.

Publications

With

Margaret Brazier Margaret Rosetta "Margot" Brazier (née Jacobs; 2 November 1950 – 4 March 2025) was a British academic who was a professor at the University of Manchester's School of Law.Margaret Jacobs was born in Preston, Lancashire on 2 November 1950. She wa ...

, Cave has co-authored ''Medicine, Patients and the Law'', since the 4th edition. Brazier and Cave were joined by Rob Heywood for the 7th edition in 2023. In relation to the treatment of young children, she has (with David Archard and Joe Brierley) argued in favour of the

best interests Best interests or best interests of the child is a child rights legal principle, principle, which derives from Article 3 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which says that "in all actions concerning children, whether undertaken by p ...

test and against arguments for a new threshold of significant harm that would give parents extended decision-making powers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cave, Emma 1974 births Living people British legal scholars Scholars of medical law Academics of Durham University