John Scott Davidson (born 24 September 1954) is a British legal scholar and

academic administrator Academic administration is a branch of university or college employees responsible for the maintenance and supervision of the institution and separate from the faculty or academics, although some personnel may have joint responsibilities. Some ty ...

. He has served as

Vice-chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor is ...

Newman University Birmingham , mottoeng = From the shadows to the truth , established = , type = Public , religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic , endowment = , rector = , chancellor ...

since 1 January 2017.

Early life

Davidson was born in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is a ...

on 24 September 1954, and educated at George Stephenson County Grammar School, Westmoor (later George Stephenson High School, Killingworth). He studied law at Downing College, Cambridge, graduating in 1977 with a BA that was converted into an MA (Cantab) in 1979. The degree of Doctor of Laws was conferred on Davidson by the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...

in 2009.

Career

Davidson began his academic career as a lecturer in law at the

University of Hull , mottoeng = Bearing the Torch f learning, established = 1927 – University College Hull1954 – university status , type = Public , endowment = £18.8 million (2016) , budget = £190 millio ...

in 1979. From 1982 to 1989 he served concurrently as Warden of

Needler Hall Needler Hall was a hall of residence of the University of Hull, located on Northgate in Cottingham, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Originally a large private house built in the 18th century, it was acquired, along with Thwaite Hall, by the ...

(University of Hull). In 1998, Davidson was appointed Senior Lecturer in Law at the

, New Zealand, becoming associate professor in 1995. From 2001 to 2003 Davidson held the posts of Professor of Law, Head of the Law School and Warden of Morgan Hall concurrently at the University of Hull. He returned to New Zealand in 2003 as Dean of the Law School at the University of Waikato and then moved to the University of Canterbury in 2004 to become Pro-Vice-Chancellor. In 2009, Davidson was appointed Pro-Vice-Chancellor and then in 2010 Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the

University of Lincoln , mottoeng = Freedom through wisdom , established = 1861 – Hull School of Art1905 – Endsleigh College1976 – Hull College1992 – University of Humberside1996 – University of Lincolnshire and Humberside2001 � ...

in the UK. In January 2017, he was appointed as Vice-Chancellor of Newman University Birmingham.

Other positions

Davidson has held a number of positions including: Chair of Lincolnshire Educational Trust (2012–16); Chair of University Academy Holbeach Governing Body (2012–16); Member of Governing Body, Holbeach Primary Academy (2014–16); Member of Board of Corporation, Member of Audit Committee, Vice-chair of Standards Committee, Lincoln College (2012–13); Chair of Council, Cambridge Access Validating Agency (CAVA), Chair of CAVA Remuneration Committee (2011–16), former chair and member of CAVA Executive Board (2011 – 16); Member of University of Lincoln Students’ Union Trust Board (2011–present); board member of Lincoln Business Improvement Group (2009–12); board member, AimHigher Board for Lincolnshire and Rutland (2009–11); Trustee of Lincoln Citizens Advice Bureau (2013–16); board member of the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (2007–09); board member of New Zealand Council of Legal Education (2004–09); New Zealand Representative Maritime Cooperation Working Group of the Council for Security and Cooperation in Asia Pacific (CSCAP) (1996-2001). He has served on the editorial board of the ''International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law'', the ''New Zealand Yearbook of International Law'', and the ''New Zealand Journal of Public and International Law''.

Selected works

Publications he has co-authored in the broad field of public international law, particularly

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

and the law of the sea. *''Defining Civil and Political Rights: The Jurisprudence of the United Nations Human Rights Committee'' (2004, Ashgate); *''Contemporary Issues in International Law: A Collection of the Josephine Onoh Memorial Lectures'' (2002, Kluwer); *''Legal Research and Writing in New Zealand'' (2000, Butterworths, 1st edition) - (2004, 2nd and 3rd editions); *''New Zealand Handbook on International Human Rights'' (1998, Ministry of Foreign Affairs); *''The Inter-American Human Rights System'' (1997, Open University Press) He has published over 60 articles and notes on various topics and was a book reviewer for the

Christchurch Press ''The Press'' is a daily newspaper published in Christchurch, New Zealand owned by media business Stuff Ltd. First published in 1861, the newspaper is the largest circulating daily in the South Island and publishes Monday to Saturday. One com ...

from 1995 to 2010.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davidson, Scott People from Newcastle upon Tyne 1954 births Living people Alumni of Downing College, Cambridge Academics of the University of Hull Academic staff of the University of Canterbury British expatriate academics British expatriates in New Zealand