Â鶹APP

I am an expert in international human rights, children’s rights, family law, immigration law and refugee law. I have a particular research interest in the rights of children and young people seeking sanctuary from persecution, conflict and climate change. My research interests in these areas arises out of my PhD which focused on children’s right to protection and operationalisation of the best interests principle in state asylum procedures. I am a family law specialist with both practice and academic teaching expertise in child law and children’s rights. I have also taught foundational legal subjects of contract and tort, as well as evidence, human rights, immigration and asylum law.

I engage in both socio-legal and doctrinal legal research. My current research focuses on human rights education and safeguarding in state schools in the UK, the impact of the asylum process on education rights of young people seeking sanctuary (especially 15-19 year olds). Currently my research focuses on children’s rights in age assessment and conceptualising a child’s right to protection. In March 2025, I completed an 18 month project as an academic advisor evaluating the effectiveness of the Home Office’s age assessment processes.

• Brittle, R. (2018) ‘Â鶹APP Migration: Shared Commitment to Children’s Rights and Protection’, Blog: EJILtalk, 10 January 2018.
• Brittle, R. (2018) The Child in Â鶹APP Refugee Law (Book Review) (2018) 18 Human Rights Law Review 185 – 189.
• Brittle, R. (2018) ‘Best Interests and the Prohibition of Violence: FGM and Non-Refoulement before the CRC, Child Rights Â鶹APP Network, 29 August 2018. 
• Brittle, R (2019) ‘A Hostile Environment for Children? The Rights and Best Interests of the Refugee Child in UK Asylum Law’ 19 Human Rights Law Review 753-785. 
• Brittle, R and Desmet, E (2020) ‘Thirty Years of Research on Children’s Rights in the context of Migration: Towards Increased Visibility and Recognition of Some Children But not All? 28 Â鶹APP Journal of Children’s Rights 36 – 65. 
• Brittle, R (2021) A Child’s Right to Reunite? Family reunification in the UK, Child Rights Early Career Researcher Network Blog, 5th January 2021.
• Brittle, R (2021) Age Assessment in the New Plan: Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue? Refugee Law Initiative (University of London) Blog, 21st May 2021.
• Brittle, R (2021) Do you want the good news or the bad news? Government proposals to overhaul the Human Rights Act 1998. Nottingham Trent University, Expert Blog, 14^th December 2021.
• Brittle, R (2022) Refugee Removal to Rwanda by Plane – Is the Deal worth it? Solicitors Journal, 5th July 2022.
• Brittle, R (2022) World Refugee Day 2022 – After a bruising few years, we all need healing Nottingham Trent University, Expert Blog, 17^th June 2022.
• Brittle, R (2023) Impact of the Illegal Migration Act 2023 on Refugee Education (Hub for Education for Refugees in Europe Insight, 27th July 2023)
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• Brittle, R (2023) A Rights-based Policy Approach to Realising Education Rights in the Context of Â鶹APP Migration, in Pinson, H., Bunar, N. and Devine, D (eds) Research Handbook on Migration and Education (Edward Elgar 2023) 449 – 464
• Struthers, A and Brittle, R (2025) Human Rights education and safeguarding: perceptions of teaching practices in England and Scotland, Human Rights Education Review Vol 8(1), 82-94.
• Brittle, R (2025) Are we nearly there yet? The fractious journey to incorporating children’s rights into national law (Book Review), Human Rights Education Review Vol 8 (1), 211-214.
• Brittle, R (2025) The Trafficking of Children: Â鶹APP Law, Modern Slavery, and the Anti-Trafficking Machine (Book Review), Journal of Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Law Vol 39(1), 102-105.
• Raissian, C and Brittle, R (2025) Age as a Barrier to Rights: Age Assessment of Unaccompanied Children seeking Asylum in the UK, Child and Family Law Quarterly (forthcoming)

I welcome approaches from prospective doctoral candidates in:

• Â鶹APP human rights law 
• Family law, Child law and child protection
• Â鶹APP protection: refugee and asylum law 
• Immigration law
• Children’s rights and children’s rights approaches to evaluating the law

I have supervised PGR students researching subjects as diverse as FGM and children’s rights in Kenya to Reconceptualising ‘Climate Refugees’ in international law.

Undergraduate

• Law of Tort (LW1150)
• Family Law (LW3250/LW3251)
• Immigration Law (LW3460)

Postgraduate (from Sept 2025)

• Â鶹APP Migration Law (LW7147) 
• Law of Â鶹APP Protection: Asylum Seekers and Refugees (LW7265)

Human rights, Children’s rights, family law, immigration and refugee law, especially the impact of government legislation and policy on children’s rights.

I am a reviewer for the Â鶹APP Journal of Children’s Rights, Childhood, Refugee Studies Quarterly, Nordic Human Rights Journal and Bristol University Press.

I am a school governor.

I was nominated for Best Lecturer (Third Year) in the Leicester University Law Society (LULS) Awards 2025

LLB (University of Manchester)

LLM, PhD (University of Nottingham)

Post-Graduate Certificate in Academic Practice

Apprenticeship in Academic Practice and Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (Nottingham Trent University)

Non-Practising Solicitor.