Dr Sophie Turenne

Dr Sophie Turenne is Associate Professor in Comparative Law, Fellow in Law and Director of Studies in Law at Murray Edwards College. She was previously University Neil Allam/Clifford Chance Lecturer (2003-2010), Senior College Lecturer at Murray Edwards (2010-2018; 2021-2023), Affiliated Lecturer (2010-2018) and University Lecturer in EU Law (2018-2021) at the Law Faculty. She is a former ERASMUS student under the Oxford-Paris II exchange scheme and a former Lavoisier and Entente Cordiale/CNRS Mobilité Internationale scholar, and holds a PhD in Law from the University of Paris II Panthéon-Assas. She is an Associate Member of the International Academy of Comparative Law and currently chairs the British Association of Comparative Law.

Dr Turenne has an interest in comparative human rights, with a monograph, Le juge face à la désobéissance civile. Etude en droits américain et français comparés (2007), in which she compared the discourse of the French judiciary facing claims of civil disobedience (abortion or anti-abortion disobedience mainly) with the discourse of American judges. Her current research lies at the cross-roads between constitutional law, civil procedure and political science, often in a comparative perspective. In Judges on Trial. The Independence and Accountability of the English Judiciary (2013), co-authored with Professor Shimon Shetreet and with a Foreword from the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, Dr Turenne concentrates upon the principle of judicial independence in England and Wales. Her following book, Fair Reflection of Society in Judicial Systems. A Comparative Study (2015) explores the concern, in many legal systems, that judges should have some knowledge of the community they live in so that justice is administered “in the name of the people”. Dr Turenne is currently engaged in editing a multi-disciplinary Research Handbook on Judging and the Judiciary (Elgar). She continues to research the possibility of judicial reform within the European Union.

Dr Turenne has been acting as an expert on judicial matters for, recently, the Judicial Appointments Commission of England and Wales and the UK Senior Salaries Review Body. She is also one of the Editors of the Cambridge Yearbook of European Legal Studies.