Natasha is a Departmental Lecturer in Law at Oxford Law Faculty, in association with Trinity College, and a Research Director at the Oxford Human Rights Hub. Natasha’s research interests include human rights, international law and UK public law. Her DPhil thesis – Human Rights in Conflicts and Crises: Derogation under Human Rights Treaties – concerned suspensions of rights in times of war and emergency. She teaches constitutional law, administrative law, public international law and constitutional theory.
Natasha holds a First Class law degree, the Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL) with Distinction, and MPhil and DPhil degrees from the University of Oxford. She is a qualified (non-practising) barrister and solicitor, having undertaken pupillage at Matrix Chambers and a training contract at Slaughter and May. She was admitted to the roll of solicitors in 2016 and called to the Bar of England and Wales in 2018.
Natasha has engaged with the Oxford Human Rights Hub as a blog author, blog editor, podcast researcher and host, and has contributed to the Hub's policy submissions. Natasha is involved in the Hub's educational workbook project and she enjoys finding ways to make human rights law accessible to all.
Content by Author
Same-Sex Marriage, War in Ukraine, Child Brides & Equal Citizenship: Human Rights Round-Up 2022
Image description: a composite image of two women getting married, a protest against war in Ukraine, and a group of children.
Every December, the world celebrates Human Rights Day. This year’s theme is ‘Dignity, Freedom, and ...
The Politics of Global Health Data (with Sara Davis)
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought questions around global healthcare financing and equitable access to treatments to the fore. But this is not the first time a spotlight has been thrown on the thorny issue of fair resource allocation ...
Coronavirus: States Derogating to Suspend Human Rights Obligations
Governments around the world are taking decisive action to contain the spread of a novel coronavirus, (COVID-19), with heavy implications for human rights. Commentators have assessed containment measures in blogs on preventive duties, ...
Joint Committee on Human Rights Calls on UK Government to Justify ‘Presumption to Derogate’
The UK Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) has written to the Secretary of State for Defence, Michael Fallon, requesting details about the Government’s proposal to derogate from the European Convention on Human Rights ...
Analysing Proposals for a ‘Presumption to Derogate’ from Human Rights Laws in Armed Conflicts
On 4 October 2016, The Guardian reported that the UK Government will introduce plans to suspend the application of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to the UK’s armed forces acting in future conflicts. Prime Minister ...
Whole Life Sentences in Hutchinson v UK – Compromise or Concession?
In Hutchinson v UK, the ECtHR again addressed the vexed question of the compatibility of whole life sentences with human rights law. This post analyses the Chamber decision, recognising the value of judicial dialogue, but ...
Why Should Anyone Care About The UN? The UN Forum 2014
The UN Forum 2014, orchestrated by the United Nations Association-UK on 28 June, was the largest public event on the United Nations in recent decades. UN representatives explained to the public how the international organisation ...
In a decision handed down 4 June 2014, the UK Court of Appeal addressed the issue of secrecy in criminal trials on the grounds of national security.
UK Government Ministers requested that a criminal trial be conducted entirely ...
Public Interest Lawyering in Times of Austerity
On 24 May 2014, to mark its 14th anniversary, Oxford Pro Bono Publico presented a symposium on the importance of, and challenges to, the practice of contemporary public interest litigation. The symposium benefitted from a vibrant ...
Restricting Receipt of Rehabilitative Resources: The Prisoner Book Ban
New prison service rules prohibit prisoners in England and Wales from receiving books and essentials from the outside world. The imposition of a sweeping restriction on family and friends sending such items to their loved ones behind ...
Throwing Away The Key – Whole Life Sentences in the Court of Appeal
Flouting the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in Vinter v UK, the UK Court of Appeal has held that whole life sentences do not violate Article 3 ECHR (R v McLoughlin - see Neil Shah’s blog post from earlier last ...
Waking Up On The Wrong Side Of The Bedroom Tax
To politicians and lawyers, the ‘bedroom tax’ is just media shorthand for statutory rules relating to housing benefit reductions for under-occupancy of housing association property, ushered in by the Welfare Reform Act 2012. To the ...
