Lecturer

LLM ( Birmingham), PGCHE (Nottingham Trent), PhD ( University College London)

Email: paul.behrens@leicester.ac.uk
Telephone: 0116 252 2331

Paul Behrens joined the faculty in 2007. He previously worked as a Lecturer at the Nottingham Law School where he was also the Jessup and Telders coach. Paul also worked on research projects at the University of Birmingham and at the Nottingham Law School.

Together with Professor Ralph Henham, Paul is one of the creators of the project "The Criminal Law of Genocide", which started in 2004 and was funded by the British Academy. In the course of this research initative, Paul organized and chaired several conferences on the topic of genocide. He was joint guest editor of the third issue of the 2005 International Criminal Law Review.

Paul Behrens has also initiated, and is co-directing, a project on the law of diplomatic relations. In a first stage, this study looks at the law of diplomatic duties, in particular the duty of non-interference.

Research Interests

Public International Law (in particular, diplomatic law, law of armed conflict, use of force), International Criminal Law (in particular, genocide and history of ICL), Human Rights (in particular gay rights, the right of privacy, freedom of speech and religion), Constitutional Law (in particular, comparative constitutional law and the role of the monarchy) and Criminal Law.

Selected Publications

• "Marriages Performed by Diplomatic and Consular Agents", in Rüdiger Wolfrum ( ed), Encyclopedia of Public International Law (Oxford University Press, May 2008)
• "Diplomatic Communication, Forms of", in Rüdiger Wolfrum ( ed), Encyclopedia of Public International Law (Oxford University Press, May 2008)
• "United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, Arbitral Award on the Interpretation of the Constitution of" in Rüdiger Wolfrum ( ed), Encyclopedia of Public International Law (Oxford University Press, May 2008)
• (with Ralph Henham, eds), The Criminal Law of Genocide, Ashgate 2007
• "A Moment of Kindness? Consistency and Genocidal Intent", in Henham / Behrens (eds), The Criminal Law of Genocide , (Ashgate 2007)
• "The Law of Genocide in the Jurisprudence of ICTY and ICTR in 2004", International Criminal Law Review , volume 5, issue 3 (September 2005), pp. 431 – 446
• "Between Principles and Absolutes: Non-Lethal Weapons and the Law of Armed Conflict", in Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology (editor), Non-Lethal Capabilities Facing Emerging Threats , Pfinztal 2003

Current Teaching

Undergraduate Teaching: International Law, Constitutional Law (module convenor), Criminal Law

Postgraduate Teaching: Diplomatic Law

PhD Supervision

Paul welcomes approaches by prospective PhD students in the fields of International Law, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law and International Criminal Law.