Asset 1arrow-down-smallarrow-downarrow-leftarrow-right IconSet_Comment This work is licensed under the Adobe General Terms of Use http://www.adobe.com/legal/general-terms.html. Adobe Systems Incorporated icon-error settingshamburger info member IconSet_Pinned Post Asset 5share 1Artboard 1 copy 2 IconSet_SoundsuccessIconSet_Tag
People

Professor Theodore Konstadinides

Professor
Essex Law School
Professor Theodore Konstadinides
  • Email

  • Telephone

    +44 (0) 1206 874273

  • Location

    5S.4.9A, Colchester Campus

  • Academic support hours

    please email me to schedule an appointment

Biography

Theodore is Professor of Law and the School’s Deputy Dean for staff development & wellbeing. He is also co-director of the Constitutional and Administrative Justice Initiative (Essex CAJI) together with Maurice Sunkin. Previously, Theodore was academic lead of public law at the Essex Law School and prior to joining Essex he held academic positions at the University College London and the University of Surrey. He is Senior Editor at the Nordic Journal of European Law and serves as Executive Committee member and Blog Editor for the UK Association for European Law. Theodore’s teaching and research cover a broad spectrum of public law, including UK constitutional and administrative law, EU constitutional law, and comparative constitutional law and theory. His academic work focuses on core principles of constitutionalism, investigating how powers are divided among government branches and the fundamental values rooted in the rule of law and constitutional justice as enforced by courts through judicial review. A central focus of Theodore's research is the European framework that influences the development of public law, addressing critical aspects such as the allocation of competence between the EU and its Member States and the ensuing implications for constitutional identity, national sovereignty and the rights of citizens. He has delivered presentations on these matters on many occasions, including at the International Federation of European Law (FIDE 2021), where he was the last national rapporteur for the UK, addressing the topic of the role of national courts in the EU legal order. Theodore has written widely in the field of EU and UK public law. He has authored three monographs and has edited three research volumes spanning key aspects of European constitutional law, including criminal law, human rights protection, and external relations. Theodore’s most recent book on the 'Rule of Law in the European Union' explores how the EU and its institutions interpret the rule of law within the EU polity. He is currently working on his fourth monograph titled 'The Constitution and UK Foreign Affairs' which will be published by Oxford University Press. The book explores the effect of the conduct of foreign affairs on the UK's uncodified constitution. He is also working on an idea for an edited volume on principles of constitutional justice and the various approaches different institutions within and outside the state adopt to implement these principles. Theodore is actively involved in policy impact, providing expert evidence that parliamentary committees, including the European Scrutiny Committee of the House of Commons and the International Agreements Committee of the House of Lords, reference. He has also consulted the UK Government's Civil Contingencies Secretariat and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office legal directorate. Furthermore, Theodore’s work has influenced the reasoning of institutions at the EU level. His early monograph, titled ‘Division of Powers in EU Law’, was cited by Advocate General Tanchev of the Court of Justice of the EU in Case C-414/16 Egenberger (2017) which pertained to the scrutiny of the extent to which religious organisations’ job requirements can be judicially reviewed. Theodore's research on the boundaries of national authority in regulating the acquisition and loss of nationality concerning EU citizenship was more recently cited by Advocate General Szpunar in Case C-118/20 JY (2021) to underline the principle that Member States must adhere to EU law and are subject to review by the Court of Justice when dealing with situations falling under the scope of EU law. Theodore’s work has also had an impact on the European Central Bank where he has shared his insights with its Directorate General Legal Services regarding various constitutional challenges within the framework of the European Monetary Union. This collaboration was financially supported by the European Central Bank twice, in 2014 and 2018 through the ECB Legal Research Programme. Theodore has additionally secured funding awards for his research projects from various other sources including the ESRC Impact Acceleration account, the Swedish Institute for European Policy Studies; the Forum of Canadian Ombudsman; and the Uppsala Forum for Peace, Democracy and Justice. Recently, he participated as a team member in the 'Fundamental Constitutional Principles' project, led by E. Muir and T. Tridimas and supported by the European Law Institute in Vienna. Presently, Theodore is supervising Miss Amelie Godfrey, who is researching on the constitutional safeguarding of family derivative citizenship rights in the EU and the UK post-Brexit; and Miss Rebecca Amor, whose research focuses on exploring the constitutional footprint of multi-stakeholder initiatives as a form of transnational private governance. He has also seen to completion Mr. Abdullah Almajed, who completed his thesis in 2023 on the subject of improving the system of judicial review in Saudi Arabia; Theodore welcomes approaches for supervision.

Qualifications

  • LLB Qld University of Kent,

  • LLM University of Kent,

  • PhD in Law University College London,