Dr Josie Welsh

Blonde-haired woman with glasses, wearing a scarf

Course Leader for all LLB programmes

Institute of Arts and Humanities

School of Law

Contact Details

email: josie.welsh@worc.ac.uk
tel: 01905 543020

Josie is a Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Worcester. Alongside her current teaching across the LLB and LLM courses, Josie completed her Doctorate in Public law at the University of Sheffield.

Josie’s research interests fall within the field of judicial studies. Developing her doctoral research which explored the challenges of analysing judicial power in the United Kingdom constitution, Josie has subsequently published on this topic. Recent publications include those examining the changing role of the judiciary, the social power of the office of Chief Justice and reflections upon the leadership style of the current Lady Chief Justice. Josie is a current member of the University of Worcester’s Constitutions, Rights and Justice Research Group and is keen to foster and develop her network of fellow judicial studies scholars within the wider field of Public Law.

Josie has received nominations for her teaching through the University’s Student Union Students’ Choice Awards: nominated for Outstanding Lecturer, Exceptional Personal Academic Tutor and Module Excellence. In November 2020, Josie was awarded a University of Worcester Teaching Award which recognises innovative, inspiring, and excellent practice.

Qualifications

  • PhD (Public law)
  • Master’s in Jurisprudence (Public law)
  • Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Skills (Distinction)
  • LLB Law (Hons)

Teaching & Research Interests

Teaching 

  • Public Law (LLBL1002)
  • European Union Law in Context (LLBL2003)
  • Human Rights (LLBL2012)
  • Legal Research Methods (LLML4002)
  • Dissertation (LLML4001)
  • Applied Legal Assessment (LLML4015)

Research 

  • Judicial power
  • The judiciary
  • Political science
  • Institutions
  • Constitutional theory
  • Media law 

Membership of Professional Bodies

  • Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
  • Member of the Society of Legal Scholars

Publications and Research Activity

Publications

  • Welsh, J., ‘”[No audible response]” – is not how the Lady Chief Justice leads her judiciary’, U.K. Const. L. Blog (1st April 2025) (available at: https://ukconstitutionallaw.org/2025/04/01/josie-welsh-no-audible-response-is-not-how-the-lady-chief-justice-leads-her-judiciary/)
  • Welsh, J., Judicial Power in Theory and Practice: a Legal and Political Analysis (Routledge, forthcoming 2025)
  • Hewitt, L & Welsh, J. (eds.), Rights and Justice in Public and Private Law (Routledge, forthcoming 2025)
  • Monaghan, C. & Welsh, J., ‘UK Politics and Human Rights: From New Labour’s Human Rights Act 1998 to the Conservative’s Bill of Rights Bill’ a chapter in Hurley, S. and Monaghan, C., Teaching of Rights and Justice in the Law School: Challenges and Opportunities for Research Led Teaching (Routledge, 2025)
  • Welsh, J., ‘Looking Beyond the Traditional: A Multi-dimensional Account of the Modern Judicial Role’ (2024) Judicial Review, 29(1), 22-33 https://doi.org/10.1080/10854681.2024.2353484 
  • Monaghan, C. & Welsh, JK., ‘Questions of Control: Accountability in the Shadow of Prorogation’ a chapter in Flinders, M. & Monaghan, C. (eds.), Questions of Accountability (Routledge, 2023)
  • Welsh, J., ‘The Power of a (Lord) Chief Justice’, U.K. Const. L. Blog (3rd July 2023) (available at https://ukconstitutionallaw.org/2023/07/03/josie-welsh-the-power-of-a-lord-chief-justice/)
  • Kemeys, J., Law Express, Question and Answer: Criminal Law (5th edn, Pearson Education, 2019)

 Papers presented

  • Dr Chris Monaghan and Dr Josie Welsh, ‘UK politics and Human Rights: From New Labour’s Human Rights Act 1998 to the Conservative’s Bill of Rights Bill’, Teaching Rights and Justice conference, University of Worcester, June 2023
  • Dr Chris Monaghan and Josie Welsh, ‘Questions of Control: Accountability in the Shadow of Prorogation’, Questions of Accountability International conference, University of Worcester and the University of Sheffield (online), November 2021
  • Josie Welsh, ‘The power of judges – is codification necessary?’, School of Law Summer Research Workshop, University of Worcester, July 2021
  • Josie Kemeys and Nicola Monaghan, ‘Facilitating Inclusion and Engagement in Legal Education Through the Use of Interactive Whiteboards’, Learning and Teaching Conference, University of Worcester, June 2021
  • Josie Kemeys, ‘We need to talk about judges’, School of Humanities Research Seminar Series, University of Worcester, January 2021
  • Josie Kemeys, ‘Exploring the limits of constitutional theory when debating the nature and extent of judicial power in the UK’, Annual Doctoral Workshop in Constitutional Theory, December 2020
  • Josie Kemeys, ‘Let’s Collaborate: creating an engaging, shared space for online learning’, Learning & Teaching Conference, University of Worcester, June 2020
  • Josie Kemeys, ‘Judicial Power under the Human Rights Act’, Webinar, University of Cambridge, May 2020
  • HH Toby Hooper QC, Chris Monaghan and Josie Kemeys, ‘The prorogation of Parliament: Miller, Cherry and the Supreme Court’, Panel Discussion, University of Worcester, December 2019
  • Josie Kemeys, ‘Judicial Power in the United Kingdom – a different approach to analysis’ (Postgraduate), University of Sheffield, May 2019
  • Josie Kemeys, ‘Judicial Power and the Changing Constitutional Environment in the United Kingdom’ Research Seminar Series, University of Worcester, November 2017

External Roles

  • External examiner – University of Winchester
  • Advisory Board member for Routledge Studies in Law, Rights and Justice