This Faculty of Humanities and and Social Sciences Student Bursary Project is open to LLM and LLB students law students at Queen Mary University of London who have achieved at least 2:1 in Torts.
This project will produce informative brochures of two Tort landmarks which had their genesis in East London, and where the Tort law created by those incidents become important legal principle, both in the United Kingdom and in other common law jurisdictions. The two Torts landmarks are: the Canary Wharf Tower and the Limehouse Tunnel construction which gave rise to important principles in Private Nuisance; and the Lewisham train disaster of 1957 in which 90 people died and which gave rise to important principles in negligently-inflicted psychiatric injury.
Professor Rachael Mulheron KC (Hon) FBA
For each of these Tort landmarks, Professor Mulheron envisages that student would assist with the following.
First, a detailed case law reading of each case, from trial to appeal, will be required to ascertain as much historical detail as possible.
Secondly, a literature review to buttress the historical aspects of each tort will be necessary to undertake.
Thirdly, pictorial aids in the brochures are very important for readability, which means that photos, maps, and paintings, will all be useful to illustrate the events that occurred. These pictorial aids will need to be sourced, and copyright acknowledgements ensured.
Fourthly, the brochure will need to be typeset (by the Copyshop at Queen Mary) and proofread.
Fifthly, organisations which would be interested in the brochures will need to be identified.
She envisages that the relevant student will be able to assist with all five of these tasks.
Please note, these activities will probably include a visit to the Tower Hamlets Local History Library and Archives to identify relevant photos/maps, and such. Visits to Canary Wharf Tower and to view the site of the train disaster at Lewisham are also likely. An appropriate risk assessment will be carried out in respect of these tasks.
The various skills of case-reading, legal research, proactivity in sourcing pictorial aids, proof-reading, and outreach correspondence, necessary to undertake the five tasks identified in the preceding box, will be required in order to assist with this Project.
In addition, the successful applicant must have obtained at least a 2:1 in Torts and be undertaking an LLM, LLB or joint LLB degree at QMUL at the time of the work.
The work is likely to start in the second week of January, and thereafter, a meet-up every couple of weeks (whether in-person or via Teams), plus any joint excursions to the Tower Hamlets Local History Library or to the landmark scenes, would be envisaged.
To apply, please send a completed Research Bursary Project application form [DOC 71KB] to Cath Norman, Research Manager: dolresearch@qmul.ac.uk by 11pm, 8 December 2024, using the subject line ‘HSS Bursary – Your Full Name' and indicate in the body of the email the project title you wish to apply for.
Each School will make its own arrangements for selecting student applicants; these may include interviews if considered appropriate.
We anticipate that funding will be disbursed in two instalments, both subject to confirmation by the academic project lead that the student has been working appropriately. (Project leads may wish to take this into account in scheduling their monitoring meetings.)
This bursary is fixed at £1000 for a time commitment of no more than 76 hours which is completed flexibly over 15 weeks. The first instalment (40% of the award) will be paid at the end of February 2025; the second (60% of the award) will be paid upon overall completion.