transitional justice research institute - University of Ulster

5.3 DOCTORAL STUDENTS
The Transitional Justice Institute aims to build a thriving research culture, and an intrinsic part of this is our PhD
programme. We are particularly keen to encourage the development of the ‘next generation’ of researchers, and
to create an exciting and innovative culture of research in transitional legal studies. In conjunction with the School
of Law, we invite applications for research in areas of staff interest and expertise on an annual basis.
Thomas Bundschuh
Thomas is currently completing his doctoral work as a PhD Research Fellow at the Transitional Justice Institute
of the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland. He holds an LLM in International Human Rights Law from the
University of Essex. An accomplished lawyer educated in Germany, England and Switzerland, Thomas has gained a
wealth of experience through his work and research in Brazil, Uganda, Rwanda, Canada and South Africa.
He is the co-author of “Working Together for Sustainable Peace: Conflict Resolvers and Human Rights Advocates
in Sierra Leone” in the forthcoming volume Human Rights and Conflict Resolution In Context: Case Studies from
Colombia, Sierra Leone and Northern Ireland. In his PhD research he examines the architecture of justice in
transitional societies with particular attention to economic, social and cultural rights. He locates his current inquiry
within a broader focus on transformational justice regarding deeply divided societies marked by entrenched local
and/or global inequalities.
Sorcha McKenna
Sorcha joined the TJI as a PhD research fellow in 2004. She hold a degree in Legal Science
and Philosophy from NUI Galway, where she wrote a dissertation on the sentencing of
sexual offences in Ireland, and a Masters in Human Rights from Queens University Belfast,
where her research focused on the commercial exploitation of Children. She is currently in
the second year of her PhD, which expands on her earlier interest in children’s rights and
sexual violence by extending into the field of international law and the specific context of
armed conflict. The thesis, entitled “Innocence Lost - The effectiveness of international law in
the protection of children from sexual violence during armed conflict”, will critique existing
humanitarian and human rights provisions for failing to provide adequate protection to children. The case studies
of Sierra Leone and Bosnia will be used to illustrate how child sexual violence can manifest during armed conflict,
and the various responses to such abuses post conflict. In particular the thesis will focus on the mechanisms of
accountability used in each of the case studies and the role of children within them. The aim of the research is to
contribute to the dearth of socio-legal child specific information on the impact of conflict on children, child as
victims of sexual violence and access to justice for child victims post conflict.
Khanyisela Moyo
Khanyisela is a Zimbabwean trained lawyer who has taught and practised law in Zimbabwe
and has served on several boards including that of the Zimbabwean Lawyers for Human
rights in Zimbabwe and Women into Politics, Northern Ireland. She holds a masters degree
in International Human Rights Law from Oslo, Norway and an LLM in Public International
Law from Nottingham University, United Kingdom. Currently, she is a second year PhD
Research Fellow with the Transitional Justice Institute at the University of Ulster, Northern
Ireland. Her thesis, which is likely to be submitted in December 2007, uses Zimbabwe as a
case study to analyse the multitudinous complexities of transitional justice in postcolonial
societies. In addition to transitional justice her research interests are in postcolonial legal theory, feminist legal
theory, minority rights, law of international organisations, issues of collective security and economic, social and
cultural rights.
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