Professor David Nelken has been appointed to the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 sub-panel for law. The REF is the UK's system for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions. Experts are appointed to sub-panels for each of the 34 subjects assessed, all working under the guidance of four main panels. 

Professor Nelken’s work covers both theoretical enquiry and empirical investigation in the areas of comparative sociology of law, criminology, and legal and social theory. He has written extensively on criminological and penological theory, comparative criminal justice, white-collar crime, juvenile justice, crime and globalisation, and international criminal justice. He began his career teaching at Cambridge, Edinburgh and University College, London before moving to Italy in 1989 as Distinguished Professor of Legal Institutions and Social Change at the University of Macerata. From 1995 to 2013 he was Distinguished Research Professor of Law at Cardiff University, and since 2010 he has been the Visiting Professor of Criminology at Oxford University. Professor nelken’s awards include:  American Sociological Association Distinguished Scholar Award (1985); Sellin-Glueck International award of the American Criminological Society (2009); Podgorecki Distinguished senior scholar award from the International Sociological Association (2011); Law & Society (USA) International Scholar Award (2013). 

The REF is undertaken by the four UK higher education funding bodies and was first carried out in 2014, replacing the previous Research Assessment Exercise. The next exercise will be conducted in 2021. The sub panels will be looking at the quality of research outputs (e.g. publications), the impact beyond academia, and the environment that supports research.  

Visit Professor Nelken’s research profile. 

Visit the Research Excellence Framework website.