
College Contact Details
Room: 13 Chapel Court 9/11
Professor of Child and Family Law; Director of Tripos; Director, Cambridge Family Law;
Interests
Children's rights; family law; comparative law; international human rights law
CV / Biography
Claire undertook her undergraduate studies at the University of Adelaide, where she completed a Bachelor of Laws, Bachelor of International Studies, and Diploma of Languages (Spanish). She obtained her BCL from the University of Oxford, and her PhD at University of Cambridge.
Claire’s research lies in the field of children’s rights, comparative law and international human rights law. She has published on a wide range of issues including parenthood (especially international surrogacy), child trafficking and gender identity.
Her first book, "Children's Rights in Intercountry Adoption" was awarded the Inner Temple Book Prize for New Authors, as well as the Faculty of Law's Yorke Prize, and her second book, "Children and the European Court of Human Rights" was published in 2021 by OUP. Claire's work has been cited by the UK Supreme Court, the England and Wales Court of Appeal, the Law Commission of England and Wales, and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Sale of Children.
Claire is on the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family. She is an Associate Member of Harcourt Chambers, and an Academic Fellow of Inner Temple, and has worked with organisations such as UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the European Union, Save the Children, and Avocats Sans Frontieres on issues concerning child protection, human rights, and rule of law. She has also contributed to national and international media coverage on legal issues, including the BBC, the New York Times, and the Washington Post.
Claire welcomes inquiries regarding potential research supervision in the fields of children's rights, family law, and human rights law.
Publications
Books
Research Handbook on Adoption (ed) (Edward Elgar), forthcoming
Parental Guidance, State Responsibility and Evolving Capacities (with B Sloan) (eds) (Brill, 2021)
Children and the European Court of Human Rights (OUP, 2021)
Eastern and Western Perspectives on Surrogacy (ed) (Intersentia, 2019)

Children’s Rights in Sustainable Development: Implementing the UNCRC for Future Generations (ed) (Cambridge University Press, 2019)

Children's Rights in Intercountry Adoption: A European Perspective (Intersentia, 2014)

Articles
"Children, Parents and the European Court of Human Rights" (2019) 6 European Human Rights Law Review 643
"Protecting children’s rights: why governments must be bold to tackle childhood obesity" (2019) 394 The Lancet 1393
"The end of corporal punishment? " (2018) 48(8) Family Law 954-956
"Male circumcision vs female genital mutilation: Two sides of the same coin?" (2018) 48(6) Family Law 652-654
"International Surrogacy before the European Court of Human Rights" (2017) 13(3) Journal of Private International Law 546-567
"Why sex still matters" (2017) 47(4) Family Law 367-369
"Child Euthanasia: A right too far?" (2016) 46(12) Family Law 1394-1396
"Reviewing the UK’s implementation of human rights obligations" (2016) 46(10) Family Law 656-658
"Adoption Targets: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" (2016) 46(2) Family Law 148-150
"Outsourcing Ethical Dilemmas: Regulating International Surrogacy Arrangements" (2016) 24(1) Medical Law Review 59-75
"Cross-Border Public Care and Adoption Proceedings in the European Union" (2016) 38(1) Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law 94-102
"The Regulation and Recognition of Surrogacy in English Law" (2015) 27(1) Child and Family Law Quarterly 83-95
"Participation and Natural Justice: Children’s Rights and Interests in Hague Abduction Proceedings" (2014) 9(1) Journal of Comparative Law 129-144
"Human Rights and Private International Law: Regulating International Surrogacy" [2014] 10(1) Journal of Private International Law 157-169
"The Child's Voice in Adoption Proceedings: A European Perspective" (2013) 21(4) International Journal of Children's Rights 590-615
Book Chapters
"Gender, Identity and the Law" in JM Scherpe and S Gilmore (ed(s)), Family Matters: Festschrift for John Eekelaar (Intersentia, 2022)
"Surrogacy and the best interests of the child" in K Trimmings, C Achmad and S Sharkagy (ed(s)), Research Handbook on Surrogacy (Edward Elgar), forthcoming
"Child Euthanasia in Europe" (with S Martin) in J Garland, S Slokenberga and A Singer (ed(s)), Children’s Rights in Biomedicine in Europe ), forthcoming
"Fathers and the Adoption Process" (with B Sloan) in N Lowe and C Fenton-Glynn (ed(s)), Research Handbook on Adoption (Edward Elgar), forthcoming
"An Overview of Adoption" (with N Lowe) in N Lowe and C Fenton-Glynn (ed(s)), Research Handbook on Adoption (Edward Elgar), forthcoming
"Form or Function? The inconsistent approach to family formation in England and Wales" (with JM Scherpe) in J Heaton and A Kemelmajer (ed(s)), Family Forms and Family’s Functions (Intersentia), forthcoming
"Transnational Family Law" in P Zumbansen (ed(s)), Oxford Handbook of Transnational Law (Oxford University Press, 2021)
"Surrogacy in a Globalised World: Comparative Analysis and Thoughts on Regulation" (with JM Scherpe) in JM Scherpe, C Fenton-Glynn and T Kaan (ed(s)), Eastern and Western Perspectives on Surrogacy (Intersentia, 2019)
"Surrogacy in England and Wales" in JM Scherpe, C Fenton-Glynn, T Kaan (ed(s)), Eastern and Western Perspectives on Surrogacy, 2019)
"The Legal Status of Intersex Persons in Australia" in JM Scherpe, A Dutta and T Helms (ed(s)), The Legal Status of Intersex Persons (Intersentia, 2018)
"Creating International Families: Private International Law and the Industry of Parenthood" in V Stephens and G Douglas (ed(s)), International and National Perspectives on Child and Family Law: Festschrift for Nigel Lowe (Intersentia, 2018)
"Re C v XYZ County Council" (with Claire Fenton-Glynn) in K Hollingsworth, H Stalford and S Gilmore (ed(s)), Rewriting Children’s Rights Judgments: From Academic Vision to New Practice (Hart, 2017)
"Theory and Practice on Article 8 ECHR in England and Wales" (with JM Scherpe and K Hughes) in A Büchler and H Keller (ed(s)), Family Forms and Parenthood: Theory and Practice of Article 8 ECHR in Europe (Intersentia, 2016)
"Adoption in a European Perspective" in JM Scherpe (ed(s)), European Family Law (Volume III) (Edward Elgar, 2016)
