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Email

st325@cam.ac.uk

University Assistant Professor in Comparative Law; Co-Director, Centre for European Legal Studies

MA (Cantab), PhD (Paris II)

Interests

Comparative law, Constitutional law, European Law, Judicial studies, Legal theory.

CV / Biography

Dr Sophie Turenne is Associate Professor in Comparative Law, Director of Studies and Fellow in Law of King's College. She is also Fellow Emerita of Murray Edwards College. She was previously University Neil Allam/Clifford Chance Lecturer (2003-2010), Senior College Lecturer at Murray Edwards (2010-2018; 2021-2023), Affiliated Lecturer (2010-2018) and University Lecturer in EU Law (2018-2021) at the Law Faculty. She is a former ERASMUS student under the Oxford-Paris II exchange scheme, a former Lavoisier and Entente Cordiale/CNRS Mobilité Internationale scholar, and holds a PhD in Law from the University of Paris II Panthéon-Assas. She is an Associate Member of the International Academy of Comparative Law and currently chairs the British Association of Comparative Law.

Dr Turenne has an interest in comparative human rights, with a monograph, Le juge face à la désobéissance civile. Etude en droits américain et français comparés (2007), in which she compared the discourse of the French judiciary facing claims of civil disobedience (abortion or anti-abortion disobedience mainly) with the discourse of American judges. Her current research lies at the cross-roads between constitutional law, civil procedure and political science, often in a comparative perspective. In Judges on Trial. The Independence and Accountability of the English Judiciary (2013), co-authored with Professor Shimon Shetreet and with a Foreword from the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, Dr Turenne concentrates upon the principle of judicial independence in England and Wales. Her following book, Fair Reflection of Society in Judicial Systems. A Comparative Study (2015) explores the concern, in many legal systems, that judges should have some knowledge of the community they live in so that justice is administered “in the name of the people”. Dr Turenne is currently engaged in editing a multi-disciplinary Research Handbook on Judging and the Judiciary (Elgar). She continues to research the possibility of judicial reform within the European Union.

Dr Turenne has been acting as an expert on judicial matters for, recently, the Judicial Appointments Commission of England and Wales and the UK Senior Salaries Review Body. She is also one of the Editors of the Cambridge Yearbook of European Legal Studies. 

Selected publications

 

Books

Research Handbook on Judging and the Judiciary (with Dr Mohamed Moussa), 2025)

Co-Author/s:
Dr Mohamed Moussa
ISBN 13:
978 1 78897 873 6
Published Oct 2025

ELI-Mount Scopus European Standards of Judicial independence (with European Law Institute), 2024)

Reasons and Context in Comparative Law (ed), 2023)

Fair Reflection of Society in Judicial Systems - A Comparative Study (ed), 2015)

Co-editor(s):
ISBN 978-3-319-18485-2
Publisher:
Published Aug 2015

Judges on Trial. The Independence and Accountability of the English Judiciary (with Shimon Shetreet), 2013) 2nd Edition

Co-Author/s:
Shimon Shetreet
ISBN:
9781107629370
Published Oct 2013

Le juge face à la désobéissance civile. Etude en droits américain et français comparés., 2007)

Articles

"Informal Judicial Institutions—The Case of the English Judiciary" German Law Journal. 2023;24(8):1357-1372. Special Issue Informal Judicial Institutions – Invisible Determinants of Democratic Decay, pp. 1357-1372.

Citation:
German Law Journal. 2023;24(8):1357-1372. Special Issue Informal Judicial Institutions – Invisible Determinants of Democratic Decay, pp. 1357-1372.
DOI:
10.1017/glj.2023.70
Published: Nov 2023

"The ‘Good Chap’ and a ‘New Type of Judge’: the UK Constitution under Stress" (2022) Teoría y Realidad Constitucional 50, pp. 589-604. Núm. 50 (2022): Poder Judicial

Citation:
(2022) Teoría y Realidad Constitucional 50, pp. 589-604. Núm. 50 (2022): Poder Judicial
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5944/trc.50.2022
Published: Dec 2022

"Institutional constraints and collegiality at the court of justice of the european union: A sense of belonging?" [2017] Maastricht Journal of European and Comparative Law 1–17

Citation:
[2017] Maastricht Journal of European and Comparative Law 1–17
DOI:
10.1177/1023263X17723813
Published: Sep 2017

"Judicial independence and judicial accountability: two sides of the same coin (in Russian)" Sydia (The Judge) Nr 9/2014 (СУДЬЯ / СЕНТЯБРЬ / 2014)

Citation:
Sydia (The Judge) Nr 9/2014 (СУДЬЯ / СЕНТЯБРЬ / 2014)
Published: Sep 2014

"AG’s Opinions or Separate Opinions? Judicial engagement at the CJEU." [2011-2012] Cambridge Yearbook of European Legal Studies Vol.14.

Citation:
[2011-2012] Cambridge Yearbook of European Legal Studies Vol.14.
Published: Jan 2013

"La Justice face à la désobéissance civile" [2011] Problèmes politiques et sociaux 989

Citation:
[2011] Problèmes politiques et sociaux 989
Published: Dec 2011

"Decisions, decisions: the best case scenario" The Guardian, 11 October 2011.

Citation:
The Guardian, 11 October 2011.
Published: Dec 2011

"Judicial Misconduct and Disciplinary Procedures – a Brave New World" Colloquium in Memory of Kurt Lipstein, European Law Business Review (forthcoming)

Citation:
Colloquium in Memory of Kurt Lipstein, European Law Business Review (forthcoming)
Published: Oct 2010

"The Compatibility of Criminal Liability with Freedom of Expression" Criminal Law Review 2007, pp 866-881

Citation:
Criminal Law Review 2007, pp 866-881
Published: Nov 2007

"Judicial Responses to Civil Disobedience: A Comparative Approach" Res Publica, vol. 10, n°4, 2004, pp 379-399

Citation:
Res Publica, vol. 10, n°4, 2004, pp 379-399
Published: Nov 2004

Book Chapters

"European Standards of Judicial Independence – lessons from the Court of Justice of the European Union" in Shimon Shetreet and Hiram Chodosh (ed(s)), Judicial Independence. Cornerstone of Democracy , 2024)

Publisher:
ISBN 13:
978-90-04-53509-1
Published Apr 2024

"Judicial independence and judicial accountability: two sides of the same coin" in Wayne McCormack and Shimon Shetreet (ed(s)), The Culture of Judicial Independence in a Globalised World, 2016), pp. 48-60

Pages:
48-60
ISBN 13:
978-90-04-30708-7
Published Nov 2016

"Judicial reform in Luxembourg: Avenues and Opportunities" in Max Planck Institute Luxembourg for International, European and Regulatory Procedural Law (ed(s)), Judicial Reforms in Luxembourg and in Europe. Comparative perspectives on recent reforms and reform proposals in the justice sector, 2014)

Publisher:
Co-Author/s:
Max Planck Institute Luxembourg for International, European and Regulatory Procedural Law
Published Sep 2014

"Constitutional Adjudication and Appointments to the UK Supreme Court" in Christopher Forsyth and Shimon Shetreet (ed(s)), The Culture of Judicial Independence: Rule of Law and World Peace, 2014)

Publisher:
Co-Author/s:
C. Forsyth and S. Shetreet
Published Sep 2014

"Judicial Independence in England and Wales since the Constitutional Reform Act 2005" in Anja Seibert-Fohr (ed(s)), Judicial Independence in Transition - Strengthening the Rule of Law in the OSCE Region, 2012), pp. 147-183

Publisher:
Pages:
147-183
ISBN 13:
978-3-642-28299-7
Published Jun 2012

"The Northern Irish Judiciary in Times of Crisis: the Diplock Courts" in Christopher Forsyth and Shimon Shetreet (ed(s)), The Culture of Judicial Independence: Conceptual Foundations and Practical Challenges, 2011)

Publisher:
Published Sep 2011

"Désobéissance civile et libéralisation de l'avortement: étude en droits américain et français comparés" in David Hiez and Bruno Villalba (ed(s)), La désobéissance civile. Approches politique et juridique, 2008), pp. 87-102.

Publisher:
Pages:
87-102.
ISBN 13:
9782757400654
Co-Author/s:
David Hiez and Bruno Villalba
Published Jul 2008

"Désobéissance civile et droit: le juge au coeur de la controverse" in Otto Pfersmann (ed(s)), Actes de la Journée de la Recherche organisée par la SFPJ, 2005), pp. 67-82.

Pages:
67-82.
Co-Author/s:
O. Pfersmann
Published Jul 2005

"The Independence of a Meritorious Elite: The Government of Judges and Democracy" in Sophie Turenne (ed(s)), General Reports of the XIXth Congress of the International Academy of Comparative Law Rapports Généraux du XIXème Congrès de l'Académie Internationale de Droit Comparé, 2017), pp. 1-13

Publisher:
Pages:
1-13
ISBN 13:
978-94-024-1066-2
Published Jun 2017

Case Notes

Free Speech and Scandalising the Court in Mauritius The Cambridge Law Journal, volume 74, issue 01, pp. 7-10.

Published: Mar 2015

Reports

Motivations to apply for salaried judicial office (2025)

Reference Number:
ISBN 978 1 911691 62 4
Body / Institution:
Ministry of Justice Analytical Series
Published: Feb 2025

The Attractiveness of Judicial Appointments in the United Kingdom. Report to the Senior Salaries Review Body (2018)