Professor Fionnuala D Ní Aoláin

She is one of 92 distinguished scholars announced on Friday to have been elected to the British Academy’s fellowship in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the humanities and social sciences.

Professor Ní Aoláin is a professor of law at Queen’s University Belfast as well as regents professor and Robina professor of law, public policy and society at the University of Minnesota Law School in the US.

From August 2017 to November 2023, she served as the UN special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism.

Last year, she was appointed as an honorary king’s counsel in recognition of her contribution to the law.

As an academic, Professor Ní Aoláin’s teaching and research interests are in the fields of international law, human rights law, national security law, transitional justice, and feminist legal theory.

She has published widely in the fields of emergency powers, conflict regulation, transitional justice, and sex-based violence in times of war and continues to write extensively on theoretical aspects of transition.

Professor Susan J. Smith, the newly-elected president of the British Academy, said: “One of my first acts as the incoming president of the British Academy is to welcome this year’s newly elected fellows. What a line-up!

“With specialisms ranging from the neuroscience of memory to the power of music and the structural causes of poverty, they represent the very best of the humanities and social sciences.

“They bring years of experience, evidence-based arguments and innovative thinking to the profound challenges of our age: managing the economy, enabling democracy, and securing the quality of human life.

“This year, we have increased the number of new fellows by nearly 10 per cent to cover some spaces between disciplines.

“Champions of research excellence, every new fellow enlarges our capacity to interpret the past, understand the present, and shape resilient, sustainable futures. It is a privilege to extend my warmest congratulations to them all.”