Charlotte O'Brien

Profile

Biography

Professor Charlotte O'Brien

BA (Cantab), LLM (Leeds), PhD (Liverpool), PGCAP (York)

Professor and YLS Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Champion

Director of Research

I joined York Law School after completing an AHRC-funded PhD at the University of Liverpool.

I have degrees in Law and Social and Political Sciences, and many years of experience of working and volunteering in Citizens Advice offices. I specialise in the emerging discipline of Withdrawal Agreement Law; migration justice and human rights; EU social law and citizenship; and social security law. My work focuses on bringing together doctrinal and empirical study, in particular developing new socio-legal research methods to capture and analyse law in action.

I have co-authored reports for the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and the EU Commission; presented evidence to the European Parliament; the All Party Parliamentary Groups on the Rule of Law, and on Citizens’ Rights; the London Assembly; the House of Commons Select Committee on Exiting the European Union; and the House of Commons Work and Pensions Select Committee. I have further submitted evidence to the Joint Human Rights Select Committee; the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights; the All Party Parliamentary Groups on Migration and on Poverty; and the European Affairs Committee of the House of Lords. Having given evidence, I have been appointed as a member of the expert advisory board to the Scottish Commission on Social Security. 

I led the EU Rights & Brexit Hub – a project in advice-led ethnography, to give advice to organisations working with EU nationals and documenting evidence of problems encountered. We work within the Baroness Hale Legal Clinic, and we began as part of an interdisciplinary project funded by the ESRC. We have contributed to strategic litigation, supporting claimants and/or interveners in high profile test cases – working with the3million; the AIRE Centre; the Child Poverty Action Group; and 4-5 Grays Inn Square Chambers. 

I previously led the EU Rights Project, another legal action research project, funded with an ESRC Future Research Leaders award. 

Prizes

• ESRC Outstanding Public Policy Impact Prize, 2024 
• Legal Academic of the Year prize 2022, in the Inspirational Women in Law Awards in recognition of ‘pioneering and inspirational work in the legal academic field’. 
• Socio-Legal Studies Association, Best Book Prize 2019

Research

Overview

Withdrawal Agreement Law

In the wake of Brexit, millions of people’s rights to reside, rights to equal treatment, and access public services, and rights to family reunification, are all subject to this new, underexplored species of law, and will be for the rest of their lifetimes, and the lifetimes of their future children. However, mechanisms of enforcement are unclear and untested; it gets tangled with multiple parallel immigration regimes; and the processes for monitoring the implementation of Withdrawal Agreement Law – for EU nationals in the UK, and UK nationals in the EU – suffer from transparency, accessibility and accountability deficits. I am working on ways to analyse implementation; to identify problems of interpretation; and to test this new branch of law in action. I have contributed to several test cases on correct interpretation of Withdrawal Agreement provisions and co-authored a report on the provisions affecting people crossing the Ireland/Northern Ireland border for the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission.

Immigration law, human rights and social security 

This work focuses the relationship between immigration law and policy, and the management (and creation and amplification) of poverty through social security law. It explores the role of xenophobia in law-making, considering the othering of EU nationals; the dehumanisation of migrants in general, and the demonising of asylum seekers in particular. I submitted evidence to the Human Rights Select Committee consultation on the Illegal Migration Bill, and with Dr Alice Welsh, I submitted evidence to the Professional Experience consultation for the APPG on Migration and the APPG on Poverty’s joint inquiry into The Effects of UK Immigration, Asylum and Refugee Policy on Poverty.  

The EU Rights & Brexit Hub 2020-2023

A major ESRC Governance After Brexit project. We set up a nationwide legal action research hub – the first of its kind. From within the Baroness Hale Legal clinic, we offered second tier advice and support to organisations working with EU/EEA nationals, and documented the problems encountered in a parallel ethnography. We produced parliamentary briefings, drafted parliamentary questions, gave evidence to the London Assembly, which formed the basis for a letter from the Assembly to the Mayor of London. 

Brexit

Prior to the start of the current project, I was able to contribute to the debates and analysis of Brexit documents and processes. I was invited to give evidence on the EU Withdrawal Bill at an oral session of the house of Commons Exiting the European Union Committee. I have given presentations to the London Assembly, the Public Law Project conference, and the Hart Judicial Review conference on Brexit, free movement and EU nationals' rights.

The EU rights project 2013-2017

In 2012 I was awarded an ESRC future research leaders grant for the EU Rights Project which ran until mid 2017. It was an innovative legal action research project, in which I worked with Craven & Harrogate Districts Citizens Advice to set up a specialist advice and advocacy service on EU welfare claims. While advising and representing clients, I conducted a parallel study of administrative obstacles we encountered. 

Supervision

I welcome applications from prospective research students in these and related supervision areas; please get in touch if you would like to discuss a proposal.

Publications

Selected publications

• L. Graham & C. O’Brien “No Legal Standards for Adjudicating the Proportionality of Primary Social Security Law” (forthcoming) Law Quarterly Review.
• C.O’Brien “Write with fire, edit with ice (and come up for air)” (2026) 77 RS (Reflections on Writing) Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly 29.
• C. O’Brien & A. Welsh: “Side-stepping international law on the sly: The secret severing of the EU Settlement Scheme from the Withdrawal Agreement” (2025) 39(4) Journal of Immigrational, Asylum and Nationality Law 314.
• C. O’Brien “The professional diversity deficit: the UK Supreme Court’s social security law blind spot” (2025) 32(1) Journal of Social Security Law, 18-39.
• J. Meers, J. Tomlinson, A. Welsh and C. O’Brien: ‘Does Digital Status Unlawfully Penalise EU Citizens Accessing the UK's Private Rented Sector?’ (2024) 88(1) Modern Law Review 33-63.
• C. O’Brien R (SC) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2021] UKSC 26 Not taking social security law seriously?, in Graham & Russell, Public Law and the UK Supreme Court: Key Cases and Decisions (Routledge, 2025).  
• C. O’Brien ‘Civic Engineering: The Role of Advocates General in the Divination, Design, and Destiny of EU Citizenship’ in Barnard, Lazowski & Sarmiento Pursuit of Legal Harmony in a Turbulent Europe (Oxford, Bloomsbury, 2024).
• C. O’Brien “Bringing EU Law back down to Earth” (2022) 18:4 International Journal of Law in Context 450.
  de Mars S, O'Brien C. “Inevitably Diminished: Rights of Frontier Workers in Northern Ireland after Brexit” 2022, 73(S2), Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly 119-147.
• C. O’Brien ‘The Great EU Citizenship Illusion Exposed: Equal Treatment Rights Evaporate for the Vulnerable’ (CG v The Department for Communities in Northern Ireland), (2021), 6, EL Rev, 801-817
• C. O’Brien Between the devil and the deep blue sea: Vulnerable EU citizens cast adrift in the UK post-Brexit (2021), 58(2), CML Rev 431-470
• C. O’Brien Acte cryptique? Zambrano, welfare rights, and underclass citizenship in the tale of the missing preliminary reference, (2019) 56(6) CML Rev 1697-1732
• O'Brien, C. “Done Because We Are Too Menny” The Two-Child Rule Promotes Poverty, Invokes a Narrative of Welfare Decadence, and Abandons Children’s Rights (2018) 26(4) IJCR 700-739.
• C. O'Brien, "Unity in Adversity: EU Citizenship, Social Justice and the Cautionary Tale of the UK (Oxford: Hart, 2017)
• C. O'Brien 'Commentary on Zambrano' in H.. Stalford, K. Hollingsworth & S. Gilmore Rewriting Children's Rights Judgments: From Academic Vision to New Practice  (Oxford: Hart, 2017)
• C.O'Brien, 'Union citizenship and disability: restricted access to equality rights and the attitudinal model of disability' in D. Kochenov (ed)EU Citizenship and Federalism: The Role of Rights (Cambridge University Press, 2017) p. 509-539
• C. O'Brien., The ECJ sacrifices EU citizenship in vain: Commission v UK, 54(1) CML Rev (2017) 209-244
• C. O'Brien "Civis capitalist sum: class as the new guiding principle of free free movement rights" (2016) 53(4) Common Market Law Review 937-977
• C. O'Brien '"Hand-to-mouth” citizenship: decision time for the UK Supreme Court on the substance of Zambrano rights, EU citizenship and equal treatment' (2016) 38(2) Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 228-245
• C. O'Brien 'The pillory, the precipice and the slippery slope: the profound effects of the UK’s legal reform programme targeting EU migrants' (2015) 37(1) Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law 111-136
• C.O'Brien 'Driving Down Disability Equality?' (2014) 21(4) Maastricht Journal of European and Comparative Law 724-738
• C. O'Brien 'Article 26 - Integration of Persons with Disabilities' in S. Peers, T. Hervey, J. Kenner & A. Ward (eds) The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights: a Commentary (Hart, 2014)
• C.O'Brien ‘I trade, therefore I am: legal personhood in the European Union’ (2013) 50(6) Common Market Law Review 1643-1684
• C.O'Brien ‘Confronting the care penalty: the case for extending reasonable adjustment rights along the disability/care continuum’ (2012) 34(1) Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law 5-30
• C.O'Brien ‘European Union Law’ in Integrating Socio-Legal Studies into the law curriculum C. Hunter (ed) (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012)
• C. O'Brien 'Drudges, dupes and do-gooders? Competing notions of 'value' in the Union's approach to volunteers' (2011) 1(1) European Journal of Social Law 49-75
• C. O'Brien ‘Equality's false summits: new varieties of disability discrimination, "excessive" equal treatment and economically constricted horizons’ (2011) 36(1) European Law Review 26-50
• C. O'Brien ‘Social blind spots and monocular policy making: the ECJ’s migrant worker model’ (2009) 46(4) Common Market Law Review 1107-1141
• C. O'Brien ‘Real links, abstract rights and false alarms: the relationship between the ECJ’s ‘real link’ case law and national solidarity’ (2008) 33(5) European Law Review  643-665

Teaching

Undergraduate

• Subject co-lead for the EU components of the Foundations in law modules
• Clinic case supervisor, Migrants' Rights Clinic 

Postgraduate

I supervise LLM dissertations and PhDs.

External activities

Overview

Reports

• Spiegel, Hummer & O'Brien, "Comparisons between posted workers between EU Member States and workers sent from companies established in third countries in the framework of provision services in the EU; MoveS legal report 2024"
• O'Brien & Wollenschläger, "Comparative Report 2017 National employment services:  Registration and access to assistance by EU citizens from other Member States"
• O’Brien, Spaventa and De Coninck, “The concept of worker under Article 45 TFEU and certain non-standard forms of employment”, FreSsco Comparative Report, European Commission (2015)
• Overmeiren, O'Brien, Spaventa, Jorens & Schulte "The notions of obstacle and discrimination under EU law on free movement of workers" Fressco Analytical report, European Commission (2014)

Memberships

• Analytical expert, European Commission's Free Movement and Social Security network of experts – MoveS/Fressco
• Academic member of 4/5 Grays Inn Square Chambers 
• Member of the expert advisory board to the Scottish Commission on Social Security 
• Peer reviewer for the ESRC and Norwegian Research Council
• Peer reviews, e.g.: European Law Review; European Journal of Social Security Law; Routledge; Maastricht Journal of European and Comparative Law
• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

Media coverage

• See multiple blogs at EU Rights & Brexit Hub; for example: “Court of Appeal decides the Secretary of State is wrong, wrong, wrong”: The Charter applies to people with pre-settled status” 16 November 2023
• Free Movement: “UK wrongly insisted on Comprehensive Sickness Insurance for years, EU court finds” 15 March 2022 
• Free Movement: “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, and Santa was filling in UK border forms” 3 December 2021 
• Oxford Human Rights Hub: "Inevitability as the New Discrimination Defence: UK Supreme Court Mangles Indirect Discrimination Analysis While Finding the Two-Child Limit Lawful" 26 July 2021
• The Conversation: "Over 2 million EU nationals are at risk of discrimination in UK after shock EU court ruling – here’s what happens next" 20 July 2021
• The Conversation: “Brexit party: Nigel Farage’s threat to disrupt EU business is a waste of his energy” 18 April 2019
• The Times: “Settled status scheme for EU citizens risks being next Windrush” 04 April, 2019
• The Conversation: “Brexit: The Uncivil War – what it told us, and what it didn’t” 09 January 2019
• UK in a Changing Europe: "A failed duty of care? the draft EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement denies unpaid carers key rights" 27 November 2018
• The Conversation "There’s only one woman on the UK Brexit negotiating team – here’s why that matters" 25 July 2017 
• Political Studies Association UK Election Analysis 2017: Media, Voters and the Campaign, "Totem, taboo and trigger word: the dominance and obscurity of Brexit in the campaigns", June 2017
• Co-authored with Professor Laurent Pech EU Law Analysis, "EU Free Movement Law in 10 Questions & Answers",  2 November 2016.
• The Conversation "Brexit Britain: sovereignty is not a licence to disregard international law" 3 August 2016
• The Equality Trust “The ‘E’ word must go back on the legislative agenda” 2 August 2016
• The Independent “European migrants are not just paying their way, they're paying our way too”  24 July 2016
• EU Referendum Analysis 2016: Media, Voters and the Campaign “Bonfires and Brexterity: what’s next for women?” 6 July 2016
• European Financial Review “It’s our economy too: gender equality is not a luxury to be abandoned in times of crisis” 20 June 2016
• EU Law Analysis “Don’t think of the children! CJEU approves automatic exclusions from family benefits in Case C-308/14 Commission v UK” 16 June 2016
• The UK in a Changing Europe “Brexterity, eusterity and child welfare: whoever wins, women and children are at risk” 15 June 2016
• The Conversation “Leaving EU would be bad for women – but staying in doesn’t look too great either” 1 June 2016
• Full Fact “Is Turkey likely to join the EU?”27 May 2016 (last updated 23 June 2016).
• Positive News “EU: In or Out?” 6 May 2016
• The Guardian “Would Brexit make it harder to hire EU workers ?” Small business network referendum panel 29 March 2016
• Lexis Nexis “Immigration aspects of Cameron’s EU settlement” in Continental shift: Brexit and the Law 27 March 2016
• The Conversation “The EU talks the talk on gender equality – but in a male voice” 8 March 2016
• Full Fact “Explaining the EU deal: child benefit” 27 February 2016 (last updated 23 June 2016)
• The Independent “Why the EU emergency brake on migrant benefits is sexist” 5 February 2016
• The UK in a Changing Europe “Cameron’s renegotiation and the burying of the balance of competencies review” 2 February 2016