Mel Kenny

Schumann Fellow 2018

Senior Lecturer, Strathclyde Law School,
Glasgow

 

 

 

 

Dr. iur. Mel Kenny, LL.M. (Newcastle-upon-Tyne), LL.M. (Leicester), was Schumann Fellow in Münster in 2018, he is Senior Lecturer at Strathclyde and is active in a number of research areas: company and securities law; competition and consumer law; consumer credit and financial transactions; contract law and harmonisation initiatives. In particular, Mel’s work has intersected with the themes of economic integration, the transformation of Private law and steps to improve consumer protection. Increasingly, he has also commented on ‘Brexit’ and the dangers this represents for Northern Ireland, Scotland and the EU as well as, ultimately, for England and Wales.

In the UK, Mel Kenny has edited a series of four books on themes surrounding the transformation of European private law with Cambridge University Press. Books in the series have been reviewed by Professor Hans Micklitz (EUI) ([2014] 51(5) CMLRev 1552-4), and Professor Stephen Weatherill (Oxford) ([2011] 48(5) CMLRev 1757-8).  Mel has been Marie Curie Fellow in both Durham (2008) and Leeds (2008-10), Reader in Commercial law in Leicester (2010-12), Professor in Consumer and Commercial law at DeMontfort (2012-14) and was Director of the Centre of European Legal Studies in Exeter (2014-16). 

In the German-speaking world, Mel Kenny worked in Leipzig at the Fachsprachenzentrum, Universität Leipzig (1990-97), then as Wi.Mi., Aufbaustudium Europarecht, FB Rechtswissenschaft in Bremen (1997-2001), as Wi.Ass. in Lucerne (2001-5) and Marie Curie fellow at the Zentrum für europäische Rechtspolitik (ZERP), Bremen (2005-7).  Mel has also lectured in Göttingen, Kassel and St. Gall and, in 2020, he contributed to the Common law course at Leuphana.

Internationally, Mel Kenny's research themes have found traction not only with the EU (2017 UK Fitness Check of National Consumer Law for the EU Commission (with Devenney)) but in China (CUPL, Beijing), ASEAN (SMU, Singapore), Australia (TC Bierne & Sydney) and in New Zealand (AUT).

Mel Kenny has initiated, contributed to and led a number of projects: a Tempus-JEP (Łodz, 1994-7); a EUSSIRF project (Florence, 1999-2000); an SNF Post-doc project Europäisierung des schweizerischen Privatrechts (Lucerne, 2001-5); two Marie Curie projects on Suretyships’ law (Bremen, 2005-7) and the harmonisation of Private law (Durham/Leeds, 2008-10); a contribution to the Chinese Society of Private International law (CUPL, Beijing, 2011); and a Jean Monnet Project on Fundamental Rights during a brief spell in Latvia (‘Fundamental Rights at the Frontiers of the EU’ (Riga, 2017-8)).

During his Schumann Fellowship in Münster, Mel Kenny held two lectures:

  • ‘Managing Brexit?’, 10 April 2018: in which he discussed ‘Brexit’ as the product of the UK’s long-term loss of status and statecraft, a decline which has fuelled the likelihood of a ‘hard’ UK departure from the EU and the secession of Northern Ireland and Scotland from the UK. Subsequently this contribution was published in Europarecht: ‚Der inszenierte „Brexit“: Was steckt hinter den ziellos scheinenden Verhandlungen zum EU-Austritt des Vereinigten Königsreichs?‘ [2018] 53(5) Europarecht 561-576.

  • Bank Charges, Penalty Clauses, Articles 41 and 47 CFR’, 22 November 2017: in which he discussed the chances of a Post-Brexit ‘reassertion’ of Common law and ‘English’ (and Australian?) notions of freedom of contract as some Brexit-proponents have argued.

You may find a list of selected articles and presentations since 2003 here.

You may contact Mel Kenny via email: Mel.Kenny@strath.ac.uk