Dr Ruth Brittle

Profile

Ruth is a Lecturer in law, who practised as a Solicitor before moving into academia. She is a family law specialist and has both practice and academic teaching expertise in child law and children’s rights. She is a socio-legal researcher with a focus on the rights of children and young people seeking sanctuary from persecution, conflict and climate change and in particular on children’s right to protection and operationalisation of the best interests principle in state asylum procedures. Her current research focuses on the education rights of young people seeking sanctuary and the impact of age assessment procedures on a young person’s right to asylum and access to other rights, such as education, health, welfare, and accommodation. Ruth teaches family law, tort and immigration law.

Research

Publications

Brittle, R (2019) ‘A Hostile Environment for Children? The Rights and Best Interests of the Refugee Child in UK Asylum Law’ 19 Human Rights Law Review 753-785.

Brittle, R and Desmet, E (2020) ‘Thirty Years of Research on Children’s Rights in the context of Migration: Towards Increased Visibility and Recognition of Some Children But not All? 28 International Journal of Children’s Rights 36 – 65.

Brittle, R (2021) Age Assessment in the New Plan: Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue? Refugee Law Initiative (University of London) Blog, 21st May 2021.

Brittle, R (2023) A Rights-based Policy Approach to Realising Education Rights in the Context of International Migration, in Pinson, H., Bunar, N. and Devine, D (eds) Research Handbook on Migration and Education (Edward Elgar 2023) 449 – 464

Struthers, A and Brittle, R (2025) Human Rights education and safeguarding: perceptions of teaching practices in England and Scotland, Human Rights Education Review Vol 8(1), 82-94.

Raissian, C and Brittle, R (2025) Age as a Barrier to Rights: Age Assessment of Unaccompanied Children seeking Asylum in the UK, Child and Family Law Quarterly 59 - 78

Expertise