Professor Joe Tomlinson

IAS Fellow at Trevelyan College, January-March 2024

Contact Details

• Home Institution email: joe.tomlinson@york.ac.uk
• Durham email: joseph.tomlinson@durham.ac.uk
• Durham Tel: +44 (0) 191 33 44688 

Joe Tomlinson is Professor of Public Law at the University of York, where he is also Director of the Administrative Fairness Lab. His current research focuses on public perceptions of fairness in frontline government decision-making and the evolving relationship between law, public administration, and autonomous technologies. 

Professor Tomlinson has written and edited numerous books on administrative law and justice, including The Oxford Handbook of Administrative Justice (OUP, 2021), and his writing has appeared in leading journals, including the Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, Legal Studies, Modern Law Review, and Public Law. He has also been awarded grants by a range of bodies—including the Nuffield Foundation, the Economic and Social Research Council, and the Australian Academy of Social Science.

Outside of his University role, he is Co-Chair of the Academic Panel of the Administrative Justice Council, a member of the Academic Panel at Blackstone Chambers, and an Associate Fellow of the Public Law Project. His research has been cited by the UK Supreme Court and widely relied upon in significant public law litigation, he is regularly invited to give evidence to committees in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, and he has worked with a range of central government departments. His research has been covered widely in the press, including by The Times, The Financial Times, The Guardian, The Economist, The Independent, Sky News, WIRED, The Huffington Post, and The Express. 

Before joining the University of York as Senior Lecturer in 2019, Joe held lectureships at King’s College London and the University of Sheffield. He completed his LLB (Dean’s Award) and PhD (President’s Medal) at the University of Manchester. He has also held visiting positions at Melbourne Law School, Osgoode Hall Law School, and the Constitution Unit at UCL Department of Political Science. From 2017 to 2021, he was Research Director at the Public Law Project—a national legal charity—where he oversaw a rapid expansion of the organisation’s research team and established the organisation's technology workstream. 

At Durham, Professor Tomlinson will be working with Professor William Lucy and Dr Noura Al Moubayed on their project concerning Justice and Artificial Intelligence. Through this project, he will be expanding his research on the use of automated decision-making systems, the implications of different conceptions of justice and fairness in this context, and methods for improving law and systems.

Events

IAS Seminar - 11 March 2024 - 1.00 - 2.00pm. IAS Seminar Room, Cosin's Hall, Institute of Advanced Study 
Rethinking procedural justice theory for modern (digital) public services  
Registration is essential. Registration form here.

IAS public lecture - 28 February 2024 - 5.30 - 6.30pm, Dowrick Suite,  Trevelyan College, Durham University
Is the Digital Welfare State Fair? 
Further information here.