Maureen Mapp

Dr. Maureen Mapp is an Associate Professor at the University of Birmingham Law School, and the Deputy Head of Education (Senior Tutor). Prior to joining Birmingham, Maureen taught law at the University of Bristol Law School. Maureen holds academic qualifications from the University of Bristol and Makerere University, and professional qualifications from the Law Development Centre, Uganda. She is also a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (UK). Maureen’s research interests focus on the socio-cultural legitimacy of legal regulation when applied in ‘fringe’ societies and what this means for pluralistic legal systems. The research is interdisciplinary by nature, drawing on insights gained from law, policy and anthropology.

A recurring theme in Maureen’s research is the normative gap between law, non-state ethno-cultural norms and the social reality of gender. Through two projects, Maureen looks at the social, legal, and ethical issues raised at the intersection between law and kinship practices in pluralist societies, and why and how policy makers should engage rural based communities in cross cultural dialogue. The first project looks at the socio-cultural implications of legal regulation on communally owned and managed financial technologies. The second project focuses on the idea of sentencing justice, looking at how customary law theory and the social reality of gender norms are assimilated in the teaching and practice of sentencing in juridical settings.