Panu Minkkinen
Professor of Jurisprudence
University of Helsinki, Finland
Email panu(a)panuminkkinen.eu
@panuminkkinen.bsky.social
Education and degrees awarded
- Doctor of Laws (LLD), University of Helsinki, 9 October 1998. Doctoral thesis in legal theory/jurisprudence (written in English, Correct Law, awarded highest distinction laudatur).
- Licentiate of Laws (LLLic), University of Helsinki, 12 September 1989. Major subject: criminal law (dissertation ‘Criminal Liability and Control Policy’ written in Finnish, assessment 10/10 points). Minor subject: the sociology of law (dissertation ‘The Structural Dichotomy of Nature and Culture in Subcultural Theories’ written in Finnish, awarded highest distinction ‘excellent’).
- Master of Laws (LLM), University of Helsinki, 18 April 1985 (thesis ‘Crimes of Protest’ written in Finnish, assessment 10/10 points).
Other education and training, qualifications and skills
- Complementary undergraduate courses in philosophy, sociology and sociology of law.
Linguistic skills
- Finnish: mother tongue.
- Swedish: reading ability excellent, writing ability very good, spoken ability very good.
- English: reading, writing and spoken ability, next to native.
- French: reading ability excellent, writing ability good, spoken ability good.
- German: reading ability good, writing ability fair, spoken ability fair.
Current position
- Professor of Jurisprudence, Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki, 1 September 2011-31 December 2011 (part-time) and 1 January 2012- (full time).
Previous work experience
- Professor of Legal Theory, School of Law, University of Leicester, 1 October 2004-31 December 2011; Head of School, 1 September 2008-31 August 2011.
- Fellow and Deputy-Director, Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies (HCAS), 1 May 2002-30 September 2004.
- Caretaker Director, Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies, 1 September 2001-30 April 2002 and 1 March 2004-31 July 2004.
- Director, Finnish Institute in London, 1 February 1999-31 August 2001.
- Research Fellow and part-time lecturer in jurisprudence, legal theory, and criminology, Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki, 1 August 1995-30 May 1998.
- Acting Associate Professor of Criminal Law, Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki, 1 January 1995-31 July 1995.
- Research Fellow, research project ‘Polycentric Law’, University of Helsinki, 1 August 1992-31 December 1994.
- Acting Graduate Assistant in criminal law and part-time lecturer in criminology, Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki, 1 September 1990-31 July 1992.
- Research Fellow, Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki, 1 August 1988-30 April 1989.
- Acting Graduate Assistant in criminal law and part-time lecturer in criminology, Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki, 1 September 1987-31 July 1988.
- Acting Programme Officer, European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control affiliated with the United Nations (HEUNI), 1 July 1986-31 August 1986.
- Research Assistant, European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control, affiliated with the United Nations (HEUNI), 28 October 1985-4 April 1986.
- Acting Departmental Secretary, Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki, 1 October 1985-31 October 1985.
- Research Assistant, Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki, 1 November 1984-31 December 1984 and 1 May 1985-31 August 1985.
Visiting positions
- University Guest (Academic), Melbourne Law School, Australia, 19 June 2023-22 July 2023.
- Visiting Researcher, Department of Law, University of Luxembourg, 13 March 2023-28 April 2023.
- Visiting Fellow, Annual Visitor’s Program of the Socio-Legal Research Centre (SLRC), Griffith Law School, Brisbane, Australia, 20 July 2010-30 July 2010.
- Visiting Research Fellow, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Program of Law and Humanities, New York, 1 September 2007-31 December 2007, funded by a Leverhulme Fellowship.
- Honorary Research Fellow, School of Law, Birkbeck College (London), 1 June 1998-31 January 1999, funded by a British Council Scholarship.
- Visiting Research Fellow, Faculty of Law, Humboldt-Universität-zu-Berlin, 1 October 1993-30 April 1994, funded by the research project ‘Polycentric Law’, University of Helsinki.
- Visiting Research Fellow, Centre for Criminology and the Social and Political Study of Law (CCSPSL), Faculty of Law, University of Edinburgh, 1 July 1990-31 August 1990.
- Visiting Research Fellow, École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (Paris), 1 May 1989-31 May 1990, funded by the Academy of Finland.
Research leadership and supervision
- Steering Committee Member, Doctoral Programme in Gender, Culture and Society SKY, University of Helsinki, 2018-2022.
- Steering Committee Member, Doctoral Programme in Law, University of Helsinki, 2013-2017.
- Steering Committee Member, National Doctoral School ‘Law in a Changing World’ (OMM), 2012-2014.
- Director of Postgraduate Research, School of Law, University of Leicester, 1 October 2004-31 July 2007, including design and implementation of research training programme for doctoral students.
- Currently supervisor of four doctoral students: Harri Karpén (2019-), Katariina Kaura-aho (2017-), Marjo Rantala (2017-), Kevin Wanyonyi (2017-). Three recently brought to completion: Hanna Lukkari (2020), Luca Bonadiman (co-supervised with Guobin Zhu at City University of Hong Kong, 2016), Uchenna Emelonye (2013).
- Opponent/external examiner/reviewer of doctoral theses in the UK (Leicester, Southampton, Birkbeck, King’s College London), Luxembourg (University of Luxembourg), Canada (McGill), Denmark (Copenhagen), South Africa (Cape Town) and Finland (Åbo Akademi, Helsinki, Lapland).
Experience in research management
- Member, Research Committee, Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki, 2013-2017.
- Evaluation Panel Member, Research Assessment Exercise 2013, Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies, University of Eastern Finland.
- International Expert Panel Member, Research Council for Culture and Society, Academy of Finland, 2010 and 2011.
- Head of School, School of Law, University of Leicester, 1 September 2008-30 September 2011.
- Steering Group Member, Nordic Network for Law and Literature, funded by NordForsk, 2004-2009.
- Member of the Scientific Council, University of Helsinki, 1 January 2004-31 July 2004.
- Deputy-Director/Director, Helsinki Collegium of Advanced Studies (HCAS), 1 September 2001-31 July 2004.
- Director, Finnish Institute in London, 1 February 1999-31 August 2001.
- Reviewer of funding applications, Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies (HCAS), 2017; Turku Institute for Advanced Studies (TIAS), 2012 and 2014; Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek – Vlaanderen (FWO), Belgium, 2010; Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), 2010; National Research Foundation (NRF), South Africa, twice in 2007 and 2018.
Merits in teaching and pedagogical competence
- Mentor of the Year 2021, Finnish Association for the Philosophy of Law SOFY ry.
- University pedagogy YP1 & YP2 (10 ECTS), 2013.
- University pedagogy YP5 (5 ECTS), 2015.
- Teacher of the Year 2013, Student Law Society Pykälä ry.
- Chair, Teaching Skills Committee, Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki, 2018- (ongoing).
Awards, prizes and honours
- Adjunct Professor, School of Law and Justice, Southern Cross University, Australia, 2018-2020.
- Title of Docent (Adjunct Professor) in Legal Theory, University of Helsinki, 7 February 2000.
- Honorary nomination ‘Northern Scholar 1996/97’, University of Edinburgh.
Other academic merits
- Member of the Advisory Board, Edinburgh Critical Studies in Law, Literature and the Humanities(book series, Edinburgh University Press), 2014- (ongoing).
- Member of the External Advisory Board assessing applications for a Lectureship in Law, University of Copenhagen, 2014.
- Member of the Executive Committee, Association for the Study of Law, Culture and the Humanities (ASLCH), 2014-2016.
- Chair of the Program Committee, Seventeenth Annual Conference of the Association for the Study of Law, Culture and the Humanities (ASLCH), 2014.
- Consultative Advisor, Research Project Lectores para la justicia, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2013- (ongoing).
- Chair of the External Advisory Board assessing the internal application for the renewal of a research centre at the Faculty of Law, University of Copenhagen, 2013.
- Organising Committee Chair and principal organiser, Friend or Foe? The Contemporary Relevance of Carl Schmitt, University of Helsinki, 17-18 June 2013.
- Chair of the Board of the Finnish Association of Legal Philosophy (SOFY ry), 2013-2018.
- Advisory Board Member, Socio-Legal Research Centre (SLRC), Griffith Law School, Brisbane, Australia, 2010- (ongoing).
- Member of the James Boyd White Award 2010 Committee, Association for the Study of Law, Culture and the Humanities (ASLCH).
- External Member of the Appointment Committees for the Chairs, University of Turku and University of Copenhagen, 2010.
- Organising Committee Chair and principal organiser, Genealogies: Excavating Legal Modernity (Critical Legal Conference 2009), University of Leicester, 11-13 September 2009.
- Member of the Consultative Group for Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Research Information Network (RIN), Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), 2006-2011.
- Managing Editor 2009-2012; Editorial Committee member 2006-2009 and 2012- (ongoing); Editorial Board member 1994-2006; Law and Critique (Springer).
- Editorial Advisory Board member, Law, Culture & the Humanities (Sage), 2004- (ongoing).
- Advisory Board member, University of Bologna Law Review, 2016- (ongoing).
- Editorial Board member, Retfærd (DJØF), 2002-2004.
- Regular reviewer of book proposals for leading academic publishers (e.g. Palgrave Macmillan, Routledge) and of manuscripts submitted to academic journals.
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