Dr Michael Foran
- Lecturer in Public Law (Law)
Biography
Dr Michael Foran joined the law school in 2022, having previously taught at the University of Strathclyde from 2020-22. He completed his PhD in Constitutional Theory at the University of Cambridge and holds degrees from the London School of Economics (MSc in Law and Anthropology) and Trinity College Dublin (LLB).
He specialises in constitutional law with a particular focus on the rule of law, legal equality, and the common law constitutional tradition.
In 2022 he was a visiting researcher at the Common Good Project, University of Oxford.
Research interests
Public Law: The Rule of Law, Equality Before the Law, Common Law Theory, Common Good Constitutionalism, Judicial Review
Jurisprudence: Legal and Political Theory, Natural Law Theory, Fundamental Rights, Natural Justice
Publications
2025
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2025)
It's not what you said, it's the way that you said it: manifesting protected beliefs in the workplace following Higgs v Farmor's School.
Industrial Law Journal,
(doi: 10.1093/indlaw/dwaf017)
(Early Online Publication)
2024
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2024)
Discrimination and manifestation of belief: Higgs v Farmer's School [2023] EAT 89.
Industrial Law Journal, 53(2),
pp. 285-304.
(doi: 10.1093/indlaw/dwae009)
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373, Macdonald, Calum, Aberdein, Geoff and Maciver, Andy
(2024)
Wood-burners, Labour leads, and Hate Crimes Q&A... with Michael Foran.
[Audio]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2024)
What does the Scottish Hate Crime and Public Order Act really say?
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2024)
The 'conversion therapy' ban still makes for bad law.
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2024)
Defining sex in law.
Law Quarterly Review,
(Accepted for Publication)
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2024)
Common law and the common good.
In:
The Promise of Legality: Critical Reflections Upon the Work of T.R.S. Allan.
Hart Publishing.
(In Press)
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2024)
Can Scottish parents be jailed for denying their child's gender identity?
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2024)
The Right to be Gender Critical.
[Website]
2023
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2023)
[Interview with Julie Bindle] Why Sturgeons trans bill threatens women.
[Audio]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2023)
Equality Before the Law: Equal Dignity, Wrongful Discrimination, and the Rule of Law.
Series: Hart studies in constitutional theory.
Hart Publishing.
ISBN 9781509964949
(In Press)
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2023)
Section 35 and The Separation of Powers: On the role of unwritten constitutional principles in interpreting the Scotland Act.
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2023)
Scotland's gender ruling is a victory for feminists.
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2023)
Trans kids and schools.
[Audio]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373 and Moshikaro, Khomotso
(2023)
The virtues and vices of scholarly activism.
Constitutional Court Review, 13(1),
pp. 17-32.
(doi: 10.2989/CCR.2023.0003)
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2023)
Scottish feminists lose appeal on definition of ‘woman’.
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2023)
Justice, Peace, and the Rule of Law.
[Website]
Cunningham, Naomi and Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2023)
When the truth offends.
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2023)
Legality without liberalism: The rule of law and the environmental emergency.
Edinburgh Law Review, 27(3),
pp. 345-363.
(doi: 10.3366/elr.2023.0851)
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2023)
A Note on Legal Definitions: When should law define “woman”?
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2023)
A bill must be a scalpel: the new “Conversion Therapy Bill” must be precise and accurate.
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2023)
On protecting characteristics: the facts about gender, schools and law.
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2023)
Why Mermaids lost: there is no right to avoid criticism.
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2023)
Citizenship as civic relationship: U.M. v Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade [2022] IESC 25.
Irish Supreme Court Review, 5,
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2023)
The law as it is.
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2023)
Equality Act and Sex: Important Scots Cases on the Horizon.
[Website]
Foran, Michael P. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373 and Casey, Conor
(2023)
Constitutionalism and the Common Good: on the role of unwritten principles.
In: St-Hilaire, Maxime, Alford, Ryan and Kinsinger, Kristopher (eds.)
Supreme Court Law Review, 2nd Series.
LexisNexis, pp. 169-196.
ISBN 9780433523772
(doi: 10.2139/ssrn.4134632)
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2023)
Comedy club cancellation of Joanna Cherry event is likely unlawful discrimination.
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2023)
Rights, common good, and the separation of powers.
Modern Law Review, 86(3),
pp. 599-628.
(doi: 10.1111/1468-2230.12769)
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2023)
A great forgetting: common law, natural law, and The Human Rights Act.
In: Johnson, Richard and Zhu, Yuan Yi (eds.)
Sceptical Perspectives on the Changing Constitution of the United Kingdom.
Hart Publishing: London, pp. 77-105.
ISBN 9781509963706
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2023)
Section 35 showdown reveals Scottish government’s ‘peculiar’ arguments.
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2023)
Ministers must grasp the nettle on equality law.
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2023)
Getting the Equality Act Right.
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2023)
Why Scotland's gender reform bill affects the whole UK.
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2023)
The Scottish Gender Recognition Reform Bill: The Case for a Section 35 Order.
Technical Report.
Policy Exchange.
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2023)
Equal dignity and the common good.
Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, 46(3),
pp. 1009-1028.
2022
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2022)
Why the UK Government could still block Scotland's gender reform.
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2022)
Self-ID law may lead to clash with the Equality Act.
Times,
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2022)
Sex, Gender, and the Scotland Act.
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2022)
Prime Ministers, Party Members, and the Efficient Secret.
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2022)
The constitutional foundations of reasonableness review: artificial reason and wrongful discrimination.
Edinburgh Law Review, 26(3),
pp. 295-320.
(doi: 10.3366/elr.2022.0781)
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2022)
Interpretation after the Human Rights Act? The Principle of Legality and The Rule of Law.
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2022)
Reorienting Constitutional Theory.
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2022)
For Whom the Bell Tolls: Prime-ministerial Resignation and the Political Constitution.
[Website]
Foran, Michael P. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2022)
Grounding unlawful discrimination.
Legal Theory, 28(1),
pp. 3-34.
(doi: 10.1017/S1352325221000264)
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2022)
John Laws, The Constitutional Balance.
Edinburgh Law Review, 26(1),
pp. 144-147.
(doi: 10.3366/elr.2022.0754)[Book Review]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2022)
The cornerstone of our law: equality, consistency and judicial review.
Cambridge Law Journal, 81(2),
pp. 249-272.
(doi: 10.1017/s000819732200023x)
2021
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2021)
Parliamentary sovereignty and the politics of law-making.
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2021)
Rights and the common good.
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2021)
Shamima Begum, the separation of powers, and the common good.
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2021)
The emergency paradox: constitutional interpretation in times of crisis.
Edinburgh Law Review, 25(1),
pp. 118-124.
(doi: 10.3366/elr.2021.0679)
2020
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2020)
Constitutional Legitimacy, Artificial Reason, and the Common Law.
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2020)
Against Consistency as a Ground of Review.
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2020)
Equality before the law: a substantive constitutional principle.
Public Law, 2,
pp. 287-306.
2019
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2019)
Discrimination as an individual wrong.
Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, 39(4),
pp. 901-929.
(doi: 10.1093/ojls/gqz026)
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2019)
Foundations of Indirect Discrimination Law. Edited by Hugh Collins and Tarunabh Khaitan. [Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2018. x + 292 pp. Hardback £65.00. ISBN 978-15-09912-54-4.].
Cambridge Law Journal, 78(1),
pp. 231-234.
(doi: 10.1017/S0008197318000934)[Book Review]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2019)
The rule of good law: form, substance, and fundamental rights.
Cambridge Law Journal, 78(3),
pp. 570-595.
(doi: 10.1017/S0008197319000618)
Articles
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2025)
It's not what you said, it's the way that you said it: manifesting protected beliefs in the workplace following Higgs v Farmor's School.
Industrial Law Journal,
(doi: 10.1093/indlaw/dwaf017)
(Early Online Publication)
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2024)
Discrimination and manifestation of belief: Higgs v Farmer's School [2023] EAT 89.
Industrial Law Journal, 53(2),
pp. 285-304.
(doi: 10.1093/indlaw/dwae009)
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2024)
Defining sex in law.
Law Quarterly Review,
(Accepted for Publication)
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373 and Moshikaro, Khomotso
(2023)
The virtues and vices of scholarly activism.
Constitutional Court Review, 13(1),
pp. 17-32.
(doi: 10.2989/CCR.2023.0003)
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2023)
Legality without liberalism: The rule of law and the environmental emergency.
Edinburgh Law Review, 27(3),
pp. 345-363.
(doi: 10.3366/elr.2023.0851)
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2023)
Citizenship as civic relationship: U.M. v Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade [2022] IESC 25.
Irish Supreme Court Review, 5,
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2023)
Rights, common good, and the separation of powers.
Modern Law Review, 86(3),
pp. 599-628.
(doi: 10.1111/1468-2230.12769)
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2023)
Equal dignity and the common good.
Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, 46(3),
pp. 1009-1028.
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2022)
Self-ID law may lead to clash with the Equality Act.
Times,
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2022)
The constitutional foundations of reasonableness review: artificial reason and wrongful discrimination.
Edinburgh Law Review, 26(3),
pp. 295-320.
(doi: 10.3366/elr.2022.0781)
Foran, Michael P. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2022)
Grounding unlawful discrimination.
Legal Theory, 28(1),
pp. 3-34.
(doi: 10.1017/S1352325221000264)
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2022)
The cornerstone of our law: equality, consistency and judicial review.
Cambridge Law Journal, 81(2),
pp. 249-272.
(doi: 10.1017/s000819732200023x)
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2021)
The emergency paradox: constitutional interpretation in times of crisis.
Edinburgh Law Review, 25(1),
pp. 118-124.
(doi: 10.3366/elr.2021.0679)
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2020)
Equality before the law: a substantive constitutional principle.
Public Law, 2,
pp. 287-306.
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2019)
Discrimination as an individual wrong.
Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, 39(4),
pp. 901-929.
(doi: 10.1093/ojls/gqz026)
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2019)
The rule of good law: form, substance, and fundamental rights.
Cambridge Law Journal, 78(3),
pp. 570-595.
(doi: 10.1017/S0008197319000618)
Books
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2023)
Equality Before the Law: Equal Dignity, Wrongful Discrimination, and the Rule of Law.
Series: Hart studies in constitutional theory.
Hart Publishing.
ISBN 9781509964949
(In Press)
Book Sections
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2024)
Common law and the common good.
In:
The Promise of Legality: Critical Reflections Upon the Work of T.R.S. Allan.
Hart Publishing.
(In Press)
Foran, Michael P. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373 and Casey, Conor
(2023)
Constitutionalism and the Common Good: on the role of unwritten principles.
In: St-Hilaire, Maxime, Alford, Ryan and Kinsinger, Kristopher (eds.)
Supreme Court Law Review, 2nd Series.
LexisNexis, pp. 169-196.
ISBN 9780433523772
(doi: 10.2139/ssrn.4134632)
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2023)
A great forgetting: common law, natural law, and The Human Rights Act.
In: Johnson, Richard and Zhu, Yuan Yi (eds.)
Sceptical Perspectives on the Changing Constitution of the United Kingdom.
Hart Publishing: London, pp. 77-105.
ISBN 9781509963706
Book Reviews
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2022)
John Laws, The Constitutional Balance.
Edinburgh Law Review, 26(1),
pp. 144-147.
(doi: 10.3366/elr.2022.0754)[Book Review]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2019)
Foundations of Indirect Discrimination Law. Edited by Hugh Collins and Tarunabh Khaitan. [Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2018. x + 292 pp. Hardback £65.00. ISBN 978-15-09912-54-4.].
Cambridge Law Journal, 78(1),
pp. 231-234.
(doi: 10.1017/S0008197318000934)[Book Review]
Research Reports or Papers
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2023)
The Scottish Gender Recognition Reform Bill: The Case for a Section 35 Order.
Technical Report.
Policy Exchange.
Audio
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373, Macdonald, Calum, Aberdein, Geoff and Maciver, Andy
(2024)
Wood-burners, Labour leads, and Hate Crimes Q&A... with Michael Foran.
[Audio]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2023)
[Interview with Julie Bindle] Why Sturgeons trans bill threatens women.
[Audio]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2023)
Trans kids and schools.
[Audio]
Website
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2024)
What does the Scottish Hate Crime and Public Order Act really say?
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2024)
The 'conversion therapy' ban still makes for bad law.
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2024)
Can Scottish parents be jailed for denying their child's gender identity?
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2024)
The Right to be Gender Critical.
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2023)
Section 35 and The Separation of Powers: On the role of unwritten constitutional principles in interpreting the Scotland Act.
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2023)
Scotland's gender ruling is a victory for feminists.
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2023)
Scottish feminists lose appeal on definition of ‘woman’.
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2023)
Justice, Peace, and the Rule of Law.
[Website]
Cunningham, Naomi and Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2023)
When the truth offends.
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2023)
A Note on Legal Definitions: When should law define “woman”?
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2023)
A bill must be a scalpel: the new “Conversion Therapy Bill” must be precise and accurate.
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2023)
On protecting characteristics: the facts about gender, schools and law.
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2023)
Why Mermaids lost: there is no right to avoid criticism.
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2023)
The law as it is.
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2023)
Equality Act and Sex: Important Scots Cases on the Horizon.
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2023)
Comedy club cancellation of Joanna Cherry event is likely unlawful discrimination.
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2023)
Section 35 showdown reveals Scottish government’s ‘peculiar’ arguments.
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2023)
Ministers must grasp the nettle on equality law.
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2023)
Getting the Equality Act Right.
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2023)
Why Scotland's gender reform bill affects the whole UK.
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2022)
Why the UK Government could still block Scotland's gender reform.
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2022)
Sex, Gender, and the Scotland Act.
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2022)
Prime Ministers, Party Members, and the Efficient Secret.
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2022)
Interpretation after the Human Rights Act? The Principle of Legality and The Rule of Law.
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2022)
Reorienting Constitutional Theory.
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2022)
For Whom the Bell Tolls: Prime-ministerial Resignation and the Political Constitution.
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2021)
Parliamentary sovereignty and the politics of law-making.
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2021)
Rights and the common good.
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2021)
Shamima Begum, the separation of powers, and the common good.
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2020)
Constitutional Legitimacy, Artificial Reason, and the Common Law.
[Website]
Foran, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0373
(2020)
Against Consistency as a Ground of Review.
[Website]
Professional activities & recognition
Prizes, awards & distinctions
- 2020: Yorke Prize (University of Cambridge)