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Dr John Stanton

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The City Law School Academic law programmes

Contact details

About

Overview

John studied LLB Law at the University of Surrey and has a PhD in Law from Kingston University London. John was appointed Lecturer in Law at Kingston University in 2010, before moving to City, University of London in 2012. He was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2015 and to Reader / Associate Professor in 2024.

John's expertise is within the field of Constitutional Law. He teaches "Principles of Public Law and Human Rights" to first year LLB students and "Comparative Constitutional Law" to final years. John is co-author of "Public Law", a textbook with Oxford University Press written with Dr Craig Prescott (Royal Holloway University of London). The fourth edition of the book was published in 2025. John has been nominated on numerous occasions for teaching awards administered by the City Students' Union, winning the Learning Enhancement Award for Teaching in the City Law School in 2017.

John is an active researcher and is currently working on a project exploring the constitutional history of Malta. He has worked as a Visiting Lecturer in Law at the University of Malta since 2018 and, in 2019, and published a paper in the Journal of International and Comparative Law exploring the Maltese system. John is also interested in local government, democracy and devolution. His first book, entitled "Democratic Sustainability in a New Era of Localism" was published by Routledge in 2014 and he has contributed to a range of academic journals including Legal Studies, Public Law, the Environmental Law Review and the Journal of Environment and Planning Law. John's latest project, a book entitled "Law, Localism and the Constitution", examines central-local relations across the UK, and was published by Routledge in 2023. More recently, John has co-edited ()with Prof. Tonio Borg) a collection of essays that celebrate 'The Constitution of Malta at Sixty', which was published in September 2024 and launched at a special event hosted by the President of Malta. Another recent publication is an article, by John, entitled 'In search of constitutional supremacy in Malta'.

John frequently presents at conferences and seminars across the world. In June 2019, he was invited to speak on the "Constitutional Position of English Cities" at a workshop on "Cities in Federalist Theory" at the University of Melbourne, Australia. In December 2020 he spoke (virtually) on "Democratic Decay in Malta" at a workshop on Constitutional Decay, Breakdown and Renewal at the University of Melbourne, Australia. Most recently, in March 2025, John presented on the evolution of autocracy in Malta at the Global Summit on Constitutionalism at the University of Texas at Austin. 

John's expertise is often in demand outside the realms of academia. He has contributed to various online fora, including The Conversation, TheMJ, the UK Constitutional Law Association and the International Association of Constitutional Law. He has also been cited in The Independent. In March 2020, John was called to give oral evidence in Parliament to the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee on the "Progress of Devolution in England", his contributions being cited in the subsequent report.

John is an active member of the Society of Legal Scholars, the UK Constitutional Law Association, and the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple.

Qualifications

  • PG Cert HE, Kingston University, United Kingdom, 2011
  • PhD, Kingston University London, United Kingdom, September 2007 - July 2010
  • LLB, University of Surrey, UK, September 2004 - June 2007

Employment

  • Reader in Law, City St George's, University of London, United Kingdom, August 2024 - present
  • Senior Lecturer in Law, City, University of London, UK, August 2015 - July 2024
  • Lecturer in Law, City, University of London, UK, September 2012 - July 2015
  • Lecturer in Law, Kingston University London, UK, September 2010 - August 2012

Memberships of professional organisations

  • Deputy Convenor of Public Law, Society of Legal Scholars, 2012 - present
  • Fellow, Higher Education Academy (HEA)
  • Member, UK Constitutional Law Association
  • Member, Honourable Society of the Inner Temple

Publications

Publications by category

Books (9)

  • Stanton, J. and Prescott, C. (2025). Public Law. ISBN 9780198929680.
  • Stanton, J. (2025). Blackstone's Statutes on Public Law and Human Rights. ISBN 9780198971351.
  • Stanton, J. Law, Localism, and the Constitution: A Comparative Perspective. Routledge.
  • STANTON, J. and John (Senior Lecturer in Law at The City Law School Stanton, C.U.O.L.S.L.I.L.A.T.C.L.S.C.U.O.L.C.U. (2022). Blackstone's Statutes on Public Law and Human Rights. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780192858634.
  • Stanton, J. (2021). Blackstone's Statutes on Public Law and Human Rights 2021-2022. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780192898449.
  • Stanton, J. and Prescott, C. (2020). Public Law. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198852278.
  • Stanton, J. and Prescott, C. (2018). Public Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198722939.
  • Stanton, J. (2014). Democratic Sustainability in a New Era of Localism. Abingdon, UK: Routledge-Earthscan.
  • Borg, T. and Stanton, J. (Eds.), The Constitution of Malta at Sixty. 18 Sep 2024: Kite Group. ISBN 9789918231478.

Chapters (3)

Internet publications (3)

  • Stanton, J.(2013).The General Power of Competence and Reshaping Local Public Service Provision.
  • STANTON, J.(2013).Localism in action? UK Constitutional Law Group.
  • Stanton, J.The road from Gettysburg. Are we nearly there yet?

Journal articles (14)

Thesis/dissertation

  • STANTON, J. Democracy in sustainable development: Accountability and participation in Britain's local communities. (PhD)

Working papers (3)