The 2018 recipient of the UC Business School Early Career Researcher Award is Dr Ronán Feehily, senior lecturer in the Department of Accounting and Information Systems.
Ronán has worked as an academic on three continents, and his research profile reflects the global reach of his publications.
His research interests lie primarily in the field of international commercial dispute resolution. Additional research interests include corporate governance, international trade and legal education.
He is the author of 17 peer reviewed journal articles in leading journals in the USA, UK and South Africa (including 7 A, 2 B, and 6 C ranked publications).
He has also edited a book and co-authored a new edition of An Introduction to the Law of Contract in New Zealand. He has delivered nine conference papers at leading conferences in the UK and Africa covering various aspects of his research interests.
While his publications have been cited on numerous occasions by various authors, there are two references that are particularly noteworthy. The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law Regional Head for Asia and the Pacific, cited the article ‘Confidentiality and Transparency in International Commercial Arbitration: Finding the Right Balance’, published in the Harvard Negotiation Law Review (Volume 22, Spring 2017, 275-323), as a major contribution to the advancement of rule-based commerce and to the promotion of multilateral trade and investment laws.
The proposals for regulatory and law reform contained in the article dealing with costs sanctions published in the South African Law Journal in 2009, were cited by Prof Alan Rycroft, who mentioned in particular that Dr Feehily’s prediction was accurate that commercial mediation would not become a prominent form of dispute resolution in South Africa until heavy costs penalties are deployed by the courts (see Alan Rycroft ‘What should the consequences be of an unreasonable refusal to participate in ADR?’ (2014) 131 South African Law Journal 778).
Ronán’s research has also contributed to proposals for law reform in Ireland, and his proposals were incorporated by the Irish Law Reform Commission in their report ‘Alternative Dispute Resolution: Mediation and Conciliation’.
The report ultimately led to the enactment of the Mediation Act 2017, introducing a legal framework for the use of mediation in civil and commercial disputes in Ireland.
He is currently involved in an interdisciplinary project with Julia Wu, an ACIS lecturer in accounting, involving an investigation into institutional investors/shareholders and their experience with audit committees, and the impact it has on corporate governance in New Zealand.
The project has received Business School funding and will result in an article in a highly ranked peer-reviewed corporate governance journal and at least one conference paper.
Please join us in congratulating Ronán on this well-deserved recognition of his research success.
