Dr Eliza Watt is a lecturer in law. She joined Middlesex University in 2018 having previously held positions of lecturer at Bournemouth University (LL.M International Dispute Resolution (Module Leader)); LL.B Commercial Law and Transactions (Module Leader) and visiting lecturer at Westminster Law School (LLB Contract Law).
Dr Watt's resrearch focuses on cyber law and human rights. She is the author of a book titled State Sponsored Cyber Surveillance. The Right to Privacy of Communications and International Law (Edward Elgar, 2021).
Her work has been published in a number of peer reviewed journals and other publications, including Journal of Conflict and Security Law, the International Journal of Human Right and NATO CCDCOE Publications. She has contributed to the UN Office of Disarmement Affairs 2017 study on the 2015 UN GGE Report and the 2020 European Parliament Research Service Project on data protection and privacy of UK workers.
She has presented her research and was a guest speaker at, among others, College of Information and Cyberspace, National Defense University, Washington D.C.; NATO CyCon 2017; University College London, University of Westminster, University of Hull and Middlesex University.
Dr Watt obtained the LL.B, LL.M, L.LM and PhD degrees from King's College London and University of Westminster. She is also a non-practicing barrister called to the Bar at the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, with legal consultancy experience in commercial, environmental, licencing and employment related matters.
Qualifications
Dr Watt currently teaches at postgraduate and undergraduate levels Law of the International Sale of Goods (LL.M), International Commercial Litigation and Arbitration (LL.M) and Tort Law (LL.B). In addition, she has teaching experience in English and International Commercial Law (LL.B), English Legal System (LL.B) and Contract Law (LL.B).
Current Teaching Responsibilities
Module Leadership Responsabilities
Dr Watt's area of research relates to cyber law, in particular state sponsored cyber surveillance and international human rights, focusing on the right to privacy of communications. She was awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy for her PhD thesis titled, Cyberspace, Surveillance, Law and Privacy. The project examined the impact of mass cyber surveillance programs of the intelligence agencies of the 'Five Eyes' coalition of states on the right to privacy of communications under international and regional human rights frameworks, including the ICCPR, the ECHR and the ACHR.
Her other scholarly interests include cyber security, cyber espionage, cyber crime, data privacy, internet governance, public international law, international arbitration and international sales of goods law.
Dr Watt welcomes PhD proposals in the fields of:
-international law of cyber security
-cyber crime
-data protection
-international arbitration and
-international sales of goods law
Conferences and Public Events:
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Watt, Eliza (2019) Russell Buchan, Cyber Espionage and International Law. Oxford: Hart Publishing, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc., 2019, 195 pp. ISBN 9781782257349. [Book review]. Journal of Conflict and Security Law , 24 (3). pp. 638-642. ISSN 1467-7954 (Published online first)
Watt, Eliza (2017) Cyberspace, surveillance, law and privacy. PhD thesis, University of Westminster.
Watt, Eliza (2017) 'The right to privacy and the future of mass surveillance'. The International Journal of Human Rights , 21 (7). pp. 773-799. ISSN 1364-2987
Watt, Eliza (2017) The role international human rights law in the protection of online privacy in the age of surveillance. In: 9th International Conference on Cyber Conflict: Defending the Core, 30 May - 02 Jun 2017, Tallinn, Estonia.
Watt, Eliza (2015) Proposed US and UK laws will entrench surveillance powers across the atlantic. The Conversation .
-European Parliament Research Service, Panel for Future of Science and Technology, 'Data Subjects, Digital Surveillance, AI and The Future of Work' (European Parliament Science and Technology Office Brussels, 23 December 2020)pp. 75-79-contributed a case study on data protection and privacy in the context of monitoring and surveillance in the UK
-United Nations Office of Disarmament Affairs, 'Voluntary, Non-Legally Binding Norms for Responsible State Behaviour in the Use of Information and Communications Technology. A Commentary' (UNODA, 2017)-contributed to the 'Commentary to UN Group of Government Experts 2015 Cyber Norms Proposal-Recommendation 13 (e)'
-University of Vienna/European Commission Rewire Fellowship Programme (August 2020)- project evaluation
Dr Watt is a peer reviewer for the Oxford Journal of Legal Studies and the International Journal of Human Rights.
She held editorial positions of Westminster Law Review (2014-2016) and Bournemouth Law Review (2017-2018).
She is a member of:
