Lesley Anne Barnes Macfarlane

Dr Lesley Anne Barnes Macfarlane is a Lecturer at the Business School of Edinburgh Napier University, specializing in child and family law with a focus on human rights within the Scottish legal context. Her academic work centers on legislative frameworks affecting children and families in Scotland.

Her research interests span multiple interconnected domains:

• Scottish family law and court procedures
• Children's rights and participation in legal processes
• Implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in Scottish law
• Gender recognition legislation and related legal issues
• Medical decision-making capacity for children and adolescents
• Legal reform in family justice systems

Dr Barnes Macfarlane's scholarly output demonstrates consistent engagement with Scottish legislative developments over nearly two decades, with particular focus on the Children (Scotland) Act 2020 and related reforms. Her work critically examines how legal frameworks can better incorporate children's voices and rights in judicial proceedings.

She has actively contributed to policy development through consultation responses to the Scottish Government and Scottish Law Commission, and has developed judicial training materials including the Judicial Training Brief on the Children (Scotland) Act 2020 for the Judicial Institute for Scotland. Her research with the Centre for Child & Family Law and Policy has informed projects examining Scottish child and family law policy, including the Scottish Parliament Research Project on the Family Law (Scotland) Bill 2019.