Tara Van Ho

Dr. Tara Van Ho is an Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Essex's Law School, where she specializes in business and human rights. She joined the university in 2018 and co-leads the Essex Business and Human Rights Project. Her research examines human rights in conflict zones, transitional justice, and international economic law. Previously, she served as Assistant Professor and Postdoctoral Fellow at Aarhus University, Denmark.

Education includes a PhD in Law (Essex, 2014), LLM in International Human Rights Law (Essex, 2009), Juris Doctorate (University of Cincinnati, 2005), and BA (Marietta College).

Research focuses on:

• Corporate accountability in armed conflicts
• Intersections of investment law and human rights
• Transitional justice mechanisms
• Economic and social rights enforcement
• Anti-racist approaches to legal scholarship

Publications emphasize reforming international legal frameworks to address corporate human rights violations, with recent work critiquing investor-state dispute mechanisms through anti-racist and inequality lenses.

Grants include:

• Race, Racism, and Business & Human Rights (German Institute for Human Rights, 2023)
• Reforming Legal Structures for Just Transition (Laudes Foundation)
• EU-China Investment Agreement analysis (Heinrich Böll Foundation, 2020)
• Conflict-zone investor obligations (Norwegian People's Aid, 2019)

Advises doctoral candidates on business accountability, human rights litigation, and corporate governance. Directs clinical programs and teaches courses including International Economic Law, Justice, and Human Rights Theory.