William Hamilton Byrne

William Hamilton Byrne is an Assistant Professor in Global Mobility Law at the MOBILE Centre of Excellence, Faculty of Law, University of Copenhagen. He is actively engaged in research, teaching, and interdisciplinary academic leadership, with a focus on the theoretical and empirical dimensions of international law.

Education:

• PhD in International Law, iCourts Centre of Excellence, University of Copenhagen (2017–2020)
• LLM in Public International Law, University of Amsterdam

Byrne’s research lies at the intersection of international legal theory, sociology of law, and interdisciplinary methodologies. His work investigates foundational questions about how international law is structured, how it changes normatively, and how legal scholarship itself can intervene in these processes. He is particularly interested in the infrastructuring of international law and the application of empirical techniques to understand legal change. His teaching includes Legal Reasoning and Argumentation and International Migration Law, and he co-organizes a PhD course on Social Sciences Methods for Interdisciplinary Legal Studies in collaboration with the Geneva Graduate Institute and Central European University. He also leads the cross-faculty Research Group on Advanced Legal Methods.

The 15 most recent publications (2024–2025) reflect a strong focus on interdisciplinary legal theory, digital transformation in law, and refugee law. Key themes include legal infrastructures, data-driven governance, digital evidence in asylum procedures, doctrinal legal science, and Nordic approaches to international law. These works appear in leading journals such as the Journal of Refugee Studies, German Law Journal, and Nordic Journal of International Law, demonstrating a consistent contribution to both theoretical and applied international law.

Byrne has co-edited special issues on interdisciplinary international law and legal infrastructures, and is currently developing a monograph based on his PhD thesis. His research is widely cited and has attracted attention in academic networks and social media.

He is actively involved in academic service, including participation in workshops, seminars, and visiting researcher positions at institutions such as the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and the University of Oslo. He has contributed to PhD summer schools and international collaborative research initiatives, underscoring his role in shaping interdisciplinary legal scholarship.

Byrne leads the cross-faculty Research Group on Advanced Legal Methods, fostering methodological innovation across disciplines at the University of Copenhagen. This initiative reflects his commitment to advancing rigorous, interdisciplinary legal research.