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Overview
Caer is an interdisciplinary legal researcher who employs socio-legal research methodologies to explore problems of environmental law and procedural environmental justice.
Caer's doctoral research project examined the role of rationalist assumptions in participatory decision-making processes and their impact on the treatment of the environment. For this project, she conducted ethnographic research at a public local inquiry into the M4 Corridor around Newport (M4CAN) scheme.
Her current work builds on thesis findings and investigates obstacles facing effective public participation in environmental decision-making, e.g. the treatment of expertise and the adversarial nature of public local inquiries.
Publication
2024
- Stokes, E. and Smyth, C. 2024. Hope-bearing legislation? The well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. Transnational Environmental Law (10.1017/S2047102524000219)
2023
- Smyth, C. 2023. Legislating for culture change: the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act 2015 and planning in Wales. Environmental Liability - Law, Policy and Practice 27(5/6), pp. 170-180.
2022
- Smyth, C. 2022. Marking out the interpretive possibilities of the Aarhus Convention: The Foundations of the Aarhus Convention: Environmental Democracy, Rights and Stewardship. By Emily Barritt. Journal of Environmental Law 34(3), pp. 541-550., article number: eqac009. (10.1093/jel/eqac009)
2021
- Smyth, C. 2021. 'Tick the box and move on': compartmentalization and the treatment of the environment in decision-making processes. Journal of Law and Society 48(3), pp. 410-433. (10.1111/jols.12309)
2020
- Smyth, C. 2020. Being reasonable: How do rationalist assumptions affect the treatment of the environment in decision-making processes?. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University.
2018
- Smyth, C. 2018. Being reasonable: how does rationality affect participatory environmental governance?. In: Tegner Anker, H. and Egelund Olsen, B. eds. Sustainable Management of Natural Resources: Legal Instruments and Approaches. Cambridge University Press, pp. 211-228., (10.1017/9781780687834.013)
2017
- Smyth, C. 2017. What counts as expertise? The case of glyphosate and Jasanoff's 'three-body problem'. Environmental Law Review 19(3), pp. 168-182. (10.1177/1461452917724137)
Articles
- Stokes, E. and Smyth, C. 2024. Hope-bearing legislation? The well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. Transnational Environmental Law (10.1017/S2047102524000219)
- Smyth, C. 2023. Legislating for culture change: the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act 2015 and planning in Wales. Environmental Liability - Law, Policy and Practice 27(5/6), pp. 170-180.
- Smyth, C. 2022. Marking out the interpretive possibilities of the Aarhus Convention: The Foundations of the Aarhus Convention: Environmental Democracy, Rights and Stewardship. By Emily Barritt. Journal of Environmental Law 34(3), pp. 541-550., article number: eqac009. (10.1093/jel/eqac009)
- Smyth, C. 2021. 'Tick the box and move on': compartmentalization and the treatment of the environment in decision-making processes. Journal of Law and Society 48(3), pp. 410-433. (10.1111/jols.12309)
- Smyth, C. 2017. What counts as expertise? The case of glyphosate and Jasanoff's 'three-body problem'. Environmental Law Review 19(3), pp. 168-182. (10.1177/1461452917724137)
Book sections
- Smyth, C. 2018. Being reasonable: how does rationality affect participatory environmental governance?. In: Tegner Anker, H. and Egelund Olsen, B. eds. Sustainable Management of Natural Resources: Legal Instruments and Approaches. Cambridge University Press, pp. 211-228., (10.1017/9781780687834.013)
Thesis
- Smyth, C. 2020. Being reasonable: How do rationalist assumptions affect the treatment of the environment in decision-making processes?. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University.
Research
2023
C Smyth, 'Legislating for culture change: the Wellbeing of the Future Generations Act 2015 and planning in Wales' (2023) 27(5/6) Environmental Liability - Law, Policy and Practice 170-180.
2022
C Smyth, 'Marking out the interpretive possibilities of the Aarhus Convention: The Foundations of the Aarhus Convention: Environmental Democracy, Rights and Stewardship, by Emily Barritt (2022) 34(3) Journal of Environmental Law 541-550 (10.1093/jel/eqac009)
C Smyth, 'The Wellbeing of Future Generations Act 2015 and its Impact on Planning in Wales' UKELA elaw newsletter October 2022 Issue 132 (https://www.ukela.org/UKELA/UKELA/ReadingRoom/elaw-home.aspx?hkey=475b7154-db75-4efa-8a52-23d9a9efdd37)
2021
C Smyth, 'Tick the box and move on': compartmentalization and the treatment of the environment in decision-making processes. J Law Soc. 2021;1–24. https://doi.org/10.1111/jols.12309
2018
C Smyth, 'Being Reasonable: How does Rationality Affect Participatory Environmental Governance?' in HT Anker and BE Olsen (eds), Sustainable Management of Natural Resources: Legal Instruments and Approaches (Intersentia, 2018) 211-228
2017
C Smyth, 'What Counts as Expertise? The Case of Glyphosate and Jasanoff's "Three-Body Problem"', (2017) 19(3) Environmental Law Review 168-182. http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1461452917724137
Teaching
Caer is teaching on the following modules:
- Public Law (AS)
- Human Rights Law (AS)
- Environmental Law and Policy (AS)
- Themes in Socio-legal Studies (PG)
Biography
Caer completed her PhD at Cardiff University School of Law and Politics and joined the School as a lecturer in January 2020.
Caer is co-director of the Centre for Environmental Law and Politics, a board member of the Centre for Law and Society and a member of the editiorial board for the Journal of Law and Society. Caer is a member of the Ethnography group at Cardiff School of Social Sciences and the Thinking through Feminisms and Colonialisms reading group. Outside of Cardiff University, Caer is also a member of the UK Environmental Law Association, Wales Working Party.
Supervisions
Caer is interested in supervising PhDs on a range of areas in environmental law, including but not limited to:
- Public participation in environmental decision-making
- Environmental Justice
- Ecofeminism
- Expertise in decision-making
- Public Local Inquiries
She would be particularly interested in supervising students employing empirical research methods.
Contact Details
Research themes
Specialisms
- Access to justice
- Administrative law
- Environmental law
- ethnography
- Public participation and community engagement