Mrs Jessica Giles

Professional biography

Jessica’s area of research interest is the interdisciplinary synthesis of law & religion studies, constitutional theory and philosophical theology. She also explores aspects of technology, law and religion as well as cultural property. This involves research into freedom of thought conscience and religion and related fundamental rights as well as the legal scope of religious freedom in public life. She is currently working on the theoretical underpinning of the right to freedom of thought conscience and religion in a comparatiave theological context and the practical impact of this for peaceful plural living together. She is also leading research into the implications of emerging technologies, as they intersect with theology and religion, for law creation. 

Jessica is Research Lead of the Project on Interdisciplinary Law and Religion Studies at the Open University: http://law-school.open.ac.uk/research/PILARS. This is a reserach hub for law and religion academics. 

Jessica carries out scholarship research in the field of online learning having led a team to win the Stan Marsh prize for best paper at the Association of Law Teachers’ Conference 2016. Her current reserach interests focus on interdisciplinarity and employability. She has also explored the impact of extra-curricular activities on students career prospects. 

Her recent published works include a journal article: Giles, Jessica (2023). The Interrelationship between Freedom of Thought, Conscience, and Religion and The Rule of Law. Journal of Law and Religion (CUP: Early access) and a 50,000 word case data base of law and religion cases: Giles, Jessica ed. (2023). The Law and Religion Cases Catchwords List. The Open University School of Law.

Her other published works include numerous law reports and case notes for the Incorporated Council of Law Reporting (2000-2013) and the Oxford Journal of Law and Religion (2012-to 2022). Her case comments cover law and religion issues including “The Brüstle and Eli Lilly cases: Creation - God or humankind?” (2012) OJLR 1(2): 518; “The Exercise of Religious Freedom in a Commercial Context: Preddy v Bull and other cases. (2014) OJLR 3(3): 512; “Parillo v Italy: Is there life in the European Court of Human Rights?” (co-authored with Professor Simon Lee) (2016) OJLR 5(1):162; Lee v McArthur: a proportionate restriction on religious freedom rights? [2016] PILARS CC3; A hoped for coherent and permissive EU religious freedom policy: the Bougnaouiand Achbita cases [2017] PILARS CC1; Neutrality in the business sphere: an encroachment on rights protection and state sovereignty? (2018) OJLR 7(2):339-346. 

She is co-editor with Dr Andrea Pin and Professor Frank S. Ravtich of the book 'Law, Religion and Tradition' for which she has authored a chapter on "Tradition as a Peacebuilding Tool". Springer, Switzerland, 2018. 

She is author of the book chapters'A theological justification for freedom of religion and belief as a universal human right' in Bunikowski, Dawid and Puppo, Alberto (2020) 'Why Religion? Towards a Critical Philosophy of Law, Peace and God'. Springer, Switzerland. and co-author of Contemporary Influences on the Role of Imams in Britain: A Critical Analysis of Leadership and Professionalisation for the Imamate in 21st Century Britain (2021-09-15) Hough, Christine Victoria; Abbott-Halpin, Edward; Mahmood, Tariq and Giles, Jessica, Religions, 12, Article 771(9)

Her journal articles include Religious Freedom in Global Context (2018) Giles, Jessica, Implicit Religion, 21(3) (pp. 239-270) and in the field of the scholarship of teaching and learning she has published “The Superfoods of Online Learning”: Journal of Commonwealth law and legal education Vol 11.1 Autumn 2016 and as co-author of Contemporary Influences on the Role of Imams in Britain: A Critical Analysis of Leadership and Professionalisation for the Imamate in 21st Century Britain (2021-09-15) Hough, Christine Victoria; Abbott-Halpin, Edward; Mahmood, Tariq and Giles, Jessica, Religions, 12, Article 771(9).

Jessica's blogs include:

2023  Giles, G Renewed hope for a New Year: pilgrimage, pandemic and transformation

Renewed hope for a New Year: pilgrimage, pandemic and transformation | Contemporary religion in historical perspective (open.ac.uk)

2022 Gilbert A and Giles J (2022) Law Students and Extra-curricular Activities in Time of the Pandemic

http://www.open.ac.uk/blogs/scilab/index.php/2022/04/28/law-students-and-extra-curricular-activities-in-a-time-of-pandemic/

Gilbert A and Giles J (2022) Law Graduates' Use of Extra-Curricular Activities to Get Started in the Legal Professions 

http://www.open.ac.uk/blogs/scilab/index.php/2022/05/20/law-graduates-use-of-extra-curricular-activities-to-get-started-in-the-legal-professions/ 

2020 Giles, J. How do I solve the world’s problems from my desk? SciLAB blog on interdisciplinary methodology and teaching 24 Nov 2020

2019 Giles, J. Universally Aspirational or Aspirationally Universal: the Right to Freedom of Thought, Conscience and Religion. LSE Real World Approaches: Freedom of Religion and Belief blog

2018 Giles, J. Year of Mygration Day 99 ‘D2uble Penalty: Refugees and Freedom of Religion and Belief’

For fuirther information on publications, please see 'publications' tab.

Jessica has taught at undergraduate and postgraduate level in the fields of English Legal System; EU law and; Business, human rights and corporate social responsibility; research skills. She currently teaches public theology for the Rochester Diocese LLM course.

She is an APPLAUD mentor, mentoring colleagues for FHEA and SFHEA of the Advance Education Academy.

As chair of the United Nations Association Medway Jessica engages with the local community in Medway to support engagement with and impact of the United Nations. In particular, she works with Medway Interfaith Action to support peaceful plural living together, this provides a practical avenue to apply her theoretical research.

In 2023 Jessica was delighted to give the Zetountes Lecture at Kings School Rochester on the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster and the extent to which this can be regarded as a religion: Zetountes Society Latest Lectures - Flying Spaghetti Monster and Textus Roffensis - King's School Rochester (kings-rochester.co.uk) 

Jessica is a member of the Law and Religion Scholars Network and the International Consortium of Law and Religion Scholars. She is on the advisory council of the The McDonald Centre for Theology, Ethics & Public Life, University of Oxford.  

She enjoys working with the highly successful OU student law society mooting team. and between 2011 and 2019 worked with a team of barristers, academics, alumni and students to establish a global data base for use in professional and academic law and religion work. 

Jessica has made YouTube videos relating to scholarship Interview with Jessica Giles - Centre for Innovation in Legal and Business Education (youtube.com) and her research into human rights: The Right To Religious Freedom - OU Human Rights Week (youtube.com)

Jessica is a member of Inner Temple. She is also a member of the Ecclesiastical Law Society and the Law and Religion Scholars Network. She sits on the Advisory Council of the McDonald Centre for  Theology, Ethics and Public Life.

As chair of the United Nations Association Medway Jessica collaborates with local voluntary organisations and Rochester Cathedral to further the work of the United Nations and United Nations UK. 

Jessica collaborates with the Religion Media Centre and the Rose Castle Foundation to create open resources on scriptural reasoning aimed to build interfaith understanding:  Scriptural reasoning: How faith can unite us | The Open University Law School 

Jessica Collaborates with Ruth Valerio, Global Advocacy and Influencing Director, Tear Fund to create open resources supporting the intersection of faith and sustatinability: Sustainability and religion | The Open University Law School 

Jessica has created open resources for students, alumni and early career lawyers to engage in case note and comment writing and to further public understanding of the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion: Food for Thought discussion series: Food for Thought: an Open Academic Discussion series | The Open University Law School; writing case notes and case comments: PILARS-Writing-case-comments.pdf (open.ac.uk); Open Media projects   

Jessica is a member of the International Consortium of Law and Religion Scholars and the Law and Religion Scholars Network

She is currently a PhD (by published works) candidate at Leiden University, The Netherlands