DoctorMark Hanna

Dr Mark Hanna is a socio-legal scholar whose work focuses on freedom of expression, defamation, Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs), and the use of private litigation to deter or silence participation in public debate. His work has been published in leading journals such as the Journal of Law and Society, the German Law Journal, the Law Quarterly Review, the Journal of Media Law, and the American Journal of Legal History. You can read his recently published study on 'SLAPPs in Aotearoa New Zealand' here Full article: SLAPPs in Aotearoa New Zealand. His current research examines reputation management and defamation law in a comparative context.

Mark joined the University of Canterbury in December 2023, having previously held positions at Durham University (Assistant Professor in Media Law), Queen’s University Belfast (Lecturer in Torts), and The Hague University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands (Lecturer in International Law). He completed his PhD in international law at Queen Mary University of London and has been a visiting scholar at universities at the University of São Paulo, Brazil, and the East China University of Political Science and Law, Shanghai. 

He has provided expert advice on defamation, SLAPPs and related litigation to the Northern Ireland Assembly, the UK Ministry of Justice, the Irish Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, and Te Kura Kaiwhakawā | Institute of Judicial Studies. He is the Director of the SLAPPs Research Group, an independent global network of researchers and practitioners working on SLAPPs and anti‑SLAPP reform.