Professor Katarina Trimmings

Biography

Professor Katarina Trimmings joined the University of Aberdeen Law School as a Lecturer in August 2012 and was promoted to Professor in 2023. She is a co-founder and former Director of the Centre for Private International Law & Transnational Governance at the University of Aberdeen Law School.

Professor Trimmings is an internationally recognised expert in international family law, particularly international parental child abduction and cross-border surrogacy. Her research has opened new avenues and developed distinctive perspectives, including private international law and children’s rights approaches to surrogacy, as well as analysis of the implications of societal challenges, such as domestic abuse, for the legal resolution of parental child abduction cases. She is the author of a monograph on child abduction (Hart, 2013) and the lead editor of a volume on the intersection between child abduction and domestic violence (Intersentia, 2022). She is also the lead editor of a highly regarded and frequently cited book on international surrogacy arrangements (Hart, 2013) and of the Research Handbook on Surrogacy and the Law (Edward Elgar, 2023). Professor Trimmings is also a co-author of the 15th edition of Cheshire, North & Fawcett: Private International Law (OUP, 2017). She is currently working on her second monograph, on the cross-border protection of children under the 1996 Hague Child Protection Convention, which is due to be published by Oxford University Press in late 2026 or early 2027.

Research Overview

• International Family Law

Current Research

Professor Trimmings’ current research focuses on cross-border child protection, particularly through the 1996 Hague Convention on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition, Enforcement and Co-operation in Respect of Parental Responsibility and Measures for the Protection of Children (the “1996 Hague Convention”). She is also exploring the adequacy of Scotland’s Private International Law framework in the post-Brexit context and the need for potential reform.

She is currently involved in two collaborative, RSE-funded projects: 1.) ‘Cross-Border Protection of Children: The 1996 Hague Child Protection Convention'; and 2.) ‘Laying the Foundations for a Restatement of Scots Private International Law’ (Co-I). Both projects aim to assess the implications of Brexit for Scots Private International Law with a view to proposing necessary reforms (Co-I). As part of the first project, Professor Trimmings is developing a case law database on the 1996 Hague Convention. 

Past Research

Over the past few years, Professor Trimmings has completed a number of externally funded research projects as the PI and conducted several commissioned studies. Her research concentrated on two themes. They build on her interests in intersections between legal fields and their impact on addressing societal challenges through innovative legal solutions that are scholarly robust and of use for policymakers, legal profession and wider public. Theme 1 is intersection between domestic violence and international parental child abduction; and theme 2 is the child right’s perspective as a basis for regulation of the legal status of children.  

Featured activity:         

1. Protection of international families with links to the European Union post-Brexit: Collaborative Scotland-EU Partnership. Funded by the RSE (PI).
2. POAM project. Funded by the EU (PI).
3. Research study into attitudes towards the reform of the law governing surrogacy amongst judges and legal practitioners in Scotland. Funded by the Clark Foundation (PI).
4. Project 'Reproductive Health Care and Policy Concerns: Regulation of Surrogacy Arrangements in Sri Lanka and Lessons Learned from the United Kingdom'. Funded by the British Council (PI). 
5. Development of legal principles for the protection of the rights of the child born through surrogacy (‘Verona Principles’) (co-author).
6. Research study on the reform of the European Convention on the Legal Status of Children Born Out of Wedlock. Commissioned and funded by the Council of Europe. Output: policy report

Collaborations

• POAM Project research team - see https://research.abdn.ac.uk/poam/research-team/
• Associate Members of the Centre for Private International (i.e. an extensive network of Private International Law scholars from around the world) - see http://www.abdn.ac.uk/law/research/associate-members-73.php.

Funding and Grants

1. Royal Society of Edinburgh, Personal Research Fellowship (2025-2026) - Project: 'Cross-Border Protection of Children: The 1996 Hague Child Protection Convention' (PI)
2. Royal Society of Edinburgh, Saltire Network Scheme (2022) - Project: 'Protection of international families with links to the European Union post-Brexit: Collaborative Scotland-EU partnership (‘International Families post-Brexit’)' (PI)
3. Royal Society of Edinburgh, Research Workshop Grants Scheme (2022) - Project: 'Laying the Foundations for a Restatement of Scots Private International Law' (Co-I)
4. Council of Europe (2021) - Project: 'Review of the Implementation of the European Convention on the Legal Status of Children Born Out of Wedlock' (PI)
5. European Commission, Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership Programme (2021) - Project: 'Time to Become Digital in Law ('DIGinLaw')' (Co-I)
6. British Council, South Asia Small-Scale Research Project Scheme (2020) - Project: 'Reproductive Health Care and Policy Concerns: Regulation of Surrogacy Arrangements in Sri Lanka and Lessons Learned from the United Kingdom (‘Surrogacy in Sri Lanka’)' (PI)
7. Clark Foundation for Legal Education (2019) - Project: 'UK Surrogacy Law Reform: Exploring the Application of Surrogacy Laws, Attitudes towards Surrogacy, and Attitudes towards the Reform of the Law Governing Surrogacy amongst Judges and Legal Practitioners in Scotland’ (PI)
8. European Union, Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme (2018) - Project: 'Protection of Abducting Mothers in Return Proceedings: Intersection between Domestic Violence and Parental Child Abduction' (POAM Project)' (PI)
9. European Union, Civil Justice Programme (2013) - Project: 'Cross-Border Litigation in Europe: Private International Law Legislative Framework, National Courts and the Court of Justice of the European Union' (EUPILLAR Project)' (Co-I)
10. EU Lifelong Learning Programme, the Jean Monnet Scheme (2012). Project aim: organisation of a series of workshops on cross-border litigation in Europe. (Co-I)
11. Nuffield Foundation (2010) - Project: 'International Surrogacy Arrangements: An Urgent Need for Legal Regulation at the International Level' (Postdoc)

Teaching Responsibilities

In 2024/25, Professor Trimmings is the course co-ordinator for the following course:

Family Law (Honours) LS401V

In addition, Dr Trimmings participates in teaching on the following courses:

1.)  Family Law LS2526

2.) Law & Medical Ethics (Honours) LS4553

3.) Family Law (Honours) LS401V

4.) Gender, Law & Society (Honours) LS/LX401E