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Dr Patricia Zivkovic

Dr Patricia Zivkovic
Dr Patricia Zivkovic
Dr Patricia Zivkovic

PhD, LLM, mag. iur.

Senior Lecturer

Accepting PhDs

About
Email Address
patricia.zivkovic@abdn.ac.uk
Telephone Number
+44 (0)1224 272556
Office Address

Room C57

School of Law

Taylor Building

Old Aberdeen

AB24 3UB

 

 

 

 

School/Department
School of Law
Linkedin
ResearchGate
Google Scholar
Pure

Biography

I hold the position of Senior Lecturer in Law, specialising in international commercial arbitration and technology and law.

I joined the School of Law at the University of Aberdeen in 2019. Prior to this appointment, I held teaching positions at the International University of Sarajevo and gained professional experience in legal practice and industry.

I hold a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from the University of Zagreb, School of Law, and a Master of Laws (LLM) from the Central European University (CEU), where I specialised in International Business Law. I completed my doctoral studies at CEU and am currently under contract with Edward Elgar Publishing to develop my doctoral dissertation into a monograph, Costs in International Commercial Arbitration, which is forthcoming in 2026.

My research in technology and law focuses on emerging challenges relating to biometric data, emotion detection, and neurotechnology, with particular attention to their legal, ethical, and societal implications.

Due to my commitment to interdisciplinarity and law and humanities, I co-lead projects under the theme of Death and Law – Interdisciplinary Explorations. My principal contribution examines a technological posthumanist critique of personhood, with particular emphasis on post-mortem digital avatars.

To support sustained multidisciplinary collaboration, I founded and currently lead the Humanity and AI Research Group. 

Within the wider research community, I co-convene the Private International Law Section of the Society of Legal Scholars Conference and have co-organised numerous national and international research projects and events in partnership with other institutions. I am currently part of the team awarded an Erasmus+ Jean Monnet Chair for a project on Fair Digital Transition.

I currently serve as PGT Programmes Coordinator.

From Theory to Practice in Private International Law

This book, compiled in memory of the work and life of Professor Jonathan Fitchen, brings together preeminent scholars from across the private international law world to address a wide spectrum of subject matter in the discipline.

 

Link to the book page

Memberships and Affiliations

Internal Memberships
  • PGT Programmes Coordinator
  • Humanity and AI Research Group Lead
  • Member of the Centre for Commercial Law
  • Member of the Centre for Scots Law 

Previously:

  • LLM Dispute Resolution Co-ordinator
  • Research Environment and Culture Deputy Lead
  • Academic Line Manager
  • Monitoring Lead
  • Member of the Executive Committee (Law)
  • Member of the Operational Committee (Law)
  • Member of the Centre for Private International Law and Transnational Governance
  • Associate Co-Director of the Centre for Private International Law 
  • Member of the EDI Committee
  • Student group liaison (Legal Tech)
  • Member of the Law School's Library Committee
  • LLM Admission Selector
  • ECR Representative in the Research Committee
  • Member of the Employment, Entrepreneurship & Co-curriculum Committee
External Memberships

Latest Publications

View My Publications

Prizes and Awards

Students' Union and University of Aberdeen Excellence Award for Best Undergraduate Supervisor (2023)

Research

Research Overview

Patricia's focus in teaching and researching includes:

  • international dispute resolution, with an emphasis on international commercial arbitration,
  • private international law,
  • commercial law,
  • the regulation of artificial intelligence, and
  • the regulation of biometric data.

Research Areas

Accepting PhDs

I am currently accepting PhDs in Law.

Please get in touch if you would like to discuss your research ideas further.

Email Me

Law

Supervising
Accepting PhDs
View Research Area

Research Specialisms

  • Law
  • Dispute Resolution
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Comparative Law
  • Business Law

Our research specialisms are based on the Higher Education Classification of Subjects (HECoS) which is HESA open data, published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.

Current Research

  • Biometrics and Neurotechnology: Ethics, Privacy, and Legal Personhood in the New Digital Age – Redefining the Boundaries of Identity

  • Navigating Complexities of Applicable Substantive Laws in International Commercial Arbitration – Conflict of Laws Perspective 

Past Research

  • The enforceability of arbitration clauses in antitrust damages cases and the procedural, evidential, and substantive barriers in arbitration for the private enforcement of antitrust damages

Beyond Boundaries: How can the law keep pace with AI?

Our next generation of lawyers face an enormous new challenge: how to keep pace with rapidly advancing artificial intelligence.

For example, how can we legislate for 'deathbots', where someone’s online activity can be uploaded to an avatar to imitate their conversational style after they have died?  

Understanding and staying ahead of technology is a big passion for Dr Patricia Živković.

Listen to the podcast with Dr Patricia Živković

Collaborations

Patricia is a member of the following research networks:

  • BlockchainResolve - the project resulted in a publication Mind the Gap: Tech-Based Dispute Resolution for Disputes in Global Supply Blockchains; the research group included Denise McCurdy (Georgia State University, Center for Engaged Business Research, USA), Dr Mimi Zou (University of Reading, School of Law, United Kingdom), and Dr Anjanette Raymond (Indiana University, Department of Business Law and Ethics, Kelley School of Business, USA).

 

Funding and Grants

  • Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership funding titled “Time to Become Digital in Law” (DIGInLaw), with Dr Katarina Trimmings as the principal investigator for the team of the University of Aberdeen;
  • Royal Society of Edinburgh Research Workshop Grant with a project titled “Laying the Foundations for a Restatement of Scots Private International Law, with Dr Justin Borg-Barthet, as Primary Applicant, and Dr Katarina Trimmings, as Co-Applicant.
Teaching

Courses

Teaching Responsibilities

Postgraduate

  • LS5083 International Commercial Arbitration (Course Coordinator)
  • LS553N Regulation of Biometric Data and Profiling: Social, Ethical and Legal Implications Honours (Course Coordinator)
  • LS551X Negotiations Skills (online) (Course Coordinator) 

Undergraduate

  • LS452M Regulation of Biometric Data and Profiling: Social, Ethical and Legal Implications Honours (Course Coordinator)
  • LS4011 Law of Sales Honours (Course Co-ordinator)
  • LS402T AI and Law
  • LS401Q Private International Law of Commercial Law Honours

 Taught before:

  • LS1026 Case Studies on Law in Society (Interim Course Co-ordinator) (2019/20)
  • LS2026 EU Institutions and Law (2019/20)
  • LS503B/LS553B International Sale of Goods (online) (Course Co-ordinator 2019/20, 2020/21)
  • QL5502 International Sale of Goods (Course Co-ordinator 2020/21)
  • QL5005 International Commercial Arbitration (Course Co-ordinator 2021/22)
  • LS5905 Professional Arbitration Skills (Course Co-ordinator 2021/22)
  • LS402Q Privacy and Data Protection Law (2021/22, 2022/23)

 

 

Non-course Teaching Responsibilities

Guest lecturer at the Summer School of International Arbitration at the International University of Sarajevo

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