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Staff Profile

Dr Abdul Karim Aldohni

Senior Lecturer in Law / Deputy Head of School

  • Telephone: +44 (0) 191 208 7237
  • Address: Newcastle Law School
    Newcastle University
    21-24 Windsor Terrace
    Newcastle upon Tyne
    NE1 7UR
    United Kingdom
Background

I joined Newcastle Law School as a lecturer in 2008 after I completed my PhD at the University of Leeds. I became a senior lecturer in 2015. I am a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb) and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (Advance HE).

My research and teaching focus on certain areas of financial law, including ethical finance in general, Islamic finance more specifically, consumer credit and the protection of its users, and financial technology (fintech). I have published extensively and was consulted on matters concerning the governance of Islamic financial institutions and their market operations in a number of jurisdictions. My scholarly research in the area of high-cost credit and consumer protection is nationally and internationally recognised, I was appointed as a consultant for the 'Financial Transformation Project in Ukraine' where I advised the National Bank of Ukraine on matters concerning the development of the regulatory framework for high-cost short term credit. My opinion on the regulation concerning the cost of lending and the FCA's supervisory role in this respect was quoted in the Financial Times, 'UK regulator urged to crack down on banks overcharging borrowers'.  

I am currently working on my third monograph entitled 'The Law of Islamic Finance and Fintech' which is under contract by Oxford University Press, the book will be published in the last quarter of 2025.


Qualifications

PhD, School of Law, University of Leeds.

LLM(Intl. Business Law), Department of Law, University of Wales(Aberystwyth).

PGCert Advanced Studies in Academic Practice, Newcastle University.

LLB, Faculty of Law, University of Aleppo.

Roles and Responsibilities

Deputy Head of School (2024- )

Member of the Law School Senior Management Team (2024- )

Member of the Law School Executive Committee (2020- )

Director of International Programmes and Partnerships (2020-2024) 

Member of University Taught Programmes Regulation Working Group (2019- 2022)

Director of Postgraduate Taught Programmes (2014- 2015, 2017- 2019)

Chair of the Postgraduate Taught Board of Studies (2014-2015, 2017-2019) 

PGR Deputy Degree Programme Director (2010- 2012, 2016 - 2017)

PGR Selector (2010- 2012, 2016- 2017)

UG Third Year Tutor (2012- 2014) 

External Examiner Appointments

SOAS, University of London, School of Law (2019-2023)

City, University of London, City Law School (2016- 2021) 

Dublin City University, School of Law and Government (2015- 2019)

Research Degrees External Examination

University of Leeds, School of Law, LLM by research thesis (May 2024)

Lancaster University, School of Law, PhD thesis (June 2022)

University of London, City Law School, PhD thesis (November 2021)

University of Cardiff, School of Law & Politics, PhD thesis (November 2020) 

University of Leeds, School of Law, PhD thesis (December 2019)

University of Leeds, School of Law, PhD thesis (January 2019)

University of Leeds, School of Law, LLM by research thesis (November 2017)

University of Bristol Law School, PhD thesis (June 2014)

University of Leeds, School of Law, PhD thesis (February 2013) 

Memberships 

Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb) (2024)

Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (Advance HE) (2015)

Society of Legal Scholars


Research

Research Interests

My research focuses on a few areas within the context financial law and regulation, ethical finance, consumer credit and fintech. First, a large volume of my published work examines the ethical dimension of the financial industry from different perspectives. I have published extensively on Islamic banking and finance interrogating the legal and regulatory aspects of this industry at both institutional and market levels. My first monograph published in 2011, The Legal and Regulatory Aspects of Islamic Banking: A comparative look at the UK and Malaysia (Routledge), was positively reviewed by Sir William Blair (Journal of Business Law 2013, Issue 2) and reprinted in paperback in 2013. My second monograph, The Law of Islamic Capital Markets in the UK (Edward Elgar), is forthcoming autumn 2024. Also, my research interest extends into the theoretical foundations of ethical finance, where I am particularly interested in the interaction between religion and morality in this respect.  

Second, in the area of consumer credit I primarily focus on High-Cost Short-Term Credit (HCSTC) and the social backdrop of the HCSTC regulations. I am particularly interested in the human dimension of this sector and the extent to which this has been factored into its legal and regulatory framework. My collaborative research also examines the behavioural aspects of the HCSTC consumers. 

Third, my research in fintech is multifaceted, on the one hand, aspects of my work has examined the use of Artificial Intelligence to improve the understanding of consumer credit users of two credit products, namely overdraft and credit cards, with particular focus on communications of information and their compliance with the FCA's Consumer Duty. This is was an Innovate UK funded project: 'An AI-powered tool for enhancing consumer trust in financial promotions and marketing' in collaboration with an industry partner and academics from Newcastle University- School of Computing. On the other hand, some of my published work examined the interaction between fintech and ethical finance. Further, my third monograph The Law of Islamic Finance and Fintech (under contract Oxford University Press) examines the emergence of different products of fintech in the context of Islamic finance. The book interrogates the compatibility of these products with the principles of Islamic finance law and it also examines where Islamic fintech fits within the emerging fintech legal and regulatory framework of the UK and the UAE.

    

Postgraduate Supervision

I supervised successful PhD candidates in the areas of Islamic banking and finance regulation, the regulatory framework of profit- loss sharing in Malaysia, capital markets and investors’ protection, comparative anti-market abuse regimes, shareholders protection and derivative claims, D&O insurance. I am currently supervising candidates in the areas of, fintech and the regulation of Islamic finance products in Qatar, and anti-market abuse regime in Saudi Arabia .   


 If you would like information on reading for a research degree at Newcastle Law School please see www.ncl.ac.uk/nuls/postgraduate/research/index.htm

Esteem Indicators

ESRC Peer Review College Member (2024- )

Member of the judging panel of the Consumer Duty Leadership Award (London 2024).

Member of the editorial board, LexisNexis Encyclopedia of Banking Law  (2013- present). 

Member of the editorial board, Butterworths Financial Regulation Services (2012- present).

Co-convenor of Newcastle Finance and Financial Law Research Group [a cross Faculty-interdisciplinary research group] (2012-2015).

ifs School of Finance/Henry Grunfeld Foundation Research Fellow (2009-2010) 

Contributor to LexisNexis Encyclopedia of Banking Law (2008-2015)

Funding

2023/24- £137,897 Innovate UK (UKRI) (with Dr. Dr Huizhi Liang-Newcastle University School of Computing and an industry partner start up: Deriskly ltd.)

2016/17- £3633.44 NE ESRC Impact Acceleration Fund (with Prof. TT Arvind [York Law School] and Dr Orkun Akseli [Durham Law School]).

2009/10- £18000 ifs School of Finance/Henry Grunfeld Foundation Research Fellowship.

Conference and Workshop Papers  

'Consumer-Centric Governance: Integrating Consumer Duty into Institutional Decision-Making', PwC, London (7th December 2023).

'Outlook for Fintech and Regtech: Consumer Duty and Financial Innovation’, Goodwen Global Law Firm, London (12th October 2023). 

'Consumer Duty and Product Development: challenges and opportunities' Webiner, Deriskly/OnLader (20th June 2023).

'Navigating the New Normal: Leveraging Technology for Meeting the Consumer Duty', Webinar, Deriskly/Glow (2nd June 2023).

'Islamic finance and corporate sustainability', 3rd International Conference on Advances in Business and Law, University of Dubai (23-24th November 2019).

‘The Accessibility of Consumer Credit Post the Global Financial Crisis: Policy Shifts and Shortfalls‘, Financial Inclusion and Access to Credit Symposium, Durham University (28th May 2019). 

'The Quest for Social and Economic Sustainability in Islamic Financial Institutions: the Challenge of the two-fold governance structure' , Cambridge Corporate Governance Handbook Symposium [solicited contribution], University of Oslo (12-14th March 2018).

'High-Cost Credit: the FCA proposed changes to credit card and overdraft rules' invited speaker at Westminster Business Forum Keynote Seminar 'Priorities for regulating consumer credit in the UK - standards, consumer protection and managing the growth of unsecured lending' Sixty One Whitehall, London (12th October 2017). 

'High Cost Short Term Credit and the Quest for Better Consumers Protection' Newcastle Law School- Law, Innovation & Society Workshop (11th May 2016).

'Delivering Excellence in Islamic Finance Education at Western Higher Education Institutions: Developing Human Capital' Newcastle Law School (14th January 2015).  

Organised and presented at Faculty Finance and Financial Law Research Group 3rd Symposium ' High Cost Credit: A Necessary Evil or a Useful Solution to Fill the Funding Gap' (4th July 2013).

'Religious Values: A curse or a blessing for corporate governance’ CGIR Conference on Corporate Governance Bundles, Cambridge Judge Business School (28th September 2012). 

‘Regulating Islamic Banking Operations within a Conventional Market Framework’ Faculty Finance and Financial Law Research Group- Seminar Series, Newcastle Law School (25th July 2012).

'The Legal and Regulatory Challenges of Islamic Banking in the UK Market: How could the industry participate to the promotion of the legal and regulatory frameworks?’ Islamic Finance Workshop- ifs School of Finance, London (2nd February 2011).

‘Towards a Better Regulatory Framework for Islamic Banking in the UK’ Northern Commercial Lawyers Group, Newcastle Law School (11th November 2010).

'The Legal and Regulatory Challenges of Islamic Finance', [Invited speaker] at IFN Roadshow, London (16th September 2009). 

 

 

Teaching

Undergraduate Teaching

[LAW3010] Company Law (lectures and seminars)

Postgraduate Teaching

[LAW8143] Corporate Governance and Corporate Finance (Module Co-ordinator) 

[LAW8544] Islamic Finance: theory and practice (Module Co-ordinator, lectures and seminars)


I have also taught Introduction to English Law and Contract (UG), Equity (UG), The Legal and Regulatory Aspects of Islamic Banking (PG) and International Sale of Goods(PG).


Teaching and Scholarship Funding 

2014/15- £1806 Society of Legal Scholars, Legal Scholarship Fund. 

Publications