Contact
Biography
Dr. Sofiya Kartalova is a Teaching Associate at the School of Law of the University of Nottingham. Prior to joining the University of Nottingham in January 2024, Sofiya spent three years working as a Postdoc at the Department of Public Law at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. In her postdoctoral research project "Intelligence Information Sharing: The Relevance of Trust for the EU Rule of Law Crisis", Sofiya combined insights from trust theory in the social sciences with doctrinal legal analysis to conduct interdisciplinary research in the area of EU constitutional law and public security law. In 2020, Sofiya successfully defended her doctoral thesis at the Faculty of Law at the University of Tübingen in Germany. A revised version of her doctoral dissertation was published as a monograph titled "Ambiguity in EU Law: A Linguistic and Legal Analysis" in 2023 by Routledge. From 2016 to 2020, Sofiya was employed as a Research Assistant (Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin) at Research Training Group 1808: "Ambiguity - Production and Perception" at the University of Tübingen in Germany. Furthermore, Sofiya Kartalova holds an LLB European Law from Aberystwyth University (2009-2012) and an LLM in Professional Legal Practice from BPP University (2014-2015), London (Holborn). Having been awarded the Lord Denning Scholarship by the Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn (2012), Sofiya completed the Bar Professional Training Course and was Called to the Bar of England and Wales in 2014.
Since July 2024, Dr. Sofiya Kartalova has been acting as the founder and convenor of Research Discussion Group "Law and Interdisciplinarity" at the School of Law, University of Nottingham.
Expertise Summary
Dr. Sofiya Kartalova specialises in the interdisciplinary study of EU constitutional law. Thus far, Sofiya has explored the potential of insights from linguistics and from the social sciences to enrich doctrinal legal analysis. Sofiya has also developed an expertise in public security law, more specifically in international intelligence cooperation and the exchange of EU classified information.
Teaching Summary
In the academic year 2025/2026, Dr. Sofiya Kartalova teaches tutorials and delivers lectures on core undergraduate modules "Public Law" (LAWW1014) and "Law of the European Union" (LAWW3111). Sofiya… read more
Recent Publications
2024. Trust and the Exchange of EU Classified Information: The Example of Absolute Originator Control Impeding Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny at Europol. German Law Journal. 25, 70-93
2024. Trust and the Procedural Requirements of Article 7(2) TEU: When More than One Bad Apple Spoils the Barrel German Law Journal. 25, 128-151
2023. Ambiguity in EU Law: A Linguistic and Legal Analysis Routledge.
In the academic year 2025/2026, Dr. Sofiya Kartalova teaches tutorials and delivers lectures on core undergraduate modules "Public Law" (LAWW1014) and "Law of the European Union" (LAWW3111). Sofiya also delivers seminars on core postgraduate module "Applying Legal Skills and Research Methods" (LAWW4181) and optional undergraduate module "Cybercrime, Cybersecurity and Surveillance (Internet Law B)" (LAWW3135).