SUMMER RESEARCH SCHOLARSHIPS 2009

The ANU College of Law is one of Australia’s leading law schools. Established in 1960 as the Faculty of Law, the ANU College of Law is the 7th oldest of Australia’s 29 law schools, and has produced graduates who are now leaders in their chosen fields all over the world. Located in the national capital, seat of the national Parliament, the Federal Executive, and the High Court, the ANU College of Law is, in a sense, Australia’s ‘national’ law school.

A Summer Research Scholarship includes return travel from a student’s place of residence to the Australian National University, accommodation on campus from 23 November 2009 to 29 January 2010, a weekly stipend of $135.00 and an opportunity to work with leading scholars in their area of expertise.

This year, research is offered in the following areas:

National Europe Centre (supervised by Professor Simon Bronitt). Note this scholar will be supported by a wider research team comprising Associate Professor James Stellios, Ms Anne McNaughton, Dr James Prest and Mr Matthew Zagor)

Projects on which students may work include:

• Australia and the European Union: A study of a changing trade and business relationship – an interdisciplinary project which examines the regulatory and legal frameworks of the EU-Australia relationship
• Comparative Constitutional Law – an exploration of the similarities and differences between the legal and constitutional frameworks of Australia and the EU, undertaking casestudies of cooperative federalism in fields like police & judicial cooperation, regulatory standard setting, human rights and environmental protection.

ANU College of Law (Supervised by Professor Kim Rubenstein, Director of the Centre for International and Public law and Dr Heather Roberts)

The summer research scholar will participate in research exploring the life, work, and legal contribution of trailblazing women lawyers in Australia. This is an interdisciplinary research project, drawing together biography, gender studies, social and oral history methodologies. The project will culminate in an archive of oral history interviews with women who have pioneered in all aspects of the Australian legal landscape: academics, barristers, judges, government lawyers, politicians, solicitors, and many others. The scope of this research project enterprise allows for considerable flexibility in framing the summer scholar’s research to fit their individual interests. For example, focusing merely on women judges in Australia, a summer project may include research in the following fields:

• constitutional law: A jurisprudential analysis of the approach of one or more women judges of Australia to the task of constitutional interpretation;
• biography and decision-making: exploring the extent to which the life-story of Australian women judges be seen in their decisions; or
• feminist legal theory: does gender make a difference in the decision-making of Australian women judges?

Other projects, focusing on life, work and contribution of non-judicial trailblazing women lawyers are also available.

ANU College of Law (supervised by Dr Matthew Rimmer)

Intellectual Property and Climate Change - Inventing Clean Technologies

The summer research scholar will participate in research on intellectual property, the environment, and climate change. The research project will focus on the research, development, and delivery of clean technologies - including wind power, solar power, tidal power, geothermal power, green chemistry, biofuelds, green vehicles, and smart grids. The research project will cover the following fields:

• International Law and Technology Transfer
• Patent Law and Clean Technologies
• Trade Mark Law and Greenwashing
• Copyright Law and Environmental Database Protection
• Access to Genetic Resources - particularly Plant Genetic Resources
• The Development of Emerging Technologies - such as synthetic biology, and nanotechnology
• Alternative Research and Development Mechanisms - such as research prizes, impact funds, and patent pools

The research project will ideally suit a student with a background in law and technology.

ANU College of Law (supervised by Professor Peter Bailey)

Human Rights projects on which students may work include:

• Traditional controls over the exercise of the executive power of the Commonwealth have been seriously weakened by many recent developments. The legislature has come to exercise virtually unlimited powers, notwithstanding the federal structure; the parliamentary controls related to responsible government have been weakened because of party discipline; the courts have frequently deferred to parliamentary supremacy; and administrative agencies are often subject to government pressures. What are the deficiencies in more precise terms, are they greater than in the past, and what remedies can be devised?

• Discrimination law, after five decades of operation, seems not to be generating the changes in life conditions of discriminated groups that had been hoped for at its inception. The courts seem to adhere to doctrines of formal equality; the exemption provisions in the legislation continue to broaden; and increasing numbers of would-be complainants seem to be falling between the legislated grounds and areas. Proposals have been made, for example for equality legislation that applies only to women (ALRC Report No 69). Many other proposals for change have been made and there is a need to review the alternatives and identify possible new ways of meeting the continuing problem of discrimination.

• The human rights legislation enacted in the UK, New Zealand and two Australian jurisdictions offers new alternatives for enshrining human rights values. Proposals are under consideration in the Commonwealth and most other Australian jurisdictions. Analysis is needed of the effect of the legislation already in operation and of where it could be improved. Issues arise in relation to the separation of the judicial power, for both the Commonwealth and the Territories. Investigation and analysis of these and related issues would be timely.

There would be scope for refining these topics to suit the mutual interests of the applicant and the supervisor.

Please note: Copies of academic transcripts and referee reports must be sent directly to the Law School by 31 August 2009. Your application will not be considered complete, nor will it be assessed until supporting documents are received. Supporting documents should be sent directly to the Law School contact officer, Dinah Rigg, Assistant Manager, Student Administration, ANU College of Law, Building 5, Fellows Road, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 0200 (tel: 02 6125 5877).

Conditions of Award and Application Form

"The Australian National University Summer Research Scholarship Programme 2007-2008"

"The Australian National University Summer Research Scholarship Program 2008-2009 - P Couch"

"The Australian National University Summer Research Scholarship program 2008 - 2009 - T Collis"

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