ANU Law Conference: Public Law and Inequality

As part of The Australian National University's 75th anniversary and to belatedly celebrate the 60th anniversary of ANU Law and the 30th anniversary of the Centre for International and Public Law (CIPL), a major public law conference will be held at the ANU College of Law in Canberra on 16-18 February 2022.

The conference will be delivered in a hybrid format: in-person and online. There are approximately 40 speakers on the program, about half of whom are based in Australia.

We have a variety of registration options for academics, professionals and students; domestic and international; on-campus and online. These are outlined below with costs in AUD:

• Standard: Full program incl. dinner ($240)
• Student: Full program incl. dinner ($100)
• Standard: 1 day only ($100)
• Student: 1 day only ($50)
• International: Virtual (Free)
• Domestic: Virtual ($100)

Please note you may be asked to provide proof of your location or currently enrolled student status to confirm your registration.

If you require multiple registrations on behalf of an organisation, please contact marketing.law@anu.edu.au to negotiate a package.

Conference Theme

Growing inequality is a defining challenge of our times, domestically and globally. Yet the role of inequality in social, political and economic life is often muted (sometimes, invisible) in much public law scholarship. Notably, public law’s foundational concepts were forged in a social world where the inevitability of inequality was often taken for granted. The stuttering processes of democratisation have rendered that assumption untenable. 

However, although public law scholarship has considered how the field can contribute to political equality, there has been less focus, particularly in recent decades, on the relationship between public law and material equality. The question of whether equality is achievable in a world of yawning disparities in wealth can no longer be brushed aside.

How do public law concepts, institutions and norms frame or contribute to political and material inequality?

How can public law and public law scholarship contribute to clear thinking about the set of problems associated with pervasive inequity in contemporary society?

Speakers

The conference will bring together over 40 speakers from around the world (see our program here), including the following invited speakers. 

amna_akbar.jpg Professor Amna Akbar Moritz College of Law, The Ohio State University  TBC	ahmed_farrah.jpg Professor Farrah Ahmed The University of Melbourne  Equality and Fraternity in Public Law	will_bateman_200_x_200.jpg Associate Professor Will Bateman The Australian National University Constitutionalism and Inequality: before, during and after the Zero Lower Bound
dixon_rosalind_200_x_200.jpg Professor Rosalind Dixon The University of New South Wales Fair Market Constitutionalism	khaitan_tarun.jpg Professor Tarunabh Khaitan The University of Oxford The University of Melbourne Plutocracy and Liberal Constitutionalism	king_jeff_sqr.jpg Professor Jeff King University College London The Rule of Law, the State, and Inequality
moyn_samuel.jpg Professor Samuel Moyn Yale University Sufficiency, Equality, and Human Rights	stone_adrienne.jpg Professor Adrienne Stone The University of Melbourne Equality and Freedom of Expression	suk_julie.jpg Professor Julie Suk Fordham University School of Law Feminist Constitutionalism and Economic Inequality
aw200x200.jpg Professor Asmi Wood Australian National University Love and Equality   nt200x200.jpg Associate Professor Ntina Tzouvala Australian National University The 'Unwilling or Unable' Doctrine and the Political Economy of the Global 'War on Terror'	vd200x200.jpg Professor Veena Dubal University of California, Hastings TBC   ce200x200.jpg Associate Professor Christopher Essert University of Toronto Equality, Public Law, and Housing	ky200x200.jpg Professor Katharine G. Young Boston College Queues, Inequality and Rights

Papers

• Globalization Tax Competition and the Fiscal Crisis of the Welfare State: A 20th Anniversary Retrospective, Reuven Avi-Yonah, University of Michigan
• National Human Rights Institutions and Socio-Economic Inequality, Mario Gomez, International Centre for Ethnic Studies, Sri Lanka
• Plutocracy and Liberal Constitutionalism, Tarun Khaitan, University of Oxford
• Inequality and the Law of Democracy: a Political Economy Approach, Timothy Kuhner, University of Auckland
• The Environment is All Rights: Human Rights, Constitutional Rights and Environmental Rights, Justice Rachel Pepper, Land and Environment Court of NSW

Related activities

Annual Geoffrey Sawer Lecture

In conjunction with the conference, Professor Megan Davis (UNSW) will now deliver the Annual Geoffrey Sawer Lecture on 16 February 2022 at 5.30pm. This is a free public lecture hosted by the Centre for International and Public Law (CIPL). Registration for this lecture is separate from the conference registration.

megan_davis_440x295.jpg

Professor Megan Davis

Federal Law Review special issue on equality and public law: Call for submissions

In 2023, Federal Law Review - the flagship journal of the ANU College of Law at The Australian National University - will publish a special issue on equality and public law based on themes underlying the conference. It is expected that the issue will include national or comparative perspectives on equality spanning several countries. Paper submissions for this special issue are due 22 March 2022. For details about the call and for the journal's general submissions requirements, please visit here. For information specific to the equality issue, please contact flr.law@anu.edu.au.

Accommodation Deals

The Centre for International and Public Law has secured special discounted rates for those travelling to Canberra with the following hotels:

Ovolo Nishi 25 Edinburgh Ave, Canberra, ACT 2601

Use the code OVOLOBIZ on the website for 10% off all hotel rates.

QT Hotel Canberra 1 London Circuit, Canberra ACT 2601

• QT King Room (1 x King Bed) AUD $199.00 room only
• QT Twin Room (2 x King Single Beds) AUD $199.00 room only
• Available for stays between Wednesday 16th February – Friday 18th February 2022 (inclusive)

To access the special rate, please visit https://www.qthotelsandresorts.com/canberra

1. Select the “Arrive – Depart” Dates
2. Select the Number of guests / Room
3. Click on “BOOK NOW”
4. Under “MORE BOOKING OPTIONS” in the “BLOCK CODE” field enter your booking discount code: CIP21ANU
5. Click “UPDATE BOOKING”
6. Discounted rates will appear on the rates screen

Alternatively, contact the Reservations Team (email reservations_qtcanberra@evt.com or call +61 2 6867 1205) quoting the block code CIP21ANU