Professor Kim Rubenstein FAAL, FASSA

Honorary Professor
BA (Mel) LLB Hons (Mel) LLM (Harvard)

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Biography

Professor Rubenstein’s expertise in citizenship law, through her book, scholarly articles and book chapters is of significance to other academic scholarship, teaching, as well as public policy. Kim was appointed a consultant to the Commonwealth in its redrafting of Australian citizenship legislation, resulting in the 2007 Act and later was a member of the Independent Expert Committee set up to review the Australian Citizenship Test that reported in 2008. In 2012 she was appointed an ANU Public Policy Fellow and was named in the first batch of Westpac '100 Women of Influence' Australian Financial Review awards for her work in public policy. In October 2013 she was awarded the inaugural Edna Ryan award for 'leading feminist changes in the public sphere'.

Her research involves engaging with concepts of active citizenship.

She has just completed two ARC Research Council grants.

Her oral history Linkage Project on Trailblazing Women and the Law, with the National Library of Australia, the National Foundation for Australian Women, the Federal Court of Australia, the Family Court of Australia and the Australian Women Lawyers examined how the status of being a lawyer frames women’s capacity to be active citizens. The online exhibition Australian Women Lawyers as Active citizens can be viewed at: http://www.womenaustralia.info/lawyers/index.html

Her ARC Discovery Project on The Court as Archive examined the place of Superior Courts of Record within the context of public law and citizenship: Can current conceptualisations of the role of Chapter III courts be extended to deepen an understanding of their function as guardians and producers of the civic experience and expectations of the Australian litigants who come before them? See the book from the project at https://press.anu.edu.au/publications/court-archive

Professor Rubenstein was the Inaugural Convenor of the ANU Gender Institute in 2011-2012 and for the first semester of 2016 she was Acting Convenor of the ANU Gender Institute.

Professor Rubenstein is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law and the Australian Academy of Social Sciences.

For a fuller biography of Professor Rubenstein see http://www.womenaustralia.info/leaders/biogs/WLE0613b.htm

Appointments

Professor Rubenstein has been a Visiting Professor at Tel Aviv Law School in 2017 and 2018 teaching her comparative Citizenship law course.

From October 2018 through until January 2019 Professor Rubenstein was a Lady Davis Visiting Professor at Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

Significant research publications

 

  • JOHNSTONE, R. PATTERSON, J. AND RUBENSTEIN, K., Improving Feedback to Students on their Assessment in Law (1998, Cavendish)
  • RUBENSTEIN, KIM (ed), Individual, Community, Nation: 50 years of Australian Citizenship. (2000, Australian Scholarly Publishing )
  • RUBENSTEIN, KIM Australian Citizenship Law in Context, 2002, Lawbook Co, 2nd edition, 2017 (chapter 4 with Jacqueline Field)
  • BRONITT, S AND RUBENSTEIN, K (eds) Citizenship in a Post-National World: Australia and Europe Compared (Federation Press, Law and Policy No 29, 2008) iii-73
  • FARRALL, J AND RUBENSTEIN, K (eds) Sanctions, Accountability and Governance in a Globalised World (Cambridge University Press, 2009)
  • POGGE, T, RIMMER, M AND RUBENSTEIN K, (eds) Incentives for Global Public Health: Patent Law and Access to Essential Medicines (Cambridge University Press, 2010)
  • JESSUP, B AND RUBENSTEIN K (eds) Environmental Discourses in Public and International law (Cambridge University Press, 2012)
  • JENKINS, F, NOLAN, M and RUBENSTEIN K (eds) Allegiance and Identity in a Globalised World (Cambridge University Press, 2014)
  • NASU, H and RUBENSTEIN, K (eds) Legal Perspectives on Security Institutions (Cambridge University Press, 2015)
  • RUBENSTEIN, K and YOUNG, K (eds) The Public Law of Gender (Cambridge University Press, in press 2016)

Recent news

09
Jul
2019
ANU Bachelor of Arts/Laws (Hons) student Elizabeth Harris and Professor Kim Rubenstein FAAL, FASSA.
A successful appeal on a statelessness case run by ANU College of Law Professor Kim Rubenstein FAAL, FASSA and supported by 36 students has been documented in a new research journal.
31
Jan
2019
From left, Kim Rubenstein, Matthew Zagor, and Dominique Dalla-Pozza
Three scholars from the ANU Law School have told a Parliamentary committee that the Australian government should abandon a bill that would remove citizenship from dual nationals convicted of terrorism offences.
26
Oct
2018
Emeritus Professor Robin Creyke AO (left) and Emeritus Professor John McMillan AO
Honoring Emeritus Professors Robin Creyke AO and John McMillan AO
11
Oct
2018
Professor Rubenstein stands in front of a sign which says The Lady Davis Fellowship Trust
Lady Davis Visiting Professor at Hebrew University

Past events

31
Mar
2021
Secrecy and Spying: The Trials of Bernard Collaery and Witness K
6.00PM to 7.15PM Webinar

Join some of Australia's leading experts on civil liberties, whistleblowing and national security law as they discuss the allegations made against Witness K, a former Australian spy, and his lawyer, former ACT Attorney-General Bernard Collaery.

12
Nov
2019
5.30PM to 6.30PM CIPL Monthly Seminar

Join Professor Kim Rubenstein and Dr Paul Taylor as they examine citizen stripping and the ICCPR.

02-03
Nov
2018
Scales of Justice
9.00AM to 5.30PM Conference

The ANU Law School has a long tradition of excellence in administrative law scholarship and of engagement with government and the private profession in public law.

09
Aug
2017
Collage of drawings and painting
5.30PM to 7.00PM Launch and panel discussion
  • Sarouche Razi, Kimberley Community Legal Service
  • Professor Brian P. Schmidt AC, ANU Vice Chancellor
  • Senator Patrick Dodson

This launch marks a new partnership between Kimberley Community Legal Services and the ANU through which KCLS aims to substantially innovate and extend civil law legal help for Aboriginal people in the Kimberley. The hope is that this will enable and position KCLS to manifest breakthrough legal service models based on long-term relationships with clients, working from client vantage points, in furtherance of client goals.

Research biography

Professor Rubenstein’s expertise in citizenship law, through her book, scholarly articles and book chapters is of significance to other academic scholarship, teaching, as well as public policy. Kim was appointed a consultant to the Commonwealth in its redrafting of Australian citizenship legislation, resulting in the 2007 Act and later was a member of the Independent Expert Committee set up to review the Australian Citizenship Test that reported in 2008.

Her present research involves engaging with concepts of active citizenship with the support of two Australian Research Council grants.

Her oral history Linkage Project on Trailblazing Women and the Law, with the National Library of Australia, the National Foundation for Australian Women, the Federal Court of Australia, the Family Court of Australia and the Australian Women Lawyers examines how the status of being a lawyer frames women’s capacity to be active citizens.

Her ARC Discovery Project on The Court as Archive examines the place of Superior Courts of Record within the context of public law and citizenship: Can current conceptualisations of the role of Chapter III courts be extended to deepen an understanding of their function as guardians and producers of the civic experience and expectations of the Australian litigants who come before them?

Research projects & collaborations

  • See in Professor Rubenstein's researcher page.

Grants

  • See in Professor Rubenstein's researcher page.

Consultancies

  • See in Professor Rubenstein's researcher page.

Books & edited collections

  • See in Professor Rubenstein's researcher's page.

Refereed journal articles

  • See in Professor Rubenstein's Researcher page.

Book chapters

  • See in Professor Rubenstein's Researcher page.

Conference papers & presentations

  • See in Professor Rubenstein's Researcher page.

Commissioned reports

  • See in Professor Rubenstein's Researcher page.

Government submissions

  • See in Professor Rubenstein's Researcher page.

Committees

External Organisations

  • See curriculum vitae

Internal ANU Committees

  • See curriculum vitae

Case notes & book reviews

  • See Researcher's page.

Other

  • See Researcher's page.

Currently supervising

PhD supervision

I am willing to supervise in the areas: Citizenship, Citizenship and Nationality, Citizenship and Identity, Gender and Constitutional law, 

I have previously supervised:

  • All of the above

SJD supervision

I am willing to supervise in the areas:

  • Same as above

I have previously supervised:

  • Same as above

MPhil supervision

I am willing to supervise in the areas:

  • Same as above

I have previously supervised:

  • Same as above

LLM Masters thesis supervision

I am willing to supervise in the areas:

  • Same as above

I have previously supervised:

  • Same as above

Honours thesis supervision

I am willing to supervise in the areas:

  • Same as above

I have previously supervised:

  • Same as above

Internship supervision

I am willing to supervise in the areas:

  • Same as above

I have previously supervised:

  • Same as above

Philosophy & approach

I love teaching and my masters course is very interactive.  I expect students to have read the material and to contribute in class!

Past courses

  • I have taught and continue to teach Citizenship Law in Context, which is offered in the JD and Masters programs.

How my works connects with public policy

I am an ANU Public Policy Fellow, which recognises my contributions to Public policy.

This has been primariy in the context of citlzeship law and policy and in the area of gender and constitutional law.  

My biography sets this out further.

Updated:  10 August 2015/Responsible Officer:  College General Manager, ANU College of Law/Page Contact:  Law Marketing Team