The Centre for International and Public Law seeks to enrich legal research into the relationship between governments, and between governments and their citizens from both domestic and international perspectives.
Director
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Research themes
- Administrative Law
- Constitutional Law and Theory
- Criminal Law
- Human Rights Law and Policy
- Indigenous Peoples and the Law
- International Law
- Law and Gender
- Law, Governance and Development
- Migration and Movement of Peoples
- Regulatory Law and Policy
Our members
Higher degree research students
About CIPL
Since its establishment in 1990, the Centre for International and Public Law has been advancing the understanding of international and public law. The Centre’s members are leading experts in their fields of international and public law, and their research has had considerable impact on public policy at the local, national and international levels.
Capitalising on its proximity to the seat of our national government, the Centre has built strong connections within and across the federal government, including the Attorney General’s Department and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, as well as other key national institutions, including the High Court.
The Centre runs two annual lectures - the Geoffrey Sawer lecture and the Kirby lecture in International Law and organises two major annual conferences - the Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law Conference and the Public Law Conference (Public Law Weekend). The Centre also runs monthly talk series, in conjunction with Attorney General's Department and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).
Through its visitor program, the Centre hosts international and domestic scholars, judges and government lawyers.
CIPL conversations
CIPL Conversations is a short research paper series run by the Centre for International and Public Law at The Australian National University.
24-01-2024
Emeritus Professor Stephen Bottomley FAAL and Professor Simon Bronitt (University of Sydney) have co-authored the fifth edition of a foundational legal textbook more than thirty years since the first edition was published in 1991.
05-12-2023
A new edition of The International Law of the Sea (Bloomsbury, 2023) co-authored by two of Australia’s foremost experts on the subject – Professor Donald Rothwell FAAL (ANU College of Law) and Professor Tim Stephens FAAL (Sydney Law School) – provides a comprehensive assessment of the foundational principles and contemporar
31-10-2023
Keshav Karupiah, a final-year Bachelor of Laws (Honours)/International Relations student at The Australian National University (ANU), recently spent three months in Rome immersed in a legal internship that shaped his outlook on law in more ways than one.
23-10-2023
In an era marked by China's growing influence and its expanding role on the global stage, there is heightened interest in understanding its involvement in various realms of global governance.
One crucial area that has captured significant attention is how China is engaging in the rules and regulations that governs intellectual property (IP) on a global scale.
Within this landscape, China's emergence as a key player in global IP governance has sparked both curiosity and controversy.
05-10-2023
Two law students from The Australian National University (ANU) recently returned to Australia after an enlightening experience delving into the depths of corporate law in the heart of Japan's vibrant capital city.
Joseph Oh and Callum Bryan were selected to participate in a six-day course focusing on international corporate governance as part of the Tokyo Summer School Program at the UTokyo Graduate Schools for Law and Politics.
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Phillipa Weeks Library, Level 4, Building 7, ANU College of Law
Join Professor Kevin Heller, Special Adviser to Karim Khan KC, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, to discuss the past, present, and future of the Palestine Investigation at the ICC. Professor Heller was an expert contributor the Panel of Experts that advised Prosecutor Khan on his application of arrest warrants for senior leaders of Israeli Government and Hamas in May 2024 and has written extensively on the International Criminal Court and international criminal law.
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ANU College of Law, Moot Court
The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has announced that they are seeking arrest warrants for 5 persons associated with the Hamas/Israel conflict, including the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu. The announcement promoted an intense international debate over the role of the ICC in the Hamas/Israel conflict.
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Phillipa Weeks Staff Library, Level 4, Building 7, ANU College of Law
Join us for an insightful seminar presented by Caitlin Reiger, CEO of the Human Rights Law Centre and esteemed human rights lawyer, as she discusses the adaptation of transitional justice processes. This talk will explore key issues in this trend, with a focus on Australia’s first formal truth-telling body, the Yoorrook Justice Commission, currently underway in Victoria.
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Australian Centre on China in the World
The Australian National University, Building 188, Fellows La, Acton ACT 2601, Australia
Please join us and Chief Justice Stephen Gageler AC in celebrating the 10th edition of Statutory Interpretation in Australia (Lexis Nexis, 2024), the most cited text on Australian law.
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Online Event
In the first 68 years of being in force, the Genocide Convention was only the subject of three cases before the ICJ. In the last four and half years, this has changed dramatically: with four new cases brought against four new States. These cases – brought by The Gambia, Ukraine, South Africa and Nicaragua – raise a number of legal issues, have given rise to the most number of third party interventions ever seen in the ICJ, and advance understandings of many issues including construction of the Genocide Convention and the powers of the Court to order provisional measures.
The Centre for International and Public Law produces a range of publications, including an annual yearbook, and a newsletter. Its members also regularly produce publications in the field of international law.
Australian Year Book of International Law
Published since 1965, theAustralian Year Book of International Law is the leading Australian academic journal on international law. It publishes articles on a range of international law topics, including human rights, environmental law and legal theory.
Each volume contains a section on Australian practice in both private and public international law, a summary and analysis of Australian cases in which international law is an issue, as well as a lively book review section.
The Year Book is valuable for those working in the field of international law, including government officials, international organisation officials, non-government and community organisations, legal practitioners, academics and other researchers. It will also be valuable to students studying international law, international relations, human rights and international affairs.
Cambridge University Press Series: Connecting International Law with Public Law
This six book series is a key output from the Centre for International and Public Law. It grew out of a series of workshops that brought together public and international lawyers and policy makers for interdisciplinary discussion on selected topics and themes.
- Vol 1: Kim Rubenstein and Jeremy Farrall (eds), Sanctions Accountability and Governance in a Globalised World.
- Vol 2: Thomas Pogge, Matthew Rimmer and Kim Rubenstein (eds) Incentives for Global Public Health:Patent Law and Access to Essential Medicines.
- Vol 3: Brad Jessup and Kim Rubenstein (eds) Environmental Discourses in Public & International Law.
- Vol 4: Mark Nolan, Fiona Jenkins and Kim Rubenstein (eds) Allegiance and Identity in a Globalised World.
- Vol 5: Hitoshi Nasu and Kim Rubenstein (eds) Legal Perspectives on Security Institutions.
- Vol 6: Katharine G Young and Kim Rubenstein (eds) The Public Law of Gender: From the Local to the Global.
This series Connecting International Law with Public Law can be purchased from Cambridge University Press.
Federation Press: Law and Policy Papers series
A regular series of papers published co-published with Federation Press that contribute to public understanding and discussion on issues of law and public policy, especially those that are the subject of contemporary public debate. Three papers are published each year, one each on administrative law, constitutional law and international law, written by experts in academia, government, the judiciary and the private legal profession.
The Centre has published 29 papers in this series between 1994 and 2015. For a full list of titles and to access the papers by subscription or individual purchase, see the Federation Press site.
Federation Press: Books
- Adrienne Stone and George Williams (eds), The High Court at the Crossroads: Essays in Constitutional Law, Papers from the 1999 Public Law Weekend, (2000).
- Robin Creyke and Peter Sutherland (eds), Veteran's Entitlements Law, (2000).
- Robin Creyke and Patrick Keyzer (eds),The Brennan Legacy: Blowing the Winds of Legal Orthodoxy,
Papers from the 1998 Public Law Weekend, (2002).
federationpress.com.au T +61 2 9552 2200 marketing@federationpress.com.au
Publications available from CIPL
- John McMillan and Judith Jones (eds), Public Law Intersections, paper presented at the Public Law Weekend 2000 and 2001, (2003).
- John McMillan (ed), The AAT: Twenty Years Forward, (1998).
- Robin Creyke and John McMillan (eds), The Kerr Vision of Australian Administrative Law- At the Twenty-Five Year Mark, (1998).
- Robin Creyke and Michael Sassella (eds), Targeting, Accountability and Review: Current Issues in Income Support Law, (1998).
If you would like a copy, please contact our administrator on cipl.law@anu.edu.au.
Occasional papers
- Diana Bryant, Chief Federal Magistrate, The Contribution of Children to Australian Administrative Law (PDF, 117KB) Sir Richard Blackburn Lecture presented at the Law Society of the ACT, 13 May 2003.
- Jennifer Clarke, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, ANU, The Yorta Yorta Case (PDF, 26KB), December 2002.
- Jennifer Clarke, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, ANU, Native Title After Ward and Wilson (PDF, 19KB), September, 2002.
- HE Mr John Dauth, LVO, Australian Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, New York, Australia and the United Nations: Letter from New York, (PDF, 59KB), Paper presented at the second in the series of annual lectures by Australia's representative at the United Nations at The Australian National University, 24 July 2002.
- Larissa Behrendt, Professor of Law and Indigenous Studies, Director of Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning, University of Technology, Sydney and Visiting Scholar, ANU, Mabo: Ten Years On (PDF, 47KB), Paper presented at the 'Legacy of Mabo: A Ten Year Assessment' forum to mark the tenth anniversary of the Mabo v Queensland (No 2) Case, 6 June 2002.
- The Hon Alastair Nicholson, AO RFD, Chief Justice, Family Court of Australia, Children and Young People: The Law and Human Rights (PDF, 199KB), Sir Richard Blackburn Lecture, presented at the Law Society of the ACT, 14 May 2002.
- The Hon Sir Anthony Mason AC KBE, Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Faculty of Law, Human Rights in China and Hong Kong (PDF, 77KB), Paper presented at The Australian National University, 21 August 2001.
- Kirsty McIntyre, Manager, Legislation and Compliance, National Road Transport Commission and Barry Moore, Director, Strategy, National Road Transport Commission, The National Road Transport Commission: An Experiment in Cooperative Federalism (PDF, 109KB), Paper presented to the Public Law Discussion Group, The Australian National University, 17 July 2001.
- Terry Connolly, Master, Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory, Professions and Federation: The Emergence of a National Market in Legal Services and a National Legal Profession (PDF, 67KB), Paper presented to the Public Law Discussion Group, The Australian National University, 22 May 2001.
- Pat Brazil AO, Special Counsel, Phillips Fox Lawyers, Offshore Constitutional Settlement 1980: A Case Study in Federalism (PDF, 43KB), Paper presented to the Public Law Discussion Group, The Australian National University, 5 April 2001.
- Ian Govey, General Manager, Civil Justice & Legal Services, Commonwealth Attorney-General's Department, Corporations Law: A Case Study in Federalism (PDF, 67KB), Paper presented to the Public Law Discussion Group, The Australian National University, 21 February 2001.
- John Broome, former head of the National Crimes Authority, The Electronic Revolution: Is the Nation State Redundant? (PDF, 96KB), Paper presented to the Public Law Discussion Group, Australian National University, 23 November 2000.
- The Hon. Gough Whitlam AC QC, Constitutional Changes After 1975 (PDF, 62KB), Speech to mark the 25th anniversary of the dismissal of the Whitlam Government, 11 November 2000.
Related organisations
- Australia & New Zealand Society of International Law
- Australian Institute of Administrative Law
- Castan Centre for Human Rights Law, Monash University
- Centre for Democratic Institutions, The Australian National University
- Gilbert+Tobin Centre of Public Law, UNSW
- Institute for International Law and the Humanities, University of Melbourne
- New Zealand Centre For Public Law
- Public Interest Lawyers UK
- Sydney Centre for International and Global Law, University of Sydney
Internships
The Centre for International and Public Law offers undergraduate students the opportunity to undertake an internship as part of LAWS4230, a subject which offers selected high achieving students an unparalleled opportunity to carry out a law-based research project in a legal professional workplace. This elective course develops both legal knowledge and a lawyer’s approach to problem identification, analysis and recommendations.
Students should contact the Centre Director to discuss the possibility of undertaking an internship with the Centre.
Previous interns are listed in our People section, and if you click on their name you can read accounts of their experiences as a CIPL intern.
Visitors program
Under the ANU College of Law’s Visiting Scholar Program, the Centre offers two visiting opportunities – one for Judges, and the other for Government visitors.
Judge-In-Residence program
The Judge-in-Residence Program provides an opportunity for judges to enjoy a research intensive period at the College. Judges-in-Residence have the opportunity to be part of the research community, benefitting from, and contributing to, the vibrancy of the College’s research culture.
Government Visitor program
The Centre offers the opportunity for a government officer to enjoy a research intensive period at the College. Government Visitors will pursue a research project while at the College and be willing to draw from, and add to, the intellectual life of the College.