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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

Imogen Saunders

Contact us

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

Matthew Neuhaus
Emma Aisbett
Anton Moiseienko
Akshaya Kamalnath
Faith Gordon
Ntina Tzouvala
Damian Clifford
Jessica Hambly
Jelena Gligorijevic
Justin McCaul
Jonathan Liljeblad
Esme Shirlow
Jeremy Farrall
Will Bateman
Greg Weeks
Vivien Holmes
Heather Roberts
Imogen Saunders
Joshua Neoh
Kate Ogg
Leighton McDonald
Margaret Thornton
Matthew Zagor
Moeen Cheema
Rebecca Monson
Ron Levy
Ryan Goss
Wayne Morgan
Dennis Pearce
John McMillan
Robin Creyke
Andrew Macintosh
Anne Macduff
Anne McNaughton
Anthony Connolly
Anthony Hopkins
Asmi Wood
David Letts
Dominique Dalla-Pozza
Donald Rothwell
Fiona Wheeler
Christopher Ward
Richard Rowe
James Stellios
Pauline Bomball
Jolyon Ford

Higher degree research students

Sarah Bishop
Gemmo Fernandez
James Gaetani
Amy Hamilton
David Healey
Likim Ng
Isaiah Okorie
Micheil Paton
Justine Poon
Sarouche Razi
Alice Taylor

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. 

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CIPL conversations

CIPL Conversations is a short research paper series run by the Centre for International and Public Law at The Australian National University.

Emeritus Professor Stephen Bottomley

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.

Don Rothwell

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

Keshav Karupiah

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.

Wenting Cheng

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. 

Joseph Oh and Callum Bryan.

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.

The ICC, and the Hamas/Israel conflict

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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.

The evolution of Transitional Justice: From post-authoritarian settings to established democracies

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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.


 

50 years of Statutory Interpretation

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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.

The Genocide Convention and the ICJ: More Recent Developments

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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.

Genocide and the International Court of Justice

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Law Link Theatre, ANU College of LawFellows La, Acton ACT 2601, Australia

In the space of a week the International Court of Justice handed down two significant decisions concerning the 1948 Genocide Convention.

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

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

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.