Upcoming events and opportunities
Read our monthly round up of upcoming public law events and opportunities, including conferences, seminars and calls for papers
If you have an AUSPUBLAW opportunity, conference or significant public lecture that you would like included in this roundup, please contact us at auspublaw@unsw.edu.au. The roundup is published once a month by the first business day of the month, so please let us know in time for that deadline.
We would like to firstly draw your attention to the following opportunity:
6 February 2026
Constitutional Law Conference 2026
Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law, with the Australian Association of Constitutional Law & Federation Press
Conference date: 6 February 2026
Conference location: Hybrid - Online and In-person at the offices of Gilbert + Tobin in Barangaroo, Sydney
We invite you to register for the 2026 Constitutional Law Conference, to be held in a hybrid format on Friday 6 February 2026 and organised by the Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law at the Faculty of Law and Justice, UNSW, with the support of the Australian Association of Constitutional Law and Federation Press.
The conference will feature discussions of important developments in the High Court, Federal Court and state courts and provide an overview of the key public law debates in 2025. The conference will include papers on the acquisition of property, native title, representative government, and the application of international law in domestic courts, among other topics.
The conference will be held in hybrid format, with attendees able to register in person (100 pax capacity) or online via Zoom. The in-person element of the conference will be held at the offices of Gilbert + Tobin in Barangaroo, Sydney. There will be multiple opportunities for informal interaction throughout the day. Drinks will be hosted after the conference for those attending in person at Gilbert + Tobin. Zoom details will be forwarded to online attendees closer to the date.
Session One: The High Court on Constitutional Law in the 2025 Term
Session Two: The State and Federal Courts on Constitutional Law in the 2025 Term
Session Three: Acquisition of Property and Territories Power
Session Four: Representative Government
Session Five: Limits of State Power and Judicial Power
Session Six: International Law in Domestic Courts
There is a fee for this conference.
For more information, and to register, click here.
Calls for presentation proposals
10 November 2025
International Law Under Pressure: Reform or Reinforcement? ANZSIL IPSIG Annual Workshop
Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law (ANZSIL)
Submission of presentation proposals closes: 10 November 2025
The ANZSIL International Peace and Security Interest Group (IPSIG) was established in 2014 to provide a space for those ANZSIL members who are interested in conflict, peace and security issues to connect with one another and exchange ideas.
The 2026 edition of the Annual IPSIG Workshop seeks to facilitate a discussion between researchers, practitioners and other experts about their work pertaining to issues currently shaping international peace and security law; conversely, considering how international peace and security law is shaping current issues. While the theme of the Workshop is intentionally broad, papers related to the following topics are particularly encouraged:
How are Articles 2(4) and 51 of the UN Charter being interpreted amid contemporary threats and interventions?
Rethinking the UN Security Council: reform, legitimacy, and the future of international governance
Application of international law to cyber warfare, autonomous weapons, the growth of AI, hybrid conflicts, and non-state actors in armed conflict
Power asymmetries and historical legacies shaping the enforcement and interpretation of IHL and the jus ad bellum
Alternative models or institutions for regulating the use of force and IHL and ensuring accountability in international law
Development of other mechanisms to foster better enforcement, monitoring, and accountability—especially in asymmetric warfare
State reporting on decisions concerning use of force and compliance with international law
To what extent can institutions such as the ICC, ICJ, and regional courts contribute to reinforcing international legal norms?
Challenges and opportunities for strengthening legal protections for the environment in armed conflicts and IHL.
To what extent do international sanctions remain an effective tool for ensuring compliance with international law? Should they be reformed to address contemporary challenges, or reinforced in their current form?
The Workshop will be held over two days, Thursday 12 February 2026 at the Curtin University City Campus, and Friday 13 February 2026 at the University of Western Australia (UWA).
Those proposing presentations should submit their proposals to ipsig@anzsil.org by 10 November 2025 with the subject: Workshop Proposal.
For more information, click here.
Conferences and seminars
6 November 2025
2025 Richard Cooper Memorial Lecture: The future of the ‘future acts’ regime – time for a shake-up or more of the same?
TC Beirne School of Law, University of Queensland
Date: 6 November 2025
Time: 5.30-7.30pm (AEST)
Location: UQ Brisbane City, 308 Queen Street, 4000
The ‘future acts’ regime under the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) was originally envisaged as a ‘just and practical’ regime to balance future development with rights for native title holders. However, it is no longer fit for purpose, particularly for new clean energy projects, and the limited rights afforded to native title holders are far from the international human rights standard of free, prior and informed consent.
In 2025, the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) is tasked with reviewing the future acts regime and is due to give its final report in December. It has published an issues paper and a discussion paper and has received over 150 submissions. Some radical reforms are canvassed – including the abolition of the expedited procedure, significant amendments to the right to negotiate and the move to an impacts-based future acts model.
But there are various tensions at play. At a time when the Federal government is focussed on productivity, will it take up the mantle of reform advocated by many in the native title space?
Speaker: Sarah McBratney, lawyer with 20 years’ experience in native title, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural heritage and resources law
Event program:
5.30-6.00pm: Registration and canapés on arrival (in-person only)
6.00-7.00pm: Lecture address (online and in-person)
7.00-7.30pm: Canapé reception (in-person only)
For more information, and to register, click here.
7 November 2025
Annual Harry Evans Lecture: The Senate in times of national crisis
Procedure and Research Section, Department of the Senate
Date: 7 November 2025
Time: 12.15-1.15pm (AEDT)
Location: Theatre, Parliament House
At its outset, the Covid-19 pandemic represented a unique potential national crisis, prompting the adoption of radical arrangements to the operation of the Commonwealth Parliament and government more generally, on very short notice. Such impacts on the operation of Parliament had not been seen in decades, and not in the life of the modern Senate. Considering this and past examples, as well as modern attempts to develop unique parliamentary processes dealing with sensitive issues, what issues should be considered regarding the Parliament in potential future national crises?
Speaker: The Hon Scott Ryan, adjunct professor, University of Canberra, and former President of the Australian Senate
For more information, and to register, click here.
7 November 2025
Book launch - Feminist Judgments: Reimagining the International Criminal Court
Australian Human Rights Institute, UNSW Sydney
Date: 7 November 2025
Time: 5.30-7.00pm (AEDT)
Location: Gilbert & Tobin Lawyers, Tower 2/200 Barangaroo Ave, Sydney NSW
Join the Australian Human Rights Institute for the launch of Feminist Judgments: Reimagining the International Criminal Court (Cambridge University Press, 2025) co-edited by Kcasey McLoughlin, Rosemary Grey, Louise Chappell and Suzanne Varrall.
The pioneering volume rewrites a range of ICC decisions using a gender justice lens. With more than 60 contributors from across the globe, it re-examines the connections between gender, race, nationality, ethnicity, faith, and sexual orientation and demonstrates how the Court can apply its mandate to achieve justice for all.
The book will be launched by eminent jurist Navi Pillay, formerly of the International Criminal Court and the International Tribunal for Rwanda, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and most recently the UN Chair of the Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Navi is the recipient of the 2025 Sydney Peace Prize.
Justice Jane Needham of the Federal Court of Australia will introduce Justice Navi Pillay.
The event will conclude with leading Australian poet Maxine Beneba Clarke reading from her poem, The Hope of a Thousand Small Lights, which was commissioned for the volume.
Registration is essential. For more information, and to register, click here.
10 November 2025
The Whitlam Dismissal and the Crisis of November 1975
Australian National University; Whitlam Institute
Date: 10 November 2025
Time: 9.00am-5.00pm (AEDT)
Location: Australia China in the World Lecture Theatre (Lotus Hall), Building 188A, Acton, ACT, 2601
On 11 November 1975, the dismissal of the Whitlam Government plunged the nation into a political crisis.
Fifty years on, the events of November 1975 remain the most contested and consequential in Australian political history.
This one-day symposium, presented by the Whitlam Institute within Western Sydney University in partnership with the Australian Studies Institute within the Australian National University, brings together leading historians, jurists, political commentators and cultural voices to reflect on the Dismissal from multiple perspectives, from the Palace letters and political history to protest movements, public memory, and political cartoons.
Session 1: The Double Dismissal: A 50 Year Reflection
Session 2: The Dismissal from Below
Session 3: The Crisis of November 1975 and the Dismissal of the Whitlam Government
Session 4: Drawing the Divide: Political Cartoons and the Dismissal
For more information, and to register, click here.
11 November 2025
Parliament Unpacked – The Dismissal: 50 Years On
Parliament of New South Wales; Australasian Study of Parliament Group (NSW)
Date: 11 November 2025
Time: 5.30-6.45pm (AEDT)
Location: Online via Livestream
This event, hosted by the Parliament of NSW Education Team, will explore one of the most significant moments in our Australian constitutional history: the dismissal of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam.
This year marks 50 years since the dismissal, a defining moment in Australia’s political and constitutional history. Our panel will discuss:
The powers and conventions that shaped the 1975 dismissal
Lessons from state and federal constitutional crises
The ongoing impact on governance, accountability, and public trust
Speakers include:
Professor Rodney Smith, Department of Politics, University of Sydney
Dr Lynsey Blayden, Sydney Law School
A full recording will be available after the event.
For more information, and to register, click here.
11 November 2025
Sir Ronald Wilson Oration 2025: Closing the Gaps? Acknowledgement of Country v Aboriginal people in our court systems
Law Society of Western Australia
Date: 11 November 2025
Time: 5.30-6.45pm (AEDT)
Location: Federal Court of Australia, 1 Victoria Avenue, Perth WA 6000
The Law Society of Western Australia is honoured to present the 2025 Sir Ronald Wilson Oration, an important event serving as a platform for discussion and insight into Indigenous legal issues. This year’s orators are Noongar woman Magistrate Kim Farmer from the Children’s Court of Western Australia, and Kingarakan/ Warramunga woman Ms Stephanie Monck, Principal Legal Officer from the Women’s Legal Service of Western Australia.
Stephanie and Kim will share their personal and professional journeys – reflecting on their experiences representing and advocating for Aboriginal people in our court systems, including issues that are not evidently taught to upcoming practitioners and the judiciary today.
Registration: 5.30-5.45pm
Oration: 5.45–6.45pm
Networking Sundowner: 6.45-7.30pm
For more information, and to register, click here.
11 November 2025
Trusted for the times: the evolution of the Australian Government and public service
University of Melbourne
Date: 11 November 2025
Time: 6.00-7.00pm (AEDT)
Location: David P Derham Theatre, Ground Mezzanine, Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne, 185 Pelham Street, Carlton 3053
Please join us as Dr Steven Kennedy PSM Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet delivers the prestigious Freebairn Lecture.
Trusted for the times: the evolution of the Australian Government and public service
Australia is fortunate: trust in our government is relatively high and our public institutions remain remarkably strong. But with democracy under increasing pressure worldwide, we must be willing to ask important questions about whether our system is in the right shape to meet this current moment, including the public service. From federation to today, the responsibilities of the Commonwealth have substantially grown. What is done with this responsibility matters deeply - perhaps now more than ever.
For more information, and to register, click here.
11 November 2025
Monash Law Professorial Lecture Series: When life unlocks law.
Australian National University; Whitlam Institute
Date: 11 November 2025
Time: 6.30-8.30pm (AEDT)
Location: Monash University Law Chambers, 555 Lonsdale Street Melbourne, VIC 3000
In her inaugural Professorial Lecture, Professor Melissa Castan, Director of the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law, will reflect on her career as a legal academic, examining what is needed to inform, influence and progress critical debates on social issues during times of conflict.
Professor Castan will share her experiences and insights on connecting academic scholarship with teaching, advocacy and community engagement - particularly in relation to landmark moments in law such as the Dismissal, the Mabo case and the Referendum on the Voice to Parliament.
Join us for an evening of expert insight and engaging discussion as part of the Monash Law Professorial Lecture series.
After the lecture, join Professor Melissa Castan in the Monash University Law Chambers foyer for complimentary drinks, snacks and the opportunity to network and discuss her inaugural Professorial Lecture.
For more information, and to register, click here.
12 November 2025
Michael Will Address by Alice Linacre
Australian Institute of Administrative Law
Date: 12 November 2025
Time: 5.30pm (AEDT)
Location: Hybrid - Online and In-person at Norton Rose Fulbright Conference Rooms, Level 6 Constitution Place, 1 Constitution Ave, Canberra
Guest Speaker: Alice Linacre PSM, Australian Freedom of Information (FOI) Commissioner
Alice Linacre commenced as Australia’s FOI Commissioner on 29 September 2025 for a 5-year term. Alice is an experienced senior public servant and administrative lawyer. Alice previously held senior roles in a number of commonwealth government departments, including most recently the Attorney-General’s Department and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. Alice also has experience in private legal practice.
In 2022, Alice was awarded the Public Service Medal for outstanding public service in the provision and management of legal services and resources to support the government’s response to critical events, including the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Address is open to all members of the AIAL and to any interested members of the public.
For more information, and to register, click here.
13 November 2025
Migration, refugees and statelessness interdisciplinary conference 2025
Melbourne Social Equity Institute, University of Melbourne
Date: 13 November 2025
Time: 9.30am-5.15pm (AEDT)
Location: Lecture Theatre (230), Kwong Lee Dow Building (263), University of Melbourne
On Thursday 13 November 2025 Melbourne Social Equity Institute will host a one-day conference exploring migration, refugee studies and statelessness.
This event builds on the tradition of the Researchers for Asylum Seekers Conference , which first ran at the University of Melbourne over 15 years ago. It provides an opportunity for graduate and early career researchers, as well as practitioners and policy makers working in the field, to present their work, meet with other researchers and to discuss their research with an engaged, interdisciplinary audience.
Registration is free and a light lunch will be provided at no cost. Bookings are essential.
For more information, and to register, click here.
13 November 2025
MCF Seminar: Environmental issues in the future EU-Australia Free Trade Agreement
Melbourne Climate Futures, University of Melbourne
Date: 13 November 2025
Time: 12.30-1.30pm (AEDT)
Location: Melbourne Law School, Building 106, Level 1, Room 0109
For two decades now, the European Union has integrated environmental matters into its free trade agreements. This integration is evolving, with international trade law increasingly being seen as a powerful apparatus for protecting the planet. However, the links between the environment and trade are ambivalent. On the one hand, the strength of international trade law could be borrowed for environmental protection; on the other, an increase in international trade comes together with an increase in environmental impacts.
As the European Union and Australia are currently negotiating a free trade agreement, this MCF seminar proposes an overview of what to expect from the climate and biodiversity provisions of the future deal.
Presenter: Dr Justine Muller, Post-doctoral Fellow, National University of Singapore’s Asia-Pacific Centre for Environmental Law
For more information, and to register, click here.
19 November 2025
2025 Susan Campbell Oration: Development of Policy Clinics in Europe
Monash University
Date: 19 November 2025
Time: 6.00-7.00pm (AEDT) (followed by light refreshments)
Location: Monash University Law Chambers, 555 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne
Clinical legal education has been growing rapidly in Europe in the past 15 years. Policy clinics represent important aspect of European approach to clinical legal education, which differs from traditional live-client clinics: students focus on empirical or desk-based research with the aim to contribute to law reform. Policy clinics allow law schools to focus on underserved communities, unaddressed social justice issues and contribute to fulfilment of their third role, while creating safe space for students to develop their analytical skills, critical and creative thinking and engage with global issues.
The Susan Campbell Oration will focus on the experience of law schools, which are already running policy clinics, in order to:
Highlight the relevance of policy clinics for today’s society and legal education.
Propose strategies to evaluate the impact and quality of policy clinics.
Discuss ethical aspects and professional values involved in policy work and
Identify best practices and key challenges in policy clinic design and methodology
Speaker: Maxim Tomoszek, Vice-dean for Education, Faculty of Law Palacký University, Olomouc
Registrations close COB Thursday 13 November 2025. For more information, and to register, click here.
19 November 2025
2025 Nancy Hillier Memorial Lecture
Australian National University; Whitlam Institute
Date: 19 November 2025
Time: 6.00-8.00pm (AEDT)
Location: Botany Town Hall, 1423 Botany Road, Botany, NSW
This is an annual community lecture honouring one of Botany’s most fearless and visionary advocates for environmental and social justice, featuring keynote speaker Peter Garrett AM.
A close friend and ally of Nancy Hillier, Peter represented Kingsford Smith from 2004–2013 and supported Nancy on key community campaigns. Peter will reflect on environmental legacies in action - how community movements evolve, alliances are built, and change is sustained over time.
Known for his leadership in both politics and activism, Peter served as President of the Australian Conservation Foundation and Minister for the Environment, where he championed initiatives like the Indigenous Rangers program, Australia’s national e-waste scheme, and protection of Malabar Headland.
For more information, and to register, click here.
19-21 November 2025
2025 International Journal of Clinical Legal Education Annual Conference
Monash University Faculty of Law
Date: 19-21 November 2025
Location: Monash University Law Chambers, 555 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne
The theme of IJCLE 2025 is Navigating Global Challenges in Clinical Legal Education: Innovating for the Future.
The first day of IJCLE will feature a number of workshops focused on building the skills clinical teachers need for their work with students, clients and colleagues. These skills include supervision, reflective practice, assessment, feedback and scaffolding student learning.
Days 2 and 3 will provide participants with opportunities to engage with multiple issues related to climate justice, the impact of technology and AI, access to rights and justice, along with enhancing regional and global collaboration. There will be publication-themed sessions including a writing workshop mini retreat designed to encourage clinical scholarship and research collaborations.
There is a fee for this event. For more information, and to register, click here.
20 November 2025
International law and the human question: Between realism and survival
Melbourne Law School
Date: 20 November 2025
Time: 5.00-7.00pm (AEDT)
Location: Woodward Conference Centre, Law Building (106)
2025 Sir George Turner Lecture
Crises, conflicts, and wars - in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, Congo and more - have put the legal, moral, ethical, and political underpinnings of the contemporary international order into question.
The emerging consensus is that the latter no longer corresponds to the exigencies of the present. Yet, there is no agreement about the causes of dysfunction. Public officials, publicists, and other professionals have alternatively blamed the rules and procedures of the UN Security Council; a putative double standard applied by the West at moments of adjudication; the non-normativity of ‘rogue’ actors, state and non-state actors alike.
But in this lecture, Professor N’Zatioula Grovogui (Professor in the Africana Studies and Research Centre, Cornell University) will argue that these related arguments are mistaken. He will reject arguments that blame the present course of affairs on the non-effectiveness of international law, its unenforceability, or inconsistencies in its application. Instead he will argue that the problem with both the ideas and practices of international law today is the continuing coloniality of what should have been a post-imperial and postcolonial international order.
5pm | Pre-lecture refreshments
6pm | Public lecture
There is a fee for this event. For more information, and to register, click here.
24-25 November 2025
Legal Education Research Conference: The Crowded Curriculum
University of New South Wales Law & Justice
Date: 24-25 November 2025
Location: UNSW Faculty of Law and Justice, Kensington, Australia
In today's fast-paced world, law schools face the complex challenge of balancing an already crowded curriculum with the evolving demands of the legal profession. Accrediting bodies mandate that law degrees cover an array of prescribed knowledge areas. The legal profession demands graduates with substantive legal knowledge who are adept at research. All professions require graduates with a range of intrapersonal and interpersonal skills, including communication, reasoning, negotiation, networking and teamwork. There has been a documented increase in the volume and complexity of laws and there are new theories, under-represented perspectives and novel proposals to consider. Students are increasingly expected to be proficient in emerging technologies that are becoming integral to practice and need to be prepared for a world in which significant change is likely. All the while, educators are trying to engage students in the context of a competitive attention economy.
It is unsurprising that laws schools are struggling with the challenge of updating curriculum to address new needs, without sacrificing depth or quality, while providing opportunities to develop skills and reflect on values. Navigating this process requires creativity, balance and great care.
For more information, and to register, click here.
26-27 November 2025
2025 National Indigenous Legal Conference
Indigenous Lawyers Association of Queensland Inc (ILAQ)
Date: 26-27 November 2025
Location: QUT Gardens Point
ILAQ will be hosting the 2025 National Indigenous Legal Conference (NILC) at QUT Gardens Point from 26 to 27 November 2025.
The NILC brings together legal professionals, scholars, and community leaders to discuss and address critical issues impacting Indigenous communities and their interaction with the legal system.
The theme for the 2025 NILC is ‘Strength, Vision and Legacy’.
The 2025 NILC theme was inspired by the 2025 National NAIDOC Theme, and is a reminder to all of us that no matter what, the fight for justice and the rights of Indigenous Peoples will —and must —continue. There have been many moments in Australia’s reconciliation journey that make us want to turn away. But when things are divisive, the worst thing we can do is disengage or disconnect.
There is a fee for this conference.
For more information, and to register, click here.
27 November 2025
Indonesia's legislative process, post-Reformasi (1998-present): shapers and outcomes
ANU College of Law, Governance & Policy
Date: 27 November 2025
Time: 12.30pm-1.30pm (AEDT)
Location: Hybrid - Online and In-person at RegNet Level 2 Teaching Room (2.10), Coombs Extension Building, 8 Fellows Road, Acton, ACT, 2600
Despite 25 years of reform, Indonesia's lawmaking suffers systemic failures. Why? Elite dominance and executive convergence actively bypass participatory, evidence-based models.
Since Indonesia’s political reform in 1998, progress in its legislative process has remained limited. Numerous regulations are enacted each year without adequate monitoring and evaluation, resulting in bureaucratic backlogs and laws lacking clear implementation mechanisms. Amidst current trends of democratic backsliding, prospects for meaningful regulatory reform appear uncertain.
This study examines the capacity and networks of actors consists of involved in Indonesia’s legislative process and how their organizational mandates shape their actions. Through three case studies — the Disability Law, the Data Protection Law, and the Omnibus Law on Job Creation — this research explores how bottom-up, top-down, and hybrid (meet-in-the-middle) approaches illustrate Indonesia’s evolving model of legislative formation.
Speaker: Gita Putri Damayana, recipient of the Australia Award Scholarship for her Ph.D. at Regnet in February 2023
For more information, and to register, click here.
28 November 2025
Early Career Law Academic Day Forum
Australasian Law Academics Association
Date: 28 November 2025
Time: 9.30am-5.00pm (AEDT) (followed by a Book Launch, drinks and canapes)
Location: RMIT University, Melbourne City Campus, 124 La Trobe Street
Join us for a day filled with insightful discussions, networking opportunities, and engaging sessions. This in-person event is a fantastic chance to connect with like-minded individuals in the field of legal education and scholarship. Don't miss out on this exciting opportunity to learn from peers and experts. Register now and secure your spot at the ALAA ECA Forum!
The theme this year is 'Shared Journeys: Navigating Early Legal Careers with Collective Strength' and our Keynote speaker will be Professor Kate Galloway.
This year, for the first time ever, we're introducing an ECA Spotlight Event where we're celebrating the book launch of an ECA Researcher. Our inaugural Spotlight-ee is Dr Balawyn Jones whose book 'Domestic Violence, Islam and Gender in Indonesia' has recently been published by Routledge (2025). The launch will take place at the end of the formal program for the day and will be complemented with drinks and canapes.
Places at the forum are capped, and first-come, first-served.
For more information, click here.
3 December 2025
When to sit in judgment – Applications for recusal on the ground of apprehended bias
Australian Academy of Law
Date: 3 December 2025
Time: 5.15-6.45pm (AEST)
Location: Hybrid - Online and In-person at Banco Court, Supreme Court Building, Level 1, 415 George Street, Brisbane
In this free public event, The Hon Justice Shane Doyle, Justice of the Supreme Court of Queensland and the Court of Appeal will speak on applications for recusal on the ground of apprehended bias, with a particular focus on the duty to sit.
Commentary will be provided by The Hon Justice Glenn Martin AM, Senior Judge Administrator of the Supreme Court of Queensland, followed by a Q&A session.
The event will be chaired by The Hon Justice John Bond, Queensland Court of Appeal.
For more information, and to register, click here.
6 December 2025
In-Person Symposium: Judicial Independence in Australia - Looking Forward, Ten Years On
Centre for Public, International and Comparative Law, University of Queensland
Date: 6 December 2025
Time: 9.00am-5.00pm (AEST)
Location: T. C. Beirne School of Law, University of Queensland
Ten years after the publication of Judicial Independence in Australia: Contemporary Challenges, Future Directions (Federation Press, 2016), the landscape of judicial independence has radically changed. The time is ripe for a new edited collection taking stock of these changes and looking to the future.
The symposium will bring together leading scholars, judges and lawyers to discuss the nature and importance of judicial independence in Australia, and to debate current and future challenges.
For more information, click here.
18 December 2025
The Long Road to The Hague: Domestic Efforts to Bring Rodrigo Duterte, Former President of the Philippines, before the International Criminal Court
Asian Law Centre, University of Melbourne; Centre for Indonesian Law, Islam and Society; Institute for International Law and the Humanities
Date: 18 December 2025
Time: 4.00-6.00pm (AEDT)
Location: Room 920, Law Building (106), 185 Pelham Street, Carlton
Melbourne Law School is delighted to host Neri Colmenares, a Filipino human rights lawyer, for a discussion of the International Criminal Court’s activities in the Philippines and domestic efforts to bring former president Rodrigo Duterte to justice.
Duterte was arrested and surrendered to The Hague on 12 March 2025 on allegations of crimes against humanity committed in the context of his violent anti-drugs campaign in the Philippines. Colmenares has long campaigned for the Philippines’ ratification of the Rome Statute, the ICC’s founding treaty, and advocated for the case against Duterte to be taken up by the ICC. He currently represents Filipino victims before the court in the Duterte case.
For more information, and to register, click here.
4-6 February 2026
12th Frontiers in Environmental Law Colloquium
University of Melbourne; Monash University; National Environmental Law Association
Date: 4-6 February 2026
Location: In-person at the University of Melbourne and Monash University
The annual Frontiers in Environmental Law Colloquium provides a forum for environmental law academics and practitioners to share and discuss their experiences, research, and teaching practices.
Colloquium Themes for 2026 - Is all law environmental law?
As the global climate and biodiversity crises worsen, and as human activities continue to overstep planetary boundaries, the project of environmental law and environmental lawyers is also expanding. Continued attention to strengthening, implementing and enforcing the core body of environmental laws - which directly address climate change, biodiversity loss, resource extraction, pollution and other issues - remains critical. But alongside these efforts, we see increasing attention being given to the integration of environmental considerations - particularly climate change - into other recognised bodies of law such as company law, consumer law, human rights law, property law and constitutional law. This integration takes shape through strategic litigation, creative lawyering, environmental advocacy, and law and policy reform.
For more information, and to register, click here.