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 opportunities:
7 February 2025
2025 Constitutional Law Conference
Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law, UNSW; Australian Association of Constitutional Law; Federation Press
Date: 7 February 2025
Location: Online and In-person at Gilbert + Tobin offices, Barangaroo, Sydney
We invite you to register for the 2025 Constitutional Law Conference, held in a hybrid format on Friday 7 February 2025 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 2024. The conference will include papers on the constitutional separation of powers, migration, native title, and the role of government lawyers in Australian public law, 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. A cocktail party will be hosted for those attending in person at Gilbert + Tobin.
The conference will cover the following sessions:
The High Court on Constitutional Law in the 2024 Term
The State and Federal Courts on Constitutional Law in the 2024 Term
Commonwealth Liability, Judicial Immunity, Parliamentary Privilege
Chapter III, the Executive and the Constitution
The Role of Government Lawyers (in the 2024 Term)
There is a fee for this conference. Academics and NGO lawyers will receive a discount. If you are experiencing financial hardship and unable to purchase a ticket please contact gtcentre@unsw.edu.au.
For more information, and to register, click here.
Competitions and calls for papers
1 February 2025
ANZSIL Book and Journal Article/Book Chapter Publication Prizes
Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law (ANZSIL)
Nominations close: 1 February 2025
ANZSIL awards up to four ANZSIL publication prizes on an annual basis. A maximum of two prizes will be awarded for books (the ANZSIL Book Prizes) and a maximum of two prizes will be awarded for journal articles or book chapters (the ANZSIL journal article/ book chapter prizes).
The ANZSIL publication prizes will be open to published work in any field of public and private international law.
The prizes are open to individuals who:
Are an ANZSIL member at the time of nomination; and
Are studying or working or otherwise based in Australia or New Zealand OR are a citizen or permanent resident of Australia or New Zealand.
If the author wishes to be considered for the ECR prize, they must confirm eligibility as an ECR scholar.
A sum of $750 will be awarded to each winning ANZSIL book and a sum of $250 will be awarded to each winning article/book chapter.
The ANZSIL book and article/book chapter prize winners will be invited to present and discuss their book/article/book chapter at an online event in August/September of the year of the award or at the annual conference. In accepting a publication prize, the winner of a prize agrees to act as an assessor in the subsequent year in the category in which their prize was awarded.
Nominations for the 2025 Prizes are now open. For more information, and to make a nomination, click here.
1 February 2025
AYBIL/ANZSIL Student Paper Prize
Australian Year Book of International Law (AYBIL); Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law (ANZSIL)
Submissions close: 1 February 2025
The AYBIL/ANZSIL Student Paper Prize is a prize that will be awarded to the best paper submitted by a student on any topic in the field of public or private international law that complies with the eligibility criteria. The prize is generously sponsored by the AYBIL, the ANU College of Law, AYBIL's publisher Brill, and ANZSIL.
The winning entrant will receive a monetary sum of $200, Brill books to the value of $500, two years' membership of ANZSIL, an opportunity for the winner to present their work as part of an ANZSIL linked event, and a prize citation. Subject to compliance with the AYBIL's standard editorial processes and policy, the winning paper will also be considered for publication in the AYBIL.
Submissions for the 2025 Prize are now open. For more information, and to make a submission, click here.
7 February 2025
The Baxter Family Essay Competition on Federalism 2024-2025 - Federalism: Thinking Outside the Box
McGill University Faculty of Law
Entries close: 7 February 2025
McGill University’s Faculty of Law and the Peter MacKell Chair in Federalism are proud to announce that the Baxter Family Competition on Federalism has returned for a fifth edition.
Open to law and political science students/PhD candidates, recent graduates, and junior practitioners or scholars from around the world. The overarching goal of the Essay Competition is to advance research and foster informed debate on federalism. Essays are evaluated by a jury comprised of world renown experts on federalism. The theme of this year’s edition is Federalism: Thinking Outside the Box
Papers must be written in English or French and be a maximum of 8000 words in English and 8800 words in French.
Prizes ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 CND and the chance to present one’s research at the Baxter Family Symposium on Federalism held in Montréal in Spring 2025.
The deadline to submit an essay is February 7th, 2025, at 11:59 pm, Eastern Standard Time (Montreal Time).
Submissions are to be emailed to Professor Johanne Poirier, Peter MacKell Chair in Federalism, at baxter-competition.law@mcgill.ca.
For more information, click here.
28 February 2025
Fencott v Muller Prize & Call for Papers – UWA Law Review
University of Western Australia Law Review
Submissions close: 28 February 2025
Just over 40 years have passed since the landmark decision in Fencott v Muller [1983] HCA 12. The case featured a finely balanced decision that touched on matters of federal jurisdiction, the corporations power and trade practices law. Not only did the decision relate to a Western Australian business, but it featured a number of notable UWA alumni acting as counsel on both sides: Robert Meadows AM KC, Hon Robert French AC, John Ley SC, Hon Malcolm Lee KC and Peter Johnston. The decision continues to reverberate to this day.
To celebrate the decision and the activities of UWA alumni in helping shape the law, the UWA Law Review is pleased to announce a new $1,000 prize, kindly provided by the Hon Robert French AC, for the best article on a topic related to federal jurisdiction, the corporations power or trade practices law. To be eligible, articles must be submitted to the UWA Law Review by February 2025, and accepted for publication in Issue 1 of 2025.
Conferences and seminars
6 February 2025
Public Law in the Classroom Workshop 2025
Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law, University of New South Wales; Public Law and Policy Research Unit, University of Adelaide; Castan Centre for Human Rights Law, Monash University; Western Sydney University School of Law
Date: 6 February 2025
Time: 11.00am-5.15pm (AEDT)
Location: Online and In-person at UNSW Law & Justice Building, UNSW Kensington Campus, Sydney
The eleventh annual Public Law in the Classroom workshop will be held at UNSW Sydney and online on Thursday, 6 February 2025.
The workshop is organised by the Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law at UNSW, the Public Law and Policy Research Unit at the University of Adelaide, the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law at Monash University and the School of Law at Western Sydney University. The past ten workshops have been a great success, each attracting public law teachers from across the country and internationally.
The first panel session will focus on Building Micro-Skills, and will explore how teachers have helped their students to develop the ‘micro-skills’ needed to study law, such as how to take notes, how to read for class, how to understand an assessment task, etc. The second panel session will focus on Design and Visualisation to Increase Engagement and will explore how visualisation and the design of materials can bring public law to life, encourage pre-class preparation and help students in organising their knowledge. The third panel session will focus on Authentic Assessment and will explore both assessment design, as well as the provision of feedback – particularly in the context of authentic assessment.
For more information, and to register, click here.
19 February 2025
2025 George Winterton Memorial Lecture
University of Sydney Law School; University of Western Australia Law School
Date: 19 February 2025
Time: 5.30pm-6.45pm (AEDT) , registration from 5pm
Location: Banco Court, Supreme Court of NSW (184 Phillip Street, Sydney)
The Hon Stephen Gageler AC, Chief Justice of Australia, will deliver this year’s George Winterton Memorial Lecture: “The evolving electoral system as an ongoing constitutional process”.
The form of popular sovereignty empowered by the Australian Constitution was framed to be government by "the people" in constitutive and routine manifestations, both sustaining and sustained by the system of government it called into existence. It was framed to be dynamic, the design of the electoral system according to which the people would act in those distinct manifestations having been entrusted to development by ordinary law made by the Commonwealth Parliament. And it can be seen to have evolved: through the development of a broad franchise to be exercised by the people today in fact comprising the large portion of the community entitled to vote at federal elections and at constitutional referenda; and through the establishment of a system of compulsory voting by which the people today in fact exercise that broad franchise. The form of popular sovereignty empowered by the Australian Constitution can accordingly be seen today to be government by "the people" writ large. Chief Justice Gageler will trace this evolution as a process by which ordinary law has built out the constitutional structure empowering popular sovereignty.
A cocktail reception will follow the lecture. For more information, and to register, click here.
25-26 February 2025
Leading in the Law 2025
Centre for the Future of the Legal Profession, University of New South Wales Law and Justice
Date: 25-26 February 2025
Location: Tyree Room, John Niland Scientia Building, UNSW Kensington Campus
Join Centre for the Future of the Legal Profession on February 25 and 26 2025 for the inaugural two-day summit to discover how lawyers lead in various capacities, from self and team leadership to shaping the profession and impacting society.
Be inspired and motivated by our lineup of speakers who are leaders in the field. Attendees can expect an immersive two days with front line presentations and panel discussions, exploring the multifaceted ways lawyers and the legal sector lead.
Speakers include:
The Hon Andrew Bell, Chief Justice of New South Wales
Juliana Warner, President Elect, Law Council of Australia
Stuart Fuller, KPMG Head of Global Legal Services
Topics include:
Access to justice as leadership
Breaking Barriers: structural challenges to diversity in the legal profession
Technology - leading beyond competence
There is a fee for this event.
For more information, and to register, click here.