The IILAH Podcast

Please join Professor Melinda Cooper (Australian National University), Dr Richard Joyce (Melbourne Law School), Dr Adil Hasan Khan (Melbourne Law School) and Professor James Martel (San Francisco State University) as they discuss Silicon Valley billionaires and apocalyptic thinking. This discussion was chaired by Dr André Dao (Melbourne Law School). The current concentration of financial, technolo...

In this episode, Associate Professor Tanzil Chowdhury (Queen Mary University of London) discusses his latest book project, examining the transformation of the British Constitution over the last century. Tanzil’s argument is that we cannot understand significant changes to the British constitution without understanding the broader historical developments in capitalist social relations and the signi...

The Institute for International Law and the Humanities (IILAH) in collaboration with the Melbourne Doctoral Forum on Legal Theory (MDFLT/Forum) were pleased to host a launch of 'Beyond Doctrine: Alternative and Critical Approaches to Law' at Melbourne Law School. 'Beyond Doctrine' provides an authoritative and thoughtful introduction to different legal methodologies and situates those methodologie...

In this episode, Dr Ellycia Harrould-Kolieb (Faculty of Science, University of Melbourne) Professor Karen N Scott (University of Canterbury) and Professor Margaret Young (Melbourne Law School) shared reflections on their experiences at the 2025 United Nations Oceans Conference (UNOC3). The United Nations Oceans Conference in Nice, France, was a five day event in June involving more than 60 heads o...

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivered its long-awaited Advisory Opinion on the obligations of States in respect of climate change on 23 July 2025. In this episode, Melbourne Law School experts Dylan Asafo, Rohan Nanthakumar, Professor Jackie Peel and Professor Margaret Young discussed the ICJ’s Advisory Opinion and its implications for international law. The ICJ is expected to provide...

In this episode of the IILAH Podcast, Professor Karin van Marle (University of Western Cape) presents on five concepts and explores how they relate to each other and how they could contribute to a jurisprudence beyond law. This seminar was chaired by Professor Ann Genovese. As legal scholars/ academics engaged with legal issues, or to follow Shaun McVeigh and Ann Genovese, as jurisprudents, we wor...

In this episode, Dr Daniel McLoughlin (UNSW) presents on Giorgio Agamben’s Covid Critique and the Homo Sacer Project. This seminar was chaired by Dr Richard Joyce. On the 26th of February 2020, Giorgio Agamben published a short piece on his personal website, entitled ‘Invention of an Epidemic,’ which argued that the Italian state was exploiting the appearance of COVID-19 to govern by emergency dec...

In this episode, Alofipo So’oalo Fleur Ramsay and Professor Stewart Motha present on climate justice and insurgent lawyering in the International Court of Justice and beyond. This seminar was chaired by Professor Margaret Young. Climate destruction and dispossession is having its greatest impact on small island communities and nations. In December 2024 the ICJ held oral hearings in its Advisory Op...

The Institute for International Law and the Humanities was pleased to celebrate the publication of Associate Professor Anna Arstein-Kerslake's book, 'The Right to Legal Personhood of Marginalised Groups'. Anna was joined in conversation with Dr Erin O'Donnell and Associate Professor Olivia Barr. Professor Margaret Young chaired this event. The right to legal personhood has been enshrined in human...

This episode of the IILAH podcast captures the discussion at 'Queer Connections: A Triple Book Launch', where speakers celebrated and drew out the connections between three recent edited volumes focused on queer approaches to law: - Nuno Ferreira, Maria Federica Moscati & Senthorun Raj (eds), Queer Judgments (2025, Counterpress) - Claerwen O’Hara and Tamsin Phillipa Paige (eds), Queer Engagements...

The Concept of International Law Reform and the Case of Negotiated Settlements in Foreign Bribery Matters In this episode of the IILAH Podcast, Dr Radha Ivory presented on the topic of international law reform and the case of negotiated settlements in foreign bribery matters. This seminar was chaired by IILAH member and ANZSIL President, Professor Alison Duxbury. The concept of reform is present i...

In the episode of the IILAH Podcast, Professor Harro van Asselt (University of Cambridge) presents on the topic of phasing out fossil fuels under international law. This seminar was chaired by Professor Margaret Young and co-hosted with the Melbourne Centre for Law and the Environment. At the UN Climate Summit in 2023, the fight over a fossil fuel phase-out took centre stage, resulting in a decisi...

In this episode of the IILAH Podcast, Daniel Quiroga-Villamarin, presents on his book project, 'Architects on the Better World'. This seminar was chaired by Dr Laura Petersen. Even before the Unitedstatesean President Truman urged the attendants of the 1945 United Nations Conference on International Organization to see themselves as “architects of the better world,” the field of global governance...

In this episode, Dr Kathleen Auld presents on the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies. The adoption of the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies (AFS) in 2022 was hailed by many as a triple win for environment, development, and trade. The idea of a ‘triple win’ is not unique to the WTO and reflects the broader rhetoric around sustainable development. Yet the idea of facilitating environmental and...

On Wednesday 31 July 2024, the Institute for International Law and the Humanities (IILAH) at Melbourne Law School hosted a panel discussion examining the International Court of Justice’s Advisory Opinion on the Legality of Israel’s Occupation of Palestinian Territory. The panellists: Dr Adil Hasan Khan (Chair) - Senior Postdoctoral Research Fellow, MLS Dr Sophie Rigney - Senior Lecturer, RMIT Mr H...

On Wednesday 17 July 2024, the Institute for International Law and the Humanities (IILAH) at Melbourne Law School, hosted a seminar chaired by IILAH Director, Professor Margaret Young, and presented by Associate Professor Daniel Joyce (UNSW Sydney). This episode explores the ways in which private actors like Facebook (now re-branded Meta) are responding to criticism by turning to human rights. The...

This podcast captures the conversation between Dr Alice Palmer and Professor Gerry Simpson at the launch of Alice's new book 'Natural Perception: Environmental Images and Aesthetics in International Law'. Professor Margaret Young introduces the conversation and provides a brief summary of the event. The Institute for International Law and the Humanities and the Melbourne Centre for Law and the Env...

In this episode, Julian A. Hettihewa presents on ‘The Principle of Distinction in International Humanitarian Law’. According to the principle of distinction, the parties to a conflict shall at all times distinguish between civilians and combatants. Described as one of the cardinal principles of international humanitarian law, the principle thus requires that civilians are never made objects of att...

In this podcast on ‘The Role of International Law in the Rise of Populism’, Professor Margaret Young (IILAH Director, Melbourne Law School) and Chair Dr Alice Palmer (IILAH Program Director, Melbourne Law School) are joined by Professor Peter Danchin, University of Maryland Carey School of Law, and Professor Jolyon Ford, ANU College of Law. This seminar addresses work being undertaken as part of a...

In this episode, Dr Ben Golder (UNSW Law School), Dr Kathleen Birrell (La Trobe Law and Humanities Network) and Professor Sundhya Pahuja (Melbourne Law School) are joined by Associate Professor Tim Peters (UniSC School of Law and Society) to discuss applying for grants for law and humanities research. Associate Professor Tim Peters is a critical and cultural legal scholar based in the School of La...

In this episode, Dr Ben Golder (UNSW Law School), Dr Kathleen Birrell (La Trobe Law and Humanities Network) and Dr Adil Hasan Khan (Melbourne Law School) are joined by Manav Kapur (Princeton University) to discuss Archival research in the South. Manav is based in the Department of History at Princeton University.

In this episode, Dr Ben Golder (UNSW Law School), Dr Kathleen Birrell (La Trobe Law and Humanities Network) and Professor Sundhya Pahuja (Melbourne Law School) are joined by Associate Professor Connal Parsley (Kent Law School) to discuss working with other fields and across disciplines. Connal is Reader in Law and a UKRI Future Leaders Fellow. He graduated from the University of Melbourne with deg...

In this episode, Dr Ben Golder (UNSW Law School), Dr Kathleen Birrell (La Trobe Law and Humanities Network), Professor Sundhya Pahuja (Melbourne Law School) and André Dao (Melbourne Law School) are joined by Associate Professor James Parker (Melbourne Law School) to discuss Non-traditional Research Outputs. James is the Director of a research program on Law, Sound and the International at the Inst...

In this episode, Dr Ben Golder (UNSW Law School) and Dr Kathleen Birrell (La Trobe Law and Humanities Network) are joined by Danish Sheikh (Melbourne Law School) to discuss the art of the conference presentation. Danish Sheikh is a playwright, activist lawyer and legal researcher. He is currently working on a thesis exploring queer dissent as a form of reparative jurisprudence at the Melbourne Law...

In this episode, Dr Ben Golder (UNSW Law School), Dr Kathleen Birrell (La Trobe Law and Humanities Network) and Professor Sundhya Pahuja (Melbourne Law School) are joined by Rebecca Croser (Melbourne Law School) to discuss how to successfully edit your own work. Rebecca is a PhD candidate in Creative Writing in the Faculty of Arts, University of Melbourne and Research Officer in the Melbourne Law...