Key people
- Dean of Law
- Deputy Dean
- Associate Dean of Research
- Associate Dean of HDR
- Director Academic Program
- Academic Program Advisor
- Associate Dean (International)
- Director of Clinical Legal Education
Catherine Renshaw is Dean of the School of Law. Catherine commenced as a Professor at Western Sydney University in 2019, following four years as Deputy Dean of Law at Australian Catholic University. Prior to this, Catherine taught and researched at the University of Sydney, the University of New South Wales, and the University of Newcastle. Catherine is a passionate educator, deeply committed to the success of her students and to the powerful role that education plays in creating a better society.
Catherine holds a PhD from the University of Sydney, a Master of Laws from the University of Sydney, a Bachelor of Laws from the University of New South Wales, and a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) from the University of Sydney. Catherine has been admitted to practice as a solicitor in the Supreme Court of New South Wales and the High Court of Australia, and she holds Associate Membership with the Law Society of New South Wales. Prior to entering academia, Catherine practiced as a lawyer for commercial law firms Allens Linklaters and Sparke Helmore, and for the Legal Aid Commission of New South Wales. Catherine maintains strong connections with the legal profession in Sydney and with state and federal governments. Before commencing as a lawyer, Catherine spent a year working in a refugee camp on the border of Mozambique and South Africa.
Catherine’s field of research is international human rights law, and she has an internationally recognized track-record of publication in the field of human rights law and democratization, with a particular focus on the Indo-Pacific. Catherine has received numerous research grants, including for her work in Myanmar. She is Co-Chair of the International Human Rights Law chapter of the Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law, and a member of the Executive Council of the Asian Society of International Law.
Deputy Dean
Professor Juliette Overland
Professor Juliette Overland joined the School of Law at Western Sydney University in 2024, after working as an academic at two other Australian universities. She holds a First Class Honours degree in Law, and a PhD from the College of Law of the Australian National University, where she completed her thesis on the regulation of corporate liability for insider trading. Juliette has extensive practical experience as a corporate lawyer, having worked in leading Australian law firms prior to commencing her academic career.
Juliette is well-known for her work in corporate crime, corporate governance, and corporate law, and she is recognised as Australia’s leading authority on the regulation of insider trading, having published widely in this area. Juliette’s book, ‘Corporate Liability for Insider Trading’, was published by Routledge, she regularly provides advice on insider trading and related issues, and she has acted as an expert consultant in a number of insider trading cases. Juliette is the Company Law section editor for the Company and Securities Law Journal.
Juliette is an enthusiastic and engaging teacher, combining her extensive practical experience with substantial theoretical knowledge of corporate and commercial law, and has received many teaching awards throughout her academic career.
Associate Dean (Research)
Professor Christopher Michaelsen
Christopher Michaelsen is a Professor and the Associate Dean (Research) in the School of Law at Western Sydney University, specialising in international law, human rights, security and global governance. He is also an Adjunct Professor of International Law at the Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Sociali "Guido Carli" (LUISS) in Rome, Italy.
Chris previously held a tenured position in the Faculty of Law & Justice at UNSW Sydney. Prior to joining academia, he served as a Human Rights Officer at the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Warsaw, Poland. He has held visiting and adjunct appointments at the University of Hong Kong, Brooklyn Law School, the University of Sannio (Benevento), the Australian National University, Akita International University and the University of St. Andrews.
Chris is a founding member of the Security Council Analysis Network (SCAN), a former Editor-in-Chief of the Australian Journal of Human Rights and is currently serving on the Council of the Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law (ANZSIL). He is a Chief Investigator on the Australian Research Council Discovery Project "Shaping International Law in Global Transformations: Australian Experiences" (2023-27) with Madelaine Chiam (La Trobe), Jordana Silverstein (Melbourne) and Jeremy Farrall (ANU). He was the Lead Chief Investigator on the ARC Discovery Project "Leverage and Influence on the UN Security Council" (2016-22) with Jeremy Farrall (ANU), Jochen Prantl (ANU) and Jeni Whalan (UQ) and director of the Australia Japan Foundation-funded project "Operationalising Human Rights in Peace Missions" (2015-16).
Chris possesses over 20 years of teaching experience in international law, human rights, global governance and international security at undergraduate and postgraduate levels as well as in executive education. In 2021, he received the UNSW Vice-Chancellor's Award for Sustained Excellence in Teaching in recognition of his “exceptional dedication to student learning and the student experience over five or more years".
Associate Dean (HDR)
Professor Rehan Abeyratne
Rehan Abeyratne is a Professor at the School of Law. His primary research area is comparative constitutionalism. He serves as co-chair of the International Society of Public Law (ICON-S) Committee on New Directions in Scholarship, Subject Editor at the Asian Journal of Comparative Law, and Book Reviews Editor at Comparative Constitutional Studies. Professor Abeyratne is the author of Strategic Cosmopolitanism: LGBTQ Rights in an Age of Judicial Retrenchment (forthcoming with Oxford University Press). He is a co-editor of Towering Judges: A Comparative Study of Constitutional Judges (Cambridge University Press 2021), The Law and Politics of Unconstitutional Constitutional Amendments in Asia (Routledge 2021), and the Routledge Handbook of Asian Parliaments (Routledge 2023). Professor Abeyratne has authored articles in leading journals including the International Journal of Constitutional Law (I-CON), Yale Journal of International Law, and Global Constitutionalism, as well as chapters in edited volumes published by Hart, Cambridge University Press, and Oxford University Press.
Director Academic Program
Associate Professor Lowell Bautista
Lowell joins us from the University of Wollongong, where he has a very strong reputation for producing first-class research and for being a highly committed and engaged teacher. He is a leading scholar of international law. The real-world impact of his research is significant - Lowell has provided high-level advice to several governments in the region. Lowell has taught across several Priestley subjects (he is co-author of Contemporary Australian Tort Law, published by Cambridge University Press, now in its second edition). Lowell will be able to make a major contribution to the InterAsian Legalities cluster and he will strengthen our capacity to produce high-quality, high impact, research outputs. Lowell’s extensive and varied governance experience will be an asset to the School. Lowell will be taking up the role of Director of Academic Programs.
Academic Program Advisor
Dr Meda Couzens
Meda joined the WSU School of Law in July 2020. She has previously taught at the Sydney University Law School (as a casual lecturer) and at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa (as a senior lecturer).
Meda studied Law at Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj Napoca (Romania) and has postgraduate degrees (Law and interdisciplinary), from the University of Bucharest, the University of London and the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa respectively. Meda completed her PhD in 2019 at the Leiden Law School, the Netherlands. Her thesis analysed the application of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child by domestic courts in selected jurisdictions.
Meda’s research expertise is the rights of children (domestic and internationally). She also has researched in international law, constitutional law, human rights law and comparative law. She has published extensively in peer reviewed domestic and international journals. Her forthcoming monograph is due to be published in December 2024 by Cambridge University Press, under the title The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and Domestic Courts.
At WSU, Meda has taught and convened Criminal Law, Children’s Rights and Public International Law. She has also been a tutor in Administrative Law and Government and Public Law.
In January 2024, Meda has taken up the role of Academic Program Advisor for the School of Law.
Associate Dean (International)
Associate Professor Jeremy Kingsley
Dr Jeremy J. Kingsley is an Associate Professor and Associate Dean (International) at the Western Sydney University - School of Law (WSU-SOL). He is a transnational law scholar and anthropologist. His academic work is published in both public affairs and academic journals. His book, Religious Authority and Local Governance in Eastern Indonesia, was recently published by Melbourne University Press.
Kingsley is currently working on a research project on ‘Inter-Asian Legalities’, funded by the Social Science Research Council (US) and the National University of Singapore, and is a member of the InterAsia Partnership (Arab Council for the Social Sciences, Secretariat). Kingsley is also foundation editor of the Asia Law and Society Series, Melbourne University Press. He is a Chief Investigator on an Australian Research Council Discovery Project on contract enforcement in Indonesia. He is also the coordinator of the Transnational Lawyering Consortium, a partnership between Deakin Law School and WSU-SOL, to provide student mobility programs directly connected to our law curriculum.
Director- Clinical Legal Education
Rebecca Dominguez
Rebecca Dominguez (BA Hons, MLLP Hons) is Director / Principal Solicitor with the Western Sydney University Justice Clinic and Interim Director, Clinical Legal Education in the School of Law. The WSU Justice Clinic is a community legal service where practicing lawyers and academics work on client cases and law reform and access to justice projects, run health justice outreach clinics, provide community legal education, operate the university's Student Legal Service, and teach the university's clinical legal and internship subjects.
Prior to joining WSU, Rebecca managed a pro bono practice at Baker McKenzie specialising in human rights and social justice cases involving modern slavery, human trafficking, family violence, elder abuse, employment, and refugee and asylum seeker claims. Rebecca has also worked as a criminal defence lawyer representing clients of the Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT) and Legal Aid NSW, in-house in legal and compliance, and in private practice in worker’s compensation and public liability matters. In addition to individual case work and representation, Rebecca partners with clients to conduct impactful research on domestic and international human rights issues, and has made multiple submissions to relevant federal and state government inquiries as well as assisted community and other stakeholders with submissions and advocacy. She is also a peer reviewer of academic articles for a range of reputable publications and journals.
Rebecca won the 2019 Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year award for her legal work with those affected by family violence and modern slavery, and received the 2022 WSU Vice-Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Indigenous Teaching and Learning, and the 2022 University of Technology (UTS) Alumni Award for Excellence in Law. In 2023, she completed the University of Oxford’s Executive Leadership Programme, and continues to sit on a number of Commonwealth and NSW committees, government panels, and advisory boards focused on the legal assistance sector, human rights, and modern slavery.
Honorary Visiting Fellow
Dr Francine Hug
Dr Francine Hug is Honorary Visiting Fellow at WSU School of Law working on a project juxtaposing China’s ‘shared destiny of humankind’ narrative with the ‘common concern of humankind’ principle in the context of energy investments in the Pacific.
Previously, she was Postdoctoral Fellow at the Chinese University of Hong Kong focusing on investment, energy, and environmental law reforms pertaining to China’s coal phase-out along the Belt and Road Initiative, and Just Energy Transition Partnerships in Southeast Asia. She was also a Visiting Scholar at East-West Center (USA) researching on Chinese mining and technology investments in the Pacific and their impact on Indigenous rights.
Francine authored the book China’s Free Trade Agreement Strategies: Securing the Chinese Developmental State and Socialist Market Economy (Springer 2024) and articles featured in the Journal of World Energy Law & Business, Georgetown Environmental Law Review , and Review of European, Comparative & International Environmental Law (forthcoming).
Prior to academia, Francine served as Senior Economic Officer at the Embassy of Switzerland to China, Mongolia, and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, where she participated in complex treaty negotiations, provided ministerial advice, wrote strategic analyses, and managed projects on e.g. fossil fuel subsidies reforms, clean energy, and WTO-law in cooperation with international organisations, such as the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, International Labour Organisation, and International Institute for Sustainable Development.
Francine further served in non-governmental organisations in Tanzania, Haiti, Peru, and South Africa on microfinance, sustainability, health policies, and conflict resolution. She gained additional experiences at the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, International Olympic Committee, Nokia Siemens Networks, a Singapore-based think-tank, and in journalism.
Francine holds a Ph.D. from the National University of Singapore, M.A. from the University of London (SOAS), and B.A. from Beijing Language and Culture University.
Our Staff
Academic Staff
- Professor Rehan Abeyratne, Associate Dean HDR
- Dr Armin Alimardani, Senior Lecturer
- Dr John Azzi, Senior Lecturer
- Associate Professor Lowell Bautista, Director of Academic Program.
- Dr Maria Bhatti, Senior Lecturer
- Ms Grace Borsellino, Lecturer
- Mr Michael Brogan, Senior Lecturer
- Dr Christian Chamorro-Courtland, Senior Lecturer
- Associate Professor Stephenson Chow, Academic Program Advisor First Year
- Dr Meda Couzens, Academic Program Advisor
- Dr Jason Donnelly, Senior Lecturer
- Ms Rebecca Dominquez, Principal Solicitor/Clinical Supervisor, Director of Clinical Legal Education
- Dr Souheir Edelbi, Lecturer
- Ms Francine Feld, Senior Lecturer
- Dr Patrick Foong, Lecturer
- Mr Bradley Gooding, Associate Lecturer
- Professor Michael Head, Senior Lecturer
- Associate Professor Jeremy Kingsley, Associate Dean International
- Dr Diogo de Oliveira Machado, Lecturer
- Dr Engi Messih, Associate Lecturer
- Dr Rob Mezyk, Associate Lecturer
- Professor Christopher Michaelsen, Associate Dean Research
- Dr Suzana Nashkova, Lecturer
- Professor Juliette Overland, Deputy Dean
- Dr Rangika Palliyaarachchi, Lecturer
- Dr Kaitlyn Poole, Associate Lecturer
- Professor Catherine Renshaw, Dean
- Dr Jacinta Sassine, Associate Lecturer
- Associate Professor Elen Seymour
- Ms Shreeya Smith, Associate Lecturer
- Associate Professor Liesel Spencer
- Associate Professor June Wang
Professional Staff
- Adrian Buckland, Acting School Manager
- Dylan Conceicao, Acting Business Coordinator
- Farzana Mannan, Project Officer
- Sahanna Kalaruban, Executive Assistant
- Ms Michelle Yang, Solicitor/Clinical, Supervisor
- Ms Emma Doukakis, Managing, Solicitor/Clinical Supervisor.
Student Experience Staff
Adjunct Professors
- Dr Jennifer Whelan, Adjunct Fellow
- Mr Bill Madden, Adjunct Fellow
- Dr Thomas Altobelli, Adjunct Professor
- Hon Justice Michael Kirby, Adjunct Professor
- Hon Justice David Collier. Adjunct Professor
- Mr Manuel Ventura, Adjunct Fellow
- Mr Jai Rowell, Adjunct Fellow
- Justice Brian Preston, Adjunct Professor
- Mr David Lloyd, Adjunct Professor
- Dr Robert Dubler, Adjunct Professor
- Emeritus Professor Tuan Sappideen
- Emeritus Professor Carolyn Sappideen
- Dr Stephen Janes, Adjunct Professor
- Emeritus Professor Steven Freeland
- Professor Elizabeth Handsley, Adjunct Professor
- Mr Rodney Stowe, Adjunct Professor
- Mrs Bronwyn Weir, Adjunct Professor
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