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ANZSIL Perspective
We are proud to publish the ANZSIL Perspective. It is hoped that these Perspectives will generate discussion and contribute to thoughtful debate on major issues of international law.
Please see the current call for Perspectives.

ANZSIL Perspective acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and recognises their continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, and to their Elders past, present and emerging.
ANZSIL Perspective acknowledges ngā iwi Māori as the tangata whenua of Aotearoa New Zealand, and affirms its ongoing commitment to the principles and spirit of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Latest Perspectives
Editorial: Edition 36
Tēnā koutou, yumalundi, and welcome to this edition of ANZSIL Perspectives which follows the...
Settlement of Disputes to which International Organisations are a Party: A Spotlight on the ILC and its Relevance to the Pacific
The International Law Commission (ILC) has launched a new topic: ‘Settlement of Disputes to which...
Saudi Arabia’s Withdrawal from the Moon Agreement
On 5 January 2023, Saudi Arabia gave notice to the United Nations of its withdrawal from the...
Submit a Perspective
ANZSIL Perspective is open to submissions from authors of any background. Articles are assessed for publication in line with the submission guidelines.
Please see the current call for Perspectives.
Past Perspectives

Editorial: Edition 35
Tēnā koutou, yumalundi, and welcome to this edition of ANZSIL Perspectives. This edition is a retrospective from Sir David Barangwanath on the work of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon – fitting for the eighteenth anniversary of the Tribunal’s establishment, and almost exactly...

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon
A perspective from the Special Tribunal for Lebanon is to ensure the rule of law is subordinate to no-one, and nothing. It met a number of attempts to the contrary. Lebanon, with a population of nearly seven million, is the coastal state demarking the eastern end of the...

Editorial: Edition 34
WELCOME to our 34th Edition of ANZSIL Perspective and a special edition on the situation in Ukraine with excellent Perspectives from Juliette McIntyre on Lyophilization and Lawfare in Ukraine v. Russia; Yuliya Mik on the The war in Ukraine and international law: Prosecuting the...

Lyophilization and Lawfare in Ukraine v. Russia
The Allegations of Genocide under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Ukraine v. Russia) case was instituted on 27 February 2022, a mere three days after the unlawful invasion of Ukraine got underway. On the one-year anniversary of these...

The war in Ukraine and international law: Prosecuting the Crime of Aggression
As the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has just passed, there are few signs of the war coming to an end in the near future. Readers will recall that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine – which has been ongoing since 2014 – took a significant turn on 24...

Give Peace a Chance
Prospects of peace and an end to the war in Ukraine need to be assessed in the context of three overlapping developments. Three events are overlapping. First, the war in the Ukraine is escalating in terms of both weaponry and casualties. This presents a problem for Putin...

Editorial: Edition 33
WELCOME to our 33rd Edition of ANZSIL Perspective and the first for 2023, with an excellent perspective from Tianqi Gu on the State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) Chapter of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). There...

The SOE Chapter of the CPTPP: An Effective Way to Regulate Chinese SOEs’ Foreign Direct Investments?
The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) ultimately went into effect at the end of 2018 following a protracted negotiating process and evolution from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). This multilateral free trade agreement (FTA)...

ANZSIL Conversation post – Law and the Future of War update on the REAIM Summit
On 15 and 16 February 2023, the Netherlands and Korean governments co-hosted a summit on Responsible Artificial Intelligence in the Military (REAIM) at the World Forum in The Hague. Attracting over 1800 attendees from academia, industry, and – importantly – governments, the...

EDITORIAL: Edition 32
WELCOME to our 32nd edition of ANZSIL Perspective with excellent perspectives on Authors’ Rights as Human Rights, Defending Crimes of Aggression and how this was discussed at the International Bar Association Conference in Miami, an important decision in the New Zealand High...

Authors’ Rights as Human Rights
A September 2022 decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), Safarov v Azerbaijan, reminds us that failing to protect authors’ rights is not just an economic issue. It can be a breach of human rights. The ECtHR case is not an isolated instance. A...

Defending Crimes of Aggression in Miami
At the International Bar Association (IBA) Conference last month in Miami, much talk was on Russian responsibility for aggression and atrocities in Ukraine. It began with opening remarks from Ukraine’s President Zelensky that “lawyers will ensure that all those guilty of terror...

Almarzooqi v Salih: High Court Rules that Mahr under a Sharīʿa Law-based Contract is Enforceable in New Zealand
For the first time in New Zealand (NZ), the High Court in Almarzooqi v Salih [2022] NZHC 1170 recently ruled that a refusal to pay mahr (dower/dowry) as part of a marriage contract concluded overseas as per sharīʿa law, constitutes a breach of contract that is enforceable. In...

Remembering and celebrating the contributions of Moana Jackson (10 October 1945 – 31 March 2022)
This perspective may be unlike prior published perspectives to which you are accustomed. Different. Considered. Genuine and a little poetic. This is perhaps how Moana would have preferred it. Unlike Moana, I may not skillfully find one poignant joke or humorous story to share...

EDITORIAL: Edition 31
WELCOME to our 31st edition of ANZSIL Perspective with an excellent perspective by Simon Levett on The Shifting Protections of War Correspondents under International Law, a spotlight on H.E. Judge Antonio Augusto Cançado Trindade and two book reviews Since Edition 30, we’ve...

The Shifting Protections of War Correspondents under International Law – the example of Israel and the Palestinian Territories and South-East Europe
Journalists are continually subject to harm or the threat of harm during their reporting in foreign wars. The US based Committee to Protect Journalists states that at least 24 journalists have been murdered in 2022 so far globally. The surge in armed groups such as...

SPOTLIGHT: H.E. Judge Antonio Augusto Cancado Trindade
It was in the early days of June, while on a visit to my native country Trinidad and Tobago, that I learned about the sad passing of Judge Antonio Augusto Cançado Trindade. Although I never met the learned Judge in person, as a sitting Member of the International Court of...

BOOK REVIEW: Who saved Antarctica? The Heroic Era of Antarctic Diplomacy by Andrew Jackson (Palgrave Macmillan, 2021)
The legal regime governing Antarctica has always been a subject of interest to Australian and New Zealand international lawyers, both in and outside government. Much has been written on the sovereignty claims and the treaty regimes governing the Antarctic, including the...

BOOK REVIEW: Secondhand Time by Svetlana Alexievich
Few books help us understand Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as well as Second-Hand Time, authored by the Ukrainian-born Belarusian writer Svetlana Alexievich (London, Fitzcarraldo Editions 2016). Based on hundreds of interviews, it collects the voices of many individuals on the...

New Technologies in the Global Battlespace: themes emerging from the IPSIG/Law and Future of War workshop held on Friday 13 May 2022
By Catherine Thornton and Kirsty McRuvie (Kevin Hu, Unsplash) The workshop ‘New Technologies in the Global Battlespace’ was held by the International Peace and Security Interest Group (ISPIG) of ANZSIL and the University of Queensland’s Law and Future of War Research...

Terror in the time of Polio and COVID-19: The intersection of violence and contagion in Afghanistan
Badakhshan, Afghanistan (Unsplash - Joel Heard) In the first months of the Taliban’s violent takeover of Afghanistan last year, media reported widely on the chaotic withdrawal of US and allied forces, and the rapid escalation of the Taliban’s violence. The Taliban has targeted...

Edition 30: Editorial
WELCOME to our 30th edition of ANZSIL Perspective with excellent perspectives by Karin M Frodé, Azadah Raz Mohammad and Andrea Olivares Jones on Terror in the time of Polio and COVID-19 and by Catherine Thornton and Kirsty McCruvie on the IPSIG/Law and Future of War workshop...

EDITORIAL – Edition 29
WELCOME to our 29th edition of ANZSIL Perspective with an excellent perspective by Neil Boister on Trust in Translation: Diplomatic Assurances, the New Zealand Supreme Court, and Extradition to China and a book review from Tamsin Paige On Tyranny and the Global Legal Order by...

Trust in Translation: Diplomatic Assurances, the New Zealand Supreme Court, and Extradition to China
In 1606 in the République, Jean Bodin argued that it was wrong to render up the guiltless to a sovereign who wished to punish them, but right to render up the guilty. Today guilt alone is insufficient for extradition. The 1989 judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in...

BOOK REVIEW: On Tyranny and the Global Legal Order by Prof Aoife O’Donoghue
While the question of tyranny and how the law creates and supports tyranny in society arises frequently in research, including my own, until this delightful new book there has been no comprehensive treatment of the concept. In On Tyranny in the Global Legal Order, O’Donoghue...

Edition 28 Editorial
WELCOME to our 28th edition of ANZSIL Perspective with an excellent contribution by Dr Jane Kelsey on the protection of Māori data sovereignty and governance in New Zealand’s negotiations of Digital Trade rules, and a book review by Dr Alison Pert of Gareth Evans’ publication...

Waitangi Tribunal Forces NZ Rethink on Digital Trade Rules
The Waitangi Tribunal issued its final report on the six-year Inquiry into the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), and its successor the Comprehensive and Progressive agreement for TransPacific Partnership (CPTPP), in November 2021. The Tribunal’s statutory role is to...

Book Review: Gareth Evans, Good International Citizenship: the Case for Decency (Monash University Publishing, 2022)
Long ago in a galaxy that now seems far, far away, Gareth Evans was Foreign Minister in the Hawke-Keating Labor governments. In that capacity, he promulgated “good international citizenship” as a central part of Australian foreign policy – the idea of being a...

EDITORIAL – Edition 27
WELCOME to our first edition of ANZSIL Perspective for 2022. It is a bumper edition with two fascinating articles on universal jurisdiction by Kiran Menon and Dr Melinda Rankin, and an instructive book review by Monique Cormier. As Russia launches a military invasion of...

On Some Recent Universal Jurisdiction Contexts and Cycles
It could be argued that the progress of universal jurisdiction has been defined by cycles, in that it has had periods of relative dormancy, at least in terms of profile, and phases of resurgence. The mere claim that there can exist a ‘universal criminal jurisdiction’ albeit for...
Frequently asked questions
Do you accept submissions from law graduates or masters students?
Yes. ANZSIL Perspective is pleased to consider articles from authors of any background. Articles are assessed for publication in line with the submission guidelines, available here.
Are you accepting applications to join your editorial board?
ANZSIL Perspective is not currently accepting applications to join its editorial board.
Is there a word limit for article submissions?
Articles should not exceed 1,500 words.
Is there a publication charge for accepted articles?
No. ANZSIL Perspective does not charge a submission fee or publication fee.
Get in Touch with the Editor
ANZSIL Perspective is pleased to hear from its readership and answer any questions from prospective contributors. We aim to respond within three business days.