Revisiting Australia’s preferential trade agreements and bilateral investment treaties to safeguard regulatory autonomy. This project critically evaluates Australia’s free trade agreements and bilateral investment treaties in the light of recent national and international experience. Its recommendations for systematically revising existing agreements and refining approaches to negotiating new agreements will assist in protecting Australian policy space.
Balancing National Security and Economic Interests in Foreign Investment. The project aims to investigate growing divergence between countries’ inward foreign investment policies and their increasing links to national security. Novel interdisciplinary collaboration integrating political science, economics and law promises insights into these policy shifts, which appear driven by digitalisation of the economy and the rise of emerging markets (eg China) and State-linked investment. Expected outcom ....Balancing National Security and Economic Interests in Foreign Investment. The project aims to investigate growing divergence between countries’ inward foreign investment policies and their increasing links to national security. Novel interdisciplinary collaboration integrating political science, economics and law promises insights into these policy shifts, which appear driven by digitalisation of the economy and the rise of emerging markets (eg China) and State-linked investment. Expected outcomes include clarification of the causes and implications of these shifts and innovative understanding of the connection between national security and economic interests in investment. This new knowledge should enhance balance in investment policy and decision-making, with economic and foreign policy benefits for Australia.Read moreRead less
The fundamental importance of foreign direct investment to Australia in the 21st century: Reforming treaty and dispute resolution practice. This project will evaluate the economic and legal risks associated with the Australian Government’s current policy on investor-state dispute settlement through multidisciplinary research, namely econometric modeling, empirical research through stakeholder surveys and interviews, as well as critical analysis of case law, treaties and regulatory approaches. Th ....The fundamental importance of foreign direct investment to Australia in the 21st century: Reforming treaty and dispute resolution practice. This project will evaluate the economic and legal risks associated with the Australian Government’s current policy on investor-state dispute settlement through multidisciplinary research, namely econometric modeling, empirical research through stakeholder surveys and interviews, as well as critical analysis of case law, treaties and regulatory approaches. The aim of this project is to identify optimal methods of investor-state dispute prevention, avoidance and resolution that efficiently cater to inbound and outbound investors as well as Australia as a whole. The goal is to promote a positive climate for investment inflows and outflows, while maintaining Australia's ability to take sovereign decisions on matters of public policy.Read moreRead less
International Law and the Cold War. This project is about international law and the Cold War. It seeks to re-read international law and the Cold War as mutually constitutive in a ground-breaking reconceptualisation of contemporary international law as a product of the Cold War, and the Cold War as a juridical category. It will produce the first history and theory of the relationship between international law and the Cold War. This new history will contribute to wider debates about the future of ....International Law and the Cold War. This project is about international law and the Cold War. It seeks to re-read international law and the Cold War as mutually constitutive in a ground-breaking reconceptualisation of contemporary international law as a product of the Cold War, and the Cold War as a juridical category. It will produce the first history and theory of the relationship between international law and the Cold War. This new history will contribute to wider debates about the future of the international legal and diplomatic order. This is particularly relevant now, when emerging global divisions threaten to repeat the ideological enmity and paranoia that was a feature of the Cold War period.Read moreRead less
Developing a systematic, inclusive and just jurisprudential account of TRIPS. The WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) provides for the international regulation of the knowledge economy. Yet much of its text is legally uncertain, undermining its utility. This project will provide the first comprehensive scholarly jurisprudential account of TRIPS. This will enable greater certainty and efficiency in the enactment and implementation of compliant domesti ....Developing a systematic, inclusive and just jurisprudential account of TRIPS. The WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) provides for the international regulation of the knowledge economy. Yet much of its text is legally uncertain, undermining its utility. This project will provide the first comprehensive scholarly jurisprudential account of TRIPS. This will enable greater certainty and efficiency in the enactment and implementation of compliant domestic legislation. The project will also provide the first socio-legal account of the WTO Dispute Resolution Body and the interpretive methodologies it employs for interpreting TRIPS. The project will also provide a jurisprudential account that promotes formally and substantively just dispute resolution outcomes.Read moreRead less
Terrorism and the international law of armed conflict. This project investigates the scope, effectiveness and legitimacy of the international law of armed conflict as it applies to terrorist and counter-terrorist violence in armed conflicts. It aims to improve understanding of the legal regulation of such violence and thus ultimately to diminish human suffering in war.
Intellectual Property requirements in Free Trade agreements: implications for development in Pacific Island Countries. This project investigates ways in which intellectual property laws can be used to promote development in the Pacific Island Countries. It will inform and support Australia's trade negotiations with the region in the context of Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations (PACER) Plus.
Responsibility, regionalism and refugees. This project will ask how responsibility for refugees may be shared among countries, resulting in guiding principles for policy makers and other outputs that will inform debates about potential models for responsibility sharing at the United Nations and within Australia.
Safeguarding the domestic tax base in a world without investment borders. Reform of Australia's tax rules applying to business investments abroad will ensure the continued protection of the domestic tax base while removing disincentives that discourage Australian enterprises from investing overseas and foreign enterprises from using Australia as a site for regional investment. Enabling more Australian firms to invest abroad and attracting foreign capital inflows by investors seeking to use Austr ....Safeguarding the domestic tax base in a world without investment borders. Reform of Australia's tax rules applying to business investments abroad will ensure the continued protection of the domestic tax base while removing disincentives that discourage Australian enterprises from investing overseas and foreign enterprises from using Australia as a site for regional investment. Enabling more Australian firms to invest abroad and attracting foreign capital inflows by investors seeking to use Australia as a politically stable platform for foreign investment will contribute to the restoration of a balance of payments equilibrium and strengthen the Australian economy vis-à-vis those of Australia's key regional trading partners.Read moreRead less
The World Trade Organization and Human Rights. The expansion of a liberalised trade regime has special importance for a trade-dependent small economy such as that of Australia. Yet this process within the WTO, particularly after the Cancun Ministerial meeting, has stalled. This inertia has in part been caused by tensions arising from the WTO/human rights debate. There is therefore an urgent need for cutting edge, thorough, balanced research on that topic. Furthermore, the investigation of th ....The World Trade Organization and Human Rights. The expansion of a liberalised trade regime has special importance for a trade-dependent small economy such as that of Australia. Yet this process within the WTO, particularly after the Cancun Ministerial meeting, has stalled. This inertia has in part been caused by tensions arising from the WTO/human rights debate. There is therefore an urgent need for cutting edge, thorough, balanced research on that topic. Furthermore, the investigation of the attitudes of Australia's neighbours to the human rights/trade debate will aid friendly relations and contribute to the promotion of global security, which is enhanced by the promotion of a just global economic system. Australia also benefits by being a world leader in this crucial debate. Read moreRead less