Jointly hosted by Curtin University & University of Western Australia.
Submission of presentation proposals now closed.
Registration of attendance due by 23 January 2026.
The ANZSIL International Peace and Security Interest Group (IPSIG) was established in 2014 to provide a space for those ANZSIL members who are interested in conflict, peace and security issues to connect with one another and exchange ideas. IPSIG welcomes discussions of peace and security issues from a variety of theoretical and doctrinal perspectives.
Since its inauguration in 2015, the Workshop has become IPSIG’s principal annual activity. Attended by international law academics, practitioners, and students, IPSIG Workshops have consistently provided a valuable and constructive forum for the discussion of current international peace and security issues, and related research, teaching, and public engagement.
In 2025, the international legal order stands at a difficult crossroads. The world is witnessing a surge in geopolitical fragmentation, where traditional alliances are fraying and new power blocs are emerging. At the same time, rapid technological advancements, from autonomous weapons systems to artificial intelligence, are re-shaping the nature of armed conflict and challenging the applicability of long-standing legal norms. War has grown increasingly complex, often involving multiple non-state actors, transnational threats, and hybrid warfare methods that muddy the lines between combatants and civilians, peace and war, legality and impunity. In this increasingly volatile landscape, the core principles of international law, especially those regulating the use of armed force and the conduct of hostilities, are under unprecedented strain.
The 2026 edition of the Annual IPSIG Workshop seeks to facilitate a discussion between researchers, practitioners and other experts about their work pertaining to issues currently shaping international peace and security law; conversely, considering how international peace and security law is shaping current issues. While the theme of the Workshop is intentionally broad, papers related to the following topics are particularly encouraged:
These themes are indicative – we also encourage submissions of papers on issues related to IPSIG more broadly. We welcome a discussion of the relevant legal issues from a variety of methodological, theoretical and doctrinal perspectives.
We have the honour to welcome Professor Devika Hovell as keynote speaker for the event. Devika Hovell is Professor of Public International Law at the London School of Economics, specialising in international criminal law, Security Council practice and procedure, sanctions, international dispute resolution and the law relating to the use of force. She has published widely in leading journals, including the European Journal of International Law, American Journal of International Law, and the British Yearbook of International Law. Alongside her academic work, Devika has worked and provided legal advice to a range of NGOs, governments, law firms and the UN International Law Commission.
The Workshop will be held over two days, Thursday 12 February 2026 at the Curtin University City Campus, and Friday 13 February 2026 at the University of Western Australia (UWA). The Workshop is planned as an in-person event, and we hope as many people as possible will be able to join us in Perth, Australia.
The Workshop will take the form of interactive panels, with presentations followed by a Q&A session with all Workshop participants. We are also planning to include a panel of Australian and New Zealand Government representatives to discuss current events.
There is no registration or participation fee. Support for the Workshop has been generously provided by ANZSIL, Curtin University and UWA.
An optional social gathering will be organised on the evening of Thursday, 12 February 2026, following the first day of the Workshop. Additional activities and optional lunch will be organised for Friday, 13 February, at the conclusion of the Workshop. Further details about these social activities will be provided closer to the date of the event.
The submission of presentation proposals has now closed.
Both those wishing to deliver presentations and those wishing to attend the Workshop without presenting are asked to complete the registration form [click here] by 23 January 2026. Early registration is encouraged to help the organisers ensure adequate catering and facilities.
Details are also available here.
Deadline: Monday, 16 February 2026
The Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law (ANZSIL) Postgraduate Research Students Workshop will be held in person on Tuesday, 30 June 2026, at Victoria University of Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand.
The Workshop aims to provide postgraduate degree research students with an opportunity to present their research to their peers, develop their feedback and engagement skills, discuss their experiences of postgraduate research and make academic and professional connections. Participants will give presentations on an aspect of their research for approximately 10 minutes, followed by a roundtable discussion of each paper. To facilitate this discussion, participants must submit short papers (no more than 1,500 words) for distribution before the Workshop. Participants will also be expected to engage as discussants of other papers.
The Workshop will be followed by the 33rd ANZSIL Annual Conference, which will take place at Victoria University of Wellington Faculty of Law from Wednesday, 1 July to Friday, 3 July 2026. Workshop participants are encouraged to attend the full Conference and there is no registration fee for workshop participants to attend the Workshop or the Annual Conference. Applicants for the Workshop must be enrolled in a higher degree research program (PhD, SJD, or Research Masters) at an Australian or New Zealand university.
Applicants should submit an abstract of up to 350 words and biographical note of up to 250 words no later than 16 February 2026. Your biographical note should indicate how many full years you have completed in your research degree and whether you have completed any formal requirements for candidacy in your degree. Priority will be given to participants seeking to present at an ANZSIL Postgraduate Workshop for the first time, and who have completed formal confirmation requirements for their research degree. Preference may also be given to abstracts that demonstrate a connection with the conference theme. The Convenors encourage applications from scholars from underrepresented backgrounds and institutions. There will be a small travel bursary to assist with expenses for students who are selected to take part in the Workshop and are based outside Wellington.
All information should be provided via this link: https://form.jotform.com/243520294585864.
Short papers (no more than 1500 words) will be due on 5 June 2026.
Postgraduate Research Students Workshop Convenors 2026
ANZSIL Oceans and International Environmental Law Interest Group - Call for Abstracts for ANZSIL Annual Conference OIELIG Anniversary Panel
The ANZSIL Conference is a special occasion for the Oceans and International Environmental Law Interest Group (OIELIG), because it marks a 10-year anniversary. This Call for Abstracts invites submissions to join the anniversary panel, which will cover the topic, ‘A Decade of Burgeoning or Blighted Legal Change’. In addition to presentation at the Conference, papers will be considered for inclusion in a planned Special Issue in a peer-reviewed international law journal, to be curated by the OIELG Co-Chairs after the conference.
Further information is available here. Submit your abstract for this panel to oielig@anzsil.org by 10 February 2026.
OIELIG Co-Chairs Margaret Young (m.young@unimelb.edu.au), Marcelo Feitosa De Paula Dias (marcelo.feitosadepauladias@hdr.qut.edu.au), Lowell Bautista (L.Bautista@westernsydney.edu.au) and Bjørn-Oliver Magsig (bjornoliver.magsig@vuw.ac.nz)
Co-hosted by the New Zealand Centre for Public Law
He moana pukepuke e ekengia e te wakaA stormy sea can be navigated
By adopting this whakataukī (proverb) to develop the theme of the conference, the Organising Committee is aiming to capture the zeitgeist of today’s international legal order, while drawing on a metaphor that is particularly apt for our gathering together on the shores of Moana Oceania.
The lyrical quality of the whakataukī should not beguile us into under-estimating the challenges. This may not be a passing storm. These stormy seas might be causing lasting destruction. We may have already suffered irreparable structural harm. Recognising all that, the challenges bring with them an opportunity to re-imagine – and re-build – whole new worlds, whole new ways of being, new communities, and new strategies. The challenges also invite us to listen and be attentive to other voices that may have been neglected. Even if we are not spurred to radical change, at the very least, the challenges might prompt us to think carefully about our traditional tools and re-examine our long-cherished assumptions.
We hope that this conference can provide the opportunity to imagine new worlds. In doing so, we ask if there is still a place for reform of the old system? Of the old ways of doing things? If we do embark on imagining new worlds, then what might the contours of new horizons look like? If we persist with the familiar, how might renewal or reform emerge? If we fail to adapt, then what lies ahead?
We look forward to welcoming participants to the 33rd ANZSIL Conference on the theme: Navigating Stormy Seas: People, Place and Perspectives in International Law and warmly invite proposals from any area of international law exploring these questions.
In the tradition of ANZSIL Conferences, the Conference Organising Committee will also consider proposals on international law topics not connected to the Conference theme and welcomes the submission of panel proposals from ANZSIL Interest Groups. The Committee particularly encourages non-traditional panel formats, including round-table discussions, or a Q&A panel with subject matter experts. The Committee is very happy to be contacted for questions regarding innovative panel suggestions (conference@anzsil.org).
ANZSIL aims to promote diversity in the international law community and strongly encourages submissions from Māori, Indigenous Australians and from individuals and groups traditionally underrepresented in this forum.
Those proposing papers for presentation at the Conference should submit:
Please submit your paper proposal using the Call for Papers application link here: https://form.jotform.com/253346203464857
Submissions for well-constructed panels, especially those using innovative formats, relevant to the Conference theme are strongly encouraged. Those proposing panels for presentation at the Conference should submit:
Please submit your panel proposal using the Call for Panels application link here: https://form.jotform.com/253345890939875
The closing date for proposals is Monday, 16 February 2026. The Organising Committee will endeavour to inform applicants of the outcome of their proposals by mid-March 2026. All presenters will be required to register for the Conference by early May to be included in the final Conference program. Further information about the Conference, including program and registration details, will be made available on the ANZSIL Conference page in due course.
The conference fee will be confirmed in early 2026. We anticipate charging a registration fee (early bird) of approximately AUD440.00 for ANZSIL members/Speakers.
Registrations for the Conference will open in March/April 2026.
ANZSIL is delighted to announce that it will be awarding the Alice Edwards Breakthrough Researcher Award to assist one or two early career researchers (or PhD students) to present at our 33rd Annual Conference.
The purpose of the Award is to encourage and foster the research of the most talented and promising early career researchers (or PhD students) from Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand and the Pacific Islands whose research in international law is making, or is likely to make, a significant contribution to finding solutions to some of the world’s most pressing global or regional challenges. To that end, one or two awards will be made to assist in enabling early career researchers (or PhD students) to present at the ANZSIL Annual Conference.
Applicants should read the criteria for the Award here before submitting an application.
The application form is available here and the deadline for applications is Monday, 16 February 2026.
ANZSIL Conference Organising Committee 2026
Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law
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