President's Welcome

As the President of the Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law (ANZSIL), it is a pleasure to welcome you to our website and our Society.

ANZSIL is a community of international law scholars and practitioners working across our two countries, the Asia Pacific region, and beyond. Our Society is defined by the breadth of our members’ interests and our engagement with currents questions of international law. ANZSIL’s activities focus on a range of issues, including peace and security, trade and investment, the oceans and climate change, human rights, gender and sexuality, and the histories and theories of international law. We include senior international lawyers, early career researchers and professionals, and students amongst our members and student associates. ANZSIL events provide the opportunity for an in-depth exploration of international law in a friendly and welcoming setting.

I write this message in February 2026 at a time of profound change, even rupture, in the international order, where some of its fundamental tenets are being challenged. In the last year, commentators have questioned whether we are witnessing the death of international law and international lawyers have been compared to librarians in the middle of a riot. In the face of these concerns, it is more important than ever to come together to consider the purposes and roles of international law and international organisations.

ANZSIL members are very much a part of these conversations, contributing their expertise through their work in practice, scholarship, teaching and public debate. This has been the case since the first ANZSIL was established in 1933 — a time of great unease in the international community. The second (and current) ANZSIL was founded in 1992 as the ‘end of history’ was being proclaimed and in a decade where attention was focussed on the end of the cold war and the revival of the UN Security Council.

The themes of the ANZSIL Annual Conference since its inception have asked international lawyers to consider the role of international law in the Asia Pacific, the international law of the ‘everyday’, international law and security, and governance and institutions, amongst many other topics. We have asked ‘who’ is given a voice in international law, and whether the focus on current crises distracts international lawyers from systemic issues in the discipline. Our members aim to not only affirm the fundamental principles of international law but also question whether they produce a just and fair world order in the face of armed conflict, inequality, climate change and technological developments.

The ANZSIL Council welcomes new members to join and lead these conversations and is focussed on ways to encourage participation in our activities. We can be contacted via the ANZSIL Secretariat.

I look forward to seeing you at an ANZSIL event soon.

Best wishes,

Alison Duxbury