Overview
Background
Associate Professor Rebecca Ananian-Welsh is a constitutional law scholar and Editor of the University of Queensland Law Journal at the TC Beirne School of Law. Her research focuses on courts, national security and press freedom and she has published widely in these fields, including more than 25 journal articles, two edited collections and a monograph. Her present research focuses on the nature of courts under the Constitution, and the protection of press freedom.
Rebecca's research in national security, press freedom and fair trial principles has been recognised in an Academy of Social Sciences in Australia’s Paul Bourke Award for Early Career Research and a UQ BEL Faculty award. Her book 'The Tim Carmody Affair: Australia's Greatest Judicial Crisis' (co-authored with Profs Gabrielle Appleby and Andrew Lynch), was shortlisted for a Queensland Literary Award and her Sydney Law Review article 'The Inherent Jurisdiction of Courts and the Fair Trial' has been shortlisted for the 2020 Article of the Year in the Australian Legal Research Awards.
Prior to joining UQ, Rebecca held positions at UNSW Law with the Laureate Fellowship Project 'Anti-Terror Laws and the Democratic Challenge' and the Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law's Terrorism & Law Project, as a litigation solicitor at DLA Piper, and as a legal officer with the Federal Attorney-General's Department.
Availability
- Dr Rebecca Ananian-Welsh is:
- Available for supervision
- Media expert
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Arts, University of Wollongong
- Bachelor (Honours) of Law, University of Wollongong
- Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice, University of Wollongong
- Doctor of Philosophy, University of New South Wales
Research interests
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National Security Law and Policy
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Courts and judges
The judicial branch, fair trial rights, open justice, and the interpretation and application of Chapter III of the Australian Constitution
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Press freedom
Particular focuses on the impact of counter-terrorism and national security law on press freedom, including: source protection, data privacy, the 'chilling effect', law enforcement and intelligence powers, and options for maximising both security and democracy.
Research impacts
Rebecca contributes to the development of constitutional law, institutional integrity and academia through involvement in numerous committees. Her present positions include:
- Council of the Australian Association of Constitutional Law;
- Australian Judicial Officers Association Inaugural Standing Committee on Judicial Independence;
- Centre for Public Integrity, Accountability Institutions Committee; and
- The inaugural Executive Committee of the SHAPE Futures Network (a joint initiative of the Australian Academies of the Humanities and Social Sciences to support early and mid-career researchers).
Rebecca writes regularly for The Conversation, has given evidence to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, Independent National Security Legislation Monitor, Australian Law Reform Commission and other federal and state inquiries, and has contributed to numerous submissions to government with respect to national security and constitutional issues.
Works
Search Professor Rebecca Ananian-Welsh’s works on UQ eSpace
2019
Journal Article
CATs, courts and the constitution: the place of super-tribunals in the National Judicial System
Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca (2019). CATs, courts and the constitution: the place of super-tribunals in the National Judicial System. Melbourne University Law Review, 43 (3), 852-902.
2019
Book Chapter
A fair trial for accused terrorists
Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca (2019). A fair trial for accused terrorists. The legal protection of rights in Australia. (pp. 313-333) edited by Matthew Groves, Janina Boughey and Dan Meagher. Oxford, United Kingdom: Hart Publishing. doi: 10.5040/9781509919857.ch-016
2019
Conference Publication
Is QCAT (still) a Court? Super-tribunals and Ch III of the Constitution
Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca (2019). Is QCAT (still) a Court? Super-tribunals and Ch III of the Constitution. Current Constitutional Controversies: Occasional Colloquium Series, Queensland Bar Association, Brisbane, 28 March 2019.
2019
Conference Publication
The law or the lawyers: understanding the of legal counsel and advisors in Australian editorial processes
Murray, Richard , Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca and Greste, Peter (2019). The law or the lawyers: understanding the of legal counsel and advisors in Australian editorial processes. The Journalism Education and Research Association of Australia: Plurality, Precarity and Possibilities, Sydney, NSW Australia, 3-6 December 2019.
2019
Conference Publication
Decision-Making and the New Human Rights Act: Why, What and How?
Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca (2019). Decision-Making and the New Human Rights Act: Why, What and How?. Queensland Forensic Psychiatry Meeting, Brisbane, Australia, 7 May 2019.
2018
Conference Publication
National security and human rights in the courtroom
Rebecca Ananian-Welsh (2018). National security and human rights in the courtroom. ICON-S Conference: Identity, Security, Democracy: Challenges for Public Law, Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 25-27 June 2018.
2018
Book Chapter
National security: a hegemonic constitutional value?
Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca and McGarrity, Nicola (2018). National security: a hegemonic constitutional value?. Australian constitutional values. (pp. 267-286) edited by Rosalind Dixon. Oxford, United Kingdom: Hart Publishing.
2017
Book Chapter
If at first you don't succeed...: effectiveness and the evolution of preventive organised crime measures
Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca (2017). If at first you don't succeed...: effectiveness and the evolution of preventive organised crime measures. Regulating preventive justice: principle, policy and paradox. (pp. 177-194) edited by Tamara Tulich, Rebecca Ananian-Welsh, Simon Bronitt and Sarah Murray. New York, NY United States: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781315620978-10
2016
Journal Article
Extraordinary powers without judicial oversight: a separation of powers dilemma
Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca (2016). Extraordinary powers without judicial oversight: a separation of powers dilemma. Public Law Review, 27 (4), 249-254.
2016
Journal Article
Criminal Due Process and Chapter III of the Australian Constitution by Anthony Gray
Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca (2016). Criminal Due Process and Chapter III of the Australian Constitution by Anthony Gray. Australian Law Journal, 1-1.
2016
Book
The Tim Carmody affair: Australia's greatest judicial crisis
Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca, Appleby, Gabrielle and Lynch, Andrew (2016). The Tim Carmody affair: Australia's greatest judicial crisis. Sydney, New South Wales: NewSouth.
2016
Book Chapter
Judicial independence in an age of terror
Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca (2016). Judicial independence in an age of terror. Judicial independence in Australia: contemporary challenges, future directions. (pp. 241-254) edited by Rebecca Ananian-Welsh and Jonathan Crowe. Annandale, Australia: Federation Press.
2016
Book Chapter
Introduction
Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca (2016). Introduction. Judicial independence in Australia: contemporary challenges, future directions. (pp. 1-6) edited by Crowe, Jonathan and Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca. New South Wales: Federation Press.
2016
Book Chapter
State judges as lieutenant-governors
Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca and Williams, George (2016). State judges as lieutenant-governors. Judicial independence in Australia: contemporary challenges, future directions. (pp. 194-207) edited by Rebecca Ananian-Welsh and Jonathan Crowe. Annandale, Australia: Federation Press.
2015
Journal Article
Commonwealth v Director, Fair Work Building Industry Inspectorate: The End of Penalty Agreements in Civil Pecuniary Penalty Schemes?
Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca and Gover, Kate (2015). Commonwealth v Director, Fair Work Building Industry Inspectorate: The End of Penalty Agreements in Civil Pecuniary Penalty Schemes?. The Sydney Law Review, 37 (3), 417-435.
2015
Book Chapter
Secrecy, procedural fairness and state courts
Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca (2015). Secrecy, procedural fairness and state courts. Secrecy, law and society. (pp. 120-135) edited by Greg Martin, Rebecca Scott Bray and Miiko Kumar. Abingdon, United Kingdom: Routledge.
2015
Journal Article
Judicialization or renunciation? Judges in today's landscape of anti-terror laws
Hoole, Grant and Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca (2015). Judicialization or renunciation? Judges in today's landscape of anti-terror laws. Constitutional Forum, 24 (1), 7-14.
2015
Journal Article
Judges in vice-regal roles
Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca and Williams, George (2015). Judges in vice-regal roles. Federal Law Review, 43 (1), 119-146. doi: 10.1177/0067205x1504300105
2014
Journal Article
Judicial Independence from the Executive: A First-Principles Review of the Australian Cases
Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca and Williams, George (2014). Judicial Independence from the Executive: A First-Principles Review of the Australian Cases. Monash University Law Review, 40 (3), 593-638.
2014
Other Outputs
A Purposive Formalist Interpretation of Chapter III of the Australian Constitution
Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca (2014). A Purposive Formalist Interpretation of Chapter III of the Australian Constitution. PhD Thesis, University of New South Wales, University of New South Wales.
Supervision
Availability
- Dr Rebecca Ananian-Welsh is:
- Available for supervision
Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.
Available projects
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Constitutional Law
Potential projects may concern:
- Courts, Tribunals and Judges
- Chapter III of the Australian Constitution
- The separation of powers
- Judicial and Non-Judicial Detention and Sanctions
- Jurisdiction
- Procedural fairness and due process
- Implied rights and freedoms
- Constitutional theory and interpretation
For further information contact Dr Rebecca Ananian-Welsh, e: rebecca.aw@law.uq.edu.au
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National security law
Potential projects may concern:
- Public law and human rights challenges presented by national security law
- The migration, normalisation and impacts of national security laws
For further information contact Dr Rebecca Ananian-Welsh, e: rebecca.aw@law.uq.edu.au
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Press Freedom
Potential projects may include:
- Legal protections and threats to press freedom, including by national security law and policy
For further information contact Dr Rebecca Ananian-Welsh, e: rebecca.aw@law.uq.edu.au
Supervision history
Current supervision
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Doctor Philosophy
Informality in State and Territory Combined Jurisdiction Tribunals
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Anthony Cassimatis, Professor Rick Bigwood
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Master Philosophy
Preventive Justice and Cyber-Surveillance
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Rebecca Wallis
-
Doctor Philosophy
A Critical Analysis of the Deployment of Indonesian Military Forces in Domestic Counterterrorism Operations
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Rain Liivoja
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Doctor Philosophy
Representative Democracy and Political Constitutionalism in Practice: Opposition to Indigenous Representative Bodies in Australia
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Dylan Lino, Professor Graeme Orr
Completed supervision
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2024
Doctor Philosophy
An Examination and Reconsideration of Fair Collection under the Australian Privacy Act in the Context of Retail Analytics and Big Data
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Alan Davidson
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2024
Doctor Philosophy
The Nature of Constitutions: A Theory of Genuine and Pseudo Constitutions
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Nicholas Aroney
Media
Enquiries
Contact Dr Rebecca Ananian-Welsh directly for media enquiries about:
- Constitutional Law
- counter-terrorism
- courts
- human rights
- judges
- National Security Law
- Press freedom
- Public Law
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