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
-
National Security Law and Policy
-
Courts and judges
The judicial branch, fair trial rights, open justice, and the interpretation and application of Chapter III of the Australian Constitution
-
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
2013
Journal Article
Understood but undefined: why do Argentina and Brazil resist criminalising terrorism?
Welsh, Rebecca (2013). Understood but undefined: why do Argentina and Brazil resist criminalising terrorism?. Vienna Journal on International Constitutional Law, 7 (3), 327-348.
2013
Book Chapter
Anti-terror preventive detention and the independent judiciary
Welsh, Rebecca (2013). Anti-terror preventive detention and the independent judiciary. Preventive detention: asking the fundamental questions. (pp. 137-158) edited by Patrick Keyzer. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Intersentia.
2013
Book Chapter
Secrecy and control orders: the role and vulnerability of constitutional values in Australia and the United Kingdom
Lynch, Andrew, Tulich, Tamara and Welsh, Rebecca (2013). Secrecy and control orders: the role and vulnerability of constitutional values in Australia and the United Kingdom. Secrecy, national security, and the vindication of constitutional law. (pp. 154-172) edited by David Cole, Federico Fabbrini and Arianna Vedaschi. Cheltenham, United Kingdom: Edward Elgar. doi: 10.4337/9781781953860.00018
2011
Journal Article
A question of integrity: the role of judges in counter-terrorism questioning and detention by ASIO
Welsh, Rebecca (2011). A question of integrity: the role of judges in counter-terrorism questioning and detention by ASIO. Public Law Review, 22 (2), 138-152.
2011
Journal Article
"Incompatibility" rising? Some potential consequences of Wainohu v New South Wales
Welsh, Rebecca (2011). "Incompatibility" rising? Some potential consequences of Wainohu v New South Wales. Public Law Review, 22 (4), 259-265.
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
Doctor Philosophy
A Critical Analysis of the Deployment of Indonesian Military Forces in Domestic Counterterrorism Operations
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Rain Liivoja
-
Doctor Philosophy
Informality in State and Territory Combined Jurisdiction Tribunals
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Anthony Cassimatis, Professor Rick Bigwood
-
Master Philosophy
Preventive Justice and Cyber-Surveillance
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Rebecca Wallis
-
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
-
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
-
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
Need help?
For help with finding experts, story ideas and media enquiries, contact our Media team: