![Dr Robert Mullins](/sites/default/files/profiles/12947.jpeg)
Overview
Background
Robert Mullins holds a BPhil in Philosophy and a DPhil in Law from the University of Oxford. His research expertise is in legal philosophy and the theory of legal reasoning. Much of Robert's published work investigates the implications of different accounts of the meaning and use of deontic language developed by logicians and linguists for the understanding of legal rights, obligations, and authority relations. His most recent work focuses on logics of common law reasoning developed by scholars in Artificial Intelligence and Law.
Dr Mullins currently serves as Reviews Editor of the peer-reviewed professional journal, Law and Philosophy. He is an Associate Member of the ARC Centre for Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society.
Availability
- Dr Robert Mullins is:
- Available for supervision
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Arts, The University of Queensland
- Bachelor of Law, The University of Queensland
- Doctor of Philosophy, University of Oxford
Works
Search Professor Robert Mullins’s works on UQ eSpace
Featured
2020
Journal Article
Protected reasons and precedential constraint
Mullins, Robert (2020). Protected reasons and precedential constraint. Legal Theory, 26 (1), 1-22. doi: 10.1017/s1352325220000075
Featured
2020
Journal Article
Moral conflict and the logic of rights
Mullins, Robert (2020). Moral conflict and the logic of rights. Philosophical Studies, 177 (3), 633-651. doi: 10.1007/s11098-018-1197-1
Featured
2018
Journal Article
Detachment and deontic language in Law
Mullins, Robert (2018). Detachment and deontic language in Law. Law and Philosophy, 37 (4), 1-34. doi: 10.1007/s10982-017-9313-5
Featured
2018
Journal Article
Legal positivism and deontic detachment
Mullins, Robert (2018). Legal positivism and deontic detachment. Ratio Juris, 31 (1), 4-8. doi: 10.1111/raju.12191
2023
Journal Article
Book review: Dickson, Julie. Elucidating Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2022. Pp 208. $110.00 (cloth).
Mullins, Robert (2023). Book review: Dickson, Julie. Elucidating Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2022. Pp 208. $110.00 (cloth).. Ethics, 134 (1), 127-131. doi: 10.1086/725817
2023
Other Outputs
Safe and Responsible AI in Australia Discussion Paper: ADM+S Submission
Weatherall, Kimberlee, Bednarz, Zofia, Bello y Villarino, Jose-Miguel, Burgess, Jean, Cellard, Loup, Cohen, Tegan, Fraser, Henry, Goldenfein, Jake, Graham, Timothy, Haines, Fiona, Henman, Paul, Ilyushina, Nataliya, Kennedy, Jenny, Leach Scully, Jackie, Leeftink, Dennis, Maitra, Suvradip, Matulionyte, Rita, McCosker, Anthony, Mullins, Robert, Nabben, Kelsie, Parker, Christine, Phan, Thao, Salim, Flora, Snoswell, Aaron, Thomas, Julian, Trezise, Melanie, Young, Libby and Zeng, Jacky (2023). Safe and Responsible AI in Australia Discussion Paper: ADM+S Submission. Canberra, ACT Australia: Department of Industry, Science and Resources. doi: 10.25916/catx-q405
2022
Journal Article
Two factor-based models of precedential constraint: a comparison and proposal
Mullins, Robert (2022). Two factor-based models of precedential constraint: a comparison and proposal. Artificial Intelligence and Law, 31 (4), 1-36. doi: 10.1007/s10506-022-09335-6
2022
Journal Article
Presupposing legal authority
Mullins, Robert (2022). Presupposing legal authority. Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, 42 (2), 411-437. doi: 10.1093/ojls/gqab038
2022
Book Chapter
Lesser evils, mere permissions and justifying reasons in law
Mullins, Rob (2022). Lesser evils, mere permissions and justifying reasons in law. New essays on the nature of legal reasoning. (pp. 259-280) edited by Mark McBride and James Penner. Oxford, United Kingdom: Hart Publishing. doi: 10.5040/9781509937684.ch-012
2021
Journal Article
Formalizing reasons, oughts, and requirements
Mullins, Robert (2021). Formalizing reasons, oughts, and requirements. Ergo, 7 (22), 568-599. doi: 10.3998/ergo.1119
2020
Journal Article
Book review: Arthur Ripstein, Private Wrongs, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2016, 313 pp, hb $49.95
Mullins, Robert (2020). Book review: Arthur Ripstein, Private Wrongs, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2016, 313 pp, hb $49.95. Modern Law Review, 83 (5), 1104-1108. doi: 10.1111/1468-2230.12526
2020
Journal Article
Protected reasons and precedential constraint—erratum
Mullins, Robert (2020). Protected reasons and precedential constraint—erratum. Legal Theory, 26 (1), 1-2. doi: 10.1017/s1352325220000166
2019
Journal Article
Rights, roles and interests
Mullins, Robert (2019). Rights, roles and interests. Journal of Ethics and Social Philosophy, 16 (2), 95-115. doi: 10.26556/jesp.v16i2.398
2019
Conference Publication
Deontic closure and conflict in legal reasoning
Governatori, Guido and Mullins, Robert (2019). Deontic closure and conflict in legal reasoning. 32nd International Conference on Legal Knowledge and Information Systems (JURIX 2019), Madrid, Spain, 11-13 December 2019. Amsterdam, Netherlands: IOS Press. doi: 10.3233/FAIA190322
2018
Journal Article
Teaching Contract Vitiation in Australia: New Challenges in Subject Design
Bigwood, Rick and Mullins, Rob (2018). Teaching Contract Vitiation in Australia: New Challenges in Subject Design. Bond Law Review, 30 (2), 185-216. doi: 10.53300/001c.6797
2017
Journal Article
Children’s rights and parents’ rights
Mullins, Robert (2017). Children’s rights and parents’ rights. Jurisprudence: an international journal of legal and political thought, 8 (3), 1-10. doi: 10.1080/20403313.2017.1380902
2016
Other Outputs
Relational Norms
Mullins, Robert (2016). Relational Norms. PhD Thesis, University of Oxford, University of Oxford.
2016
Conference Publication
Rights in default logic
Mullins, Robert (2016). Rights in default logic. 13th International Conference, DEON 2016, Bayreuth, Germany, 18-21 July 2016. London, United Kingdom: College Publications.
2015
Journal Article
Police misconduct in Queensland: a public wrong
Mullins, Robert (2015). Police misconduct in Queensland: a public wrong. University of Queensland Law Journal, 34 (2), 287-299.
Funding
Past funding
Supervision
Availability
- Dr Robert Mullins is:
- Available for supervision
Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.
Supervision history
Current supervision
-
Doctor Philosophy
The Legal Review of Autonomous Weapons
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Rain Liivoja
Completed supervision
-
2024
Doctor Philosophy
Waldron's Conception of the Rule of Law and Legal Theory
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor James Allan, Dr Matt Watson
-
2024
Doctor Philosophy
The Legal Review of Autonomous Weapons System
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Rain Liivoja
-
2023
Doctor Philosophy
Understanding Law as a MacIntyrean Practice
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Nicholas Aroney
Media
Enquiries
For media enquiries about Dr Robert Mullins's areas of expertise, story ideas and help finding experts, contact our Media team: