Overview
Background
Rain Liivoja is a Professor and Deputy Dean (Research) at the University of Queensland Law School. He is also a Senior Fellow with the Lieber Institute for Law and Land Warfare at the United States Military Academy at West Point, and holds the title of Adjunct Professor of International Law at the University of Helsinki, where he is affiliated with the Erik Castrén Institute of International Law and Human Rights.
Rain's current research focuses on the legal challenges associated with military applications of science and technology. His broader research and teaching interest include general international law, the law of armed conflict and human rights law. He is the author of Criminal Jurisdiction over Armed Forces Abroad (Cambridge University Press 2017), and a co-editor of Autonomous Cyber Capabilities under International Law (NATO CCDCOE 2021), the Routledge Handbook of the Law of Armed Conflict (Routledge 2016) and International Law-making: Essays in Honour of Jan Klabbers (Routledge 2013). Rain is a Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies (published by Brill | Nijhoff).
Rain is a UQ Ally, a UQ Mental Health Champion and a member of the UQ Disability Inclusion Advocacy Network. He is the Chairperson of the Asia-Pacific Institute for Law and Security, and Deputy Chair of the Queensland Divisional Advisory Board of the Australian Red Cross.
Before joining the University of Queensland, Rain held academic appointments at the Universities of Melbourne, Helsinki and Tartu. In 2022–2023, he was a Visiting Legal Fellow at the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. He has also been a visiting scholar at Georgetown University, the University of Oxford and the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence, and a visiting lecturer at the Estonian Military Academy and the Riga Graduate School of Law. Rain holds an undergraduate degree in law from the University of Tartu, and a masters and a doctorate in public international law from the University of Helsinki. He completed a Graduate Certificate in University Teaching at the University of Melbourne.
Rain does not teach into courses sponsored by the Confucius Institute or the Ramsay Centre.
Availability
- Professor Rain Liivoja is:
- Available for supervision
- Media expert
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Law, Tartu University
- Masters (Coursework) of International Law, University of Helsinki*
- Masters (Research) of International Law, University of Helsinki*
- Doctoral (Research) of International Law, University of Helsinki*
- Graduate Certificate in University Teaching, University of Melbourne
- Board Member, Asia-Pacific Institute for Law and Security, Asia-Pacific Institute for Law and Security
- Board Member, Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law, Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law
- Member, Estonian Council of Foreign Relations, Estonian Council of Foreign Relations
- Senior Member, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
- Member, International Law Association (Australian Branch), International Law Association (Australian Branch)
- Journal Editor in Chief, Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies, Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies
- Journal Editorial Board Member, Military Law and the Law of War Review, Military Law and the Law of War Review
- Fellow, Royal Society of Arts, Royal Society of Arts
- Member, Royal United Service Institute Queensland, Royal United Service Institute Queensland
- Senior Fellow, United States Military Academy, United States Military Academy
- Collaboration / Affiliation, University of Helsinki*, University of Helsinki*
Research interests
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governance of military technology (especially military uses of artificial intelligence and biotechnology)
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legal review of new weapons, means and methods of warfare
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arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation
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human rights of members of the armed forces (including in the context of military justice)
Works
Search Professor Rain Liivoja’s works on UQ eSpace
2025
Book
Law, language, and warfare
Russell Buchan, Emily Crawford and Rain Liivoja eds. (2025). Law, language, and warfare. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill. doi: 10.1163/9789004712478
2024
Conference Publication
Law and ethics in the governance of AI-enabled military systems
Liivoja, Rain (2024). Law and ethics in the governance of AI-enabled military systems. Delhi Defence Dialogue 2024 — Adaptive Defence: Navigating the Changing Landscape of Modern Warfare, New Delhi, India, 12-13 November 2024.
2024
Journal Article
Editorial
Buchan, Russell, Crawford, Emily and Liivoja, Rain (2024). Editorial. Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies, 15 (2), 201-202. doi: 10.1163/18781527-15020001
2024
Journal Article
The Editorial
Buchan, Russell, Crawford, Emily and Liivoja, Rain (2024). The Editorial. Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies, 15 (2), 201-202. doi: 10.1163/18781527-150
2024
Other Outputs
REAIM Summit 2024: slowly but surely towards better governance of military artificial intelligence? From The Hague to Seoul
Sanders, Lauren, Liivoja, Rain and Assaad, Zena (2024, 10 31). REAIM Summit 2024: slowly but surely towards better governance of military artificial intelligence? From The Hague to Seoul ANZSIL Perspective
2024
Other Outputs
A framework for human decision-making through the lifecycle of autonomous and intelligent systems in defense applications
Allik, Sten, Azafrani, Rachel, Barnes, David, Bode, Ingvild, Conn, Ariel, Lach, Eileen M., Lennon, Craig, Liivoja, Rain, Shanahan, John, Stephens, Melodena, Titus, Lisa and Wagner, Alan R. (2024). A framework for human decision-making through the lifecycle of autonomous and intelligent systems in defense applications. New York, NY United States: IEEE SA.
2024
Other Outputs
Submission to the Department of Industry, Science and Resources: Mandatory guardrails for AI in high-risk settings
Liivoja, Rain, Sanders, Lauren and Jevglevskaja, Natalia (2024). Submission to the Department of Industry, Science and Resources: Mandatory guardrails for AI in high-risk settings. Sydney, NSW: Asia-Pacific Institute for Law and Security.
2024
Other Outputs
Responsibility for military autonomous systems: workshop report
Sanders, Lauren, Cavdarski, Rosie and Liivoja, Rain (2024). Responsibility for military autonomous systems: workshop report. Brisbane, QLD, Australia: The University of Queensland. doi: 10.14264/9f84e05
2024
Other Outputs
Assurance for military systems incorporating Artificial Intelligence: workshop report
Sanders, Lauren, Hartridge, Sam and Liivoja, Rain (2024). Assurance for military systems incorporating Artificial Intelligence: workshop report. Brisbane, QLD, Australia: The University of Queensland. doi: 10.14264/ae376ca
2024
Other Outputs
Global powers are grappling with ‘responsible’ use of military AI: What would that look like?
Assaad, Zena, Sanders, Lauren and Liivoja, Rain (2024, 09 17). Global powers are grappling with ‘responsible’ use of military AI: What would that look like? The Conversation
2024
Other Outputs
Advancing the legal review of autonomous weapon systems: report of an expert meeting (Sydney, 16–18 April 2024)
Wolf, Renato, Sanders, Lauren, Liivoja, Rain, Jevglevskaja, Natalia and Goussac, Netta (2024). Advancing the legal review of autonomous weapon systems: report of an expert meeting (Sydney, 16–18 April 2024). Brisbane, QLD, Australia: The University of Queensland. doi: 10.14264/c41c6fb
2024
Other Outputs
AWS legal review series – protracted debate, incremental progress, unexpected outcomes
Liivoja, Rain (2024, 03 15). AWS legal review series – protracted debate, incremental progress, unexpected outcomes Articles of War
2024
Other Outputs
AWS legal review series – introduction
Liivoja, Rain and Watts, Sean (2024, 03 04). AWS legal review series – introduction Articles of War
2024
Other Outputs
Submission to the Defence Subcommittee of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade: Inquiry into the Department of Defence Annual Report 2022–2023
Sanders, Lauren, Hartridge, Sam, Liivoja, Rain, Nunn, Natalie, Walker-Munro, Brendan and Wolf, Renato (2024). Submission to the Defence Subcommittee of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade: Inquiry into the Department of Defence Annual Report 2022–2023. Brisbane, QLD, Australia: The University of Queensland.
2024
Book Chapter
Protecting warfighters from superfluous injury and unnecessary suffering
Liivoja, Rain (2024). Protecting warfighters from superfluous injury and unnecessary suffering. Civility, barbarism and the evolution of international humanitarian law. (pp. 177-199) edited by Matt Killingsworth and Tim McCormack. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/9781108764049.010
2023
Journal Article
The Editorial
Buchan, Russell, Crawford, Emily and Liivoja, Rain (2023). The Editorial. Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies, 14 (2), 189-190. doi: 10.1163/1878152BJA10086
2023
Other Outputs
Preparing Australian universities for AUKUS
Walker-Munro, Brendan, Sanders, Lauren and Liivoja, Rain (2023, 08 07). Preparing Australian universities for AUKUS The Strategist
2023
Journal Article
Ethical issues in military bioscience
Liivoja, Rain and Dobos, Ned (2023). Ethical issues in military bioscience. Monash Bioethics Review, 41 (1), 1-5. doi: 10.1007/s40592-023-00176-w
2023
Other Outputs
Legal Reviews of Autonomous Weapon Systems: Report on Submissions to the GGE on LAWS (version 2.0)
Cavdarski, Rosie, Sanders, Lauren and Liivoja, Rain (2023). Legal Reviews of Autonomous Weapon Systems: Report on Submissions to the GGE on LAWS (version 2.0). Brisbane, QLD, Australia: Law and the Future of War Research Group, TC Beirne School of Law, The University of Queensland. doi: 10.14264/1c0275b
2023
Other Outputs
Enhancing the Legal Review of Autonomous Weapon Systems: Report of an Expert Meeting
Goussac, Netta, Jevglevskaja, Natalia, Liivoja, Rain and Sanders, Lauren (2023). Enhancing the Legal Review of Autonomous Weapon Systems: Report of an Expert Meeting. Brisbane, QLD Australia: Law and the Future of War Research Group, TC Beirne School of Law, The University of Queensland. doi: 10.14264/2bbfd31
Funding
Past funding
Supervision
Availability
- Professor Rain Liivoja is:
- Available for supervision
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Supervision history
Current supervision
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Doctor Philosophy
The Legal Review of Autonomous Weapons
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Robert Mullins
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Doctor Philosophy
A Critical Analysis of the Deployment of Indonesian Military Forces in Domestic Counterterrorism Operations
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Rebecca Ananian-Welsh
Completed supervision
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2024
Doctor Philosophy
The Legal Review of Autonomous Weapons System
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Robert Mullins
Media
Enquiries
Contact Professor Rain Liivoja directly for media enquiries about:
- international law
- law of armed conflict
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