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
2023
Journal Article
Editorial
Buchan, Russell, Crawford, Emily and Liivoja, Rain (2023). Editorial. Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies, 14 (1), 1-2. doi: 10.1163/18781527-bja10071
2023
Other Outputs
Weapons reviews of autonomous weapon systems: report on submissions to the GGE on LAWS (version 1.0)
Cavdarski, Rosie, Sanders, Lauren and Liivoja, Rain (2023). Weapons reviews of autonomous weapon systems: report on submissions to the GGE on LAWS (version 1.0). Brisbane, QLD, Australia: Law and the Future of War Research Group, TC Beirne School of Law, The University of Queensland. doi: 10.14264/6670709
2023
Other Outputs
Law and the Future of War update on the REAIM Summit
Liivoja, Rain, Sanders, Lauren and Walker-Munro, Brendan (2023, 03 07). Law and the Future of War update on the REAIM Summit ANZSIL Perspective 9-14.
2023
Conference Publication
State approaches in the LAWS GGE to ethics through the Martens Clause
Liivoja, Rain and Sanders, Lauren (2023). State approaches in the LAWS GGE to ethics through the Martens Clause. Critical Reflections on AI Ethics Principles and Societal Inputs for the Governance of Military AI, The Hague, Netherlands, 26 April 2023.
2023
Journal Article
Editorial
Buchan, Russell, Crawford, Emily and Liivoja, Rain (2023). Editorial. Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies, 14 (2), 189-190. doi: 10.1163/18781527-bja10086
2023
Conference Publication
Pursuing conventional arms control: what can we learn from the prohibition of weapons injuring by non-detectable fragments?
Liivoja, Rain (2023). Pursuing conventional arms control: what can we learn from the prohibition of weapons injuring by non-detectable fragments?. 2023 Law and Technology Conference of the Asian Law Schools Association, Hsinchu, Taiwan, 2 – 3 December 2023. Singapore, Singapore: Asian Law Schools Association.
2022
Journal Article
Editorial
Buchan, Russell, Crawford, Emily and Liivoja, Rain (2022). Editorial. Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies, 13 (2), 187-188. doi: 10.1163/18781527-bja10058
2022
Journal Article
The utility of weapons reviews in addressing concerns raised by autonomous weapon systems
Copeland, Damian, Liivoja, Rain and Sanders, Lauren (2022). The utility of weapons reviews in addressing concerns raised by autonomous weapon systems. Journal of Conflict and Security Law, 28 (2), 285-316. doi: 10.1093/jcsl/krac035
2022
Conference Publication
How to – and How Not to – Regulate New Military Technologies
Liivoja, Rain (2022). How to – and How Not to – Regulate New Military Technologies. Attorney-General’s Department’s Eleventh International Law Colloquium, Canberra, ACT Australia, 17 November 2022.
2022
Conference Publication
Architecture and aspiration in international law: designing the buildings of the United Nations
Wang, Brydon and Liivoja, Rain (2022). Architecture and aspiration in international law: designing the buildings of the United Nations. Workshop Institutional Architecture, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 19-20 October 2022.
2022
Journal Article
A method for ethical AI in defence: a case study on developing trustworthy autonomous systems
Roberson, Tara, Bornstein, Stephen, Liivoja, Rain, Ng, Simon, Scholz, Jason and Devitt, Kate (2022). A method for ethical AI in defence: a case study on developing trustworthy autonomous systems. Journal of Responsible Technology, 11 100036, 1-5. doi: 10.1016/j.jrt.2022.100036
2022
Journal Article
Rules-Based International Disorder
Buchan, Russell, Crawford, Emily and Liivoja, Rain (2022). Rules-Based International Disorder. Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies, 13 (1), 1-5. doi: 10.1163/18781527-bja10050
2022
Book Chapter
Riigikogu poolt ratifitseeritavad ja denonsseeritavad lepingud
Liivoja, Rain (2022). Riigikogu poolt ratifitseeritavad ja denonsseeritavad lepingud. Eesti Vabariigi põhiseaduse kommentaarid. (pp. 1-14) Tallinn, Estonia: Estonian Academy of Sciences.
2022
Book Chapter
Being more than you can be: enhancement of warfighters and the law of armed conflict
Liivoja, Rain (2022). Being more than you can be: enhancement of warfighters and the law of armed conflict. The future law of armed conflict. (pp. 83-102) edited by Matthew C. Waxman and Thomas W. Oakley. New York, NY, United States: Oxford University Press.
2022
Journal Article
The legal requirement for command and the future of autonomous military platforms
Liivoja, Rain, Massingham, Eve and McKenzie, Simon (2022). The legal requirement for command and the future of autonomous military platforms. International Law Studies, 99, 638-675.
2022
Book Chapter
Riigipiir ja piirilepingud
Liivoja, Rain (2022). Riigipiir ja piirilepingud. Eesti Vabariigi põhiseaduse kommentaarid. (pp. 1-11) edited by Uno Lõhmus. Tallinn, Estonia: Estonian Academy of Sciences.
2021
Journal Article
Editorial
Buchan, Russell, Crawford, Emily and Liivoja, Rain (2021). Editorial. Journal of International Humanitarian Legal Studies, 12 (2), 165-168. doi: 10.1163/18781527-12020001
2021
Book Chapter
Cyber autonomy and international law: an introduction
Väljataga, Ann and Liivoja, Rain (2021). Cyber autonomy and international law: an introduction. Autonomous cyber capabilities under international law. (pp. 1-10) edited by Rain Liivoja and Ann Väljataga. Tallinn, Estonia: NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence.
2021
Book
Autonomous cyber capabilities under international law
Rain Liivoja and Ann Väljataga eds. (2021). Autonomous cyber capabilities under international law. Tallinn, Estonia: NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence.
2021
Book Chapter
The better instincts of humanity: humanitarian arguments in defense of international arms control
Jevglevskaja, Natalia and Liivoja, Rain (2021). The better instincts of humanity: humanitarian arguments in defense of international arms control. Lethal autonomous weapons: re-examining the law and ethics of robotic warfare. (pp. 103-119) edited by Jai Galliott, Duncan MacIntosh and Jens David Ohlin. New York, NY United States: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/oso/9780197546048.003.0008
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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