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
2010
Journal Article
Service Jurisdiction Under International Law
Liivoja, Rain (2010). Service Jurisdiction Under International Law. Melbourne Journal of International Law, 11 (2)
2010
Journal Article
Dish of the day: justice sans frontiers à la finlandaise
Liivoja, Rain (2010). Dish of the day: justice sans frontiers à la finlandaise. Helsinki Review of Global Governance, 1 (1), 20-23.
2010
Journal Article
The criminal jurisdiction of states: a theoretical primer
Liivoja, Rain (2010). The criminal jurisdiction of states: a theoretical primer. No Foundations: journal of extreme legal positivism (7), 25-58.
2010
Journal Article
Correspondents' reports: Finland
Leino, Jani and Liivoja, Rain (2010). Correspondents' reports: Finland. Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law: 2010, 13, 480-485.
2010
Journal Article
Correspondents' reports: Latvia
Liivoja, Rain and Miluna, Ieva (2010). Correspondents' reports: Latvia. Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law: 2010, 13, 571-581.
2010
Journal Article
Correspondents' reports: Estonia
Liivoja, Rain (2010). Correspondents' reports: Estonia. Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law: 2010, 13, 478-480.
2009
Journal Article
Privileeg, puutumatus, immuniteet
Liivoja, Rain (2009). Privileeg, puutumatus, immuniteet. Õiguskeel, 15 (1), 67-70.
2008
Journal Article
The scope of the supremacy clause of the United Nations Charter
Liivoja, Rain (2008). The scope of the supremacy clause of the United Nations Charter. International and Comparative Law Quarterly, 57 (3), 583-612. doi: 10.1017/S0020589308000389
2008
Journal Article
Review of UN peacekeeping in Lebanon, Somalia and Kosovo
Liivoja, Rain (2008). Review of UN peacekeeping in Lebanon, Somalia and Kosovo. International Organizations Law Review, 5 (1), 228-232.
2008
Journal Article
Review of Jurisdiction in international law
Liivoja, Rain (2008). Review of Jurisdiction in international law. Finnish Yearbook of International Law, 19, 397-401.
2008
Journal Article
Review of Peter Judson Richards, Extraordinary justice: military tribunals in historical and international context
Liivoja, Rain (2008). Review of Peter Judson Richards, Extraordinary justice: military tribunals in historical and international context. Journal of Conflict and Security Law, 13 (1), 156-159. doi: 10.1093/jcsl/krn010
2007
Other Outputs
Rule of Law Inventory Report: Academic Part
Janse, Ronald, Sanchez Galera, Maria Dolores and Liivoja, Rain (2007). Rule of Law Inventory Report: Academic Part. Hague Institute for the Internationalisation of Law.
2007
Journal Article
Book review: Crimes against humanity: a normative account by Larry May
Liivoja, Rain (2007). Book review: Crimes against humanity: a normative account by Larry May. European Journal of International Law, 18 (2), 373-376. doi: 10.1093/ejil.chm019
2007
Other Outputs
Implementation of the Rome Statute in the Czech Republic
Krivanek, David, Tyllova, Petra, Goldmann, Matthias, Liivoja, Rain, Schneider, Cornelia, Swampillai, Ann and Walther, Isabelle E. (2007). Implementation of the Rome Statute in the Czech Republic. doi: 10.2139/ssrn.996513
2007
Other Outputs
Implementation of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in Latvia
Kalnina, Ieva, Paparinskis, Martins, Goldmann, Matthias, Liivoja, Rain, Schneider, Cornelia, Swampillai, Ann and Walther, Isabelle E. (2007). Implementation of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in Latvia. doi: 10.2139/ssrn.928333
2007
Journal Article
Kas Paabeli torn? Mõned märkused rahvusvaheliste lepingute erikeelsete tekstide õigusliku tähenduse kohta
Liivoja, Rain (2007). Kas Paabeli torn? Mõned märkused rahvusvaheliste lepingute erikeelsete tekstide õigusliku tähenduse kohta. Õiguskeel, 13 (3), 3-13.
2007
Other Outputs
Implementation of the Rome Statute in Norway
Blix-Nilsen, Silje, Eriksen, Pal, Songe-Moeller, Jeppe, Goldmann, Matthias, Liivoja, Rain, Schneider, Cornelia, Swampillai, Ann and Walther, Isabelle E. (2007). Implementation of the Rome Statute in Norway. doi: 10.2139/ssrn.996523
2007
Journal Article
Review of Peter Rowe, The impact of human rights law on armed forces
Liivoja, Rain (2007). Review of Peter Rowe, The impact of human rights law on armed forces. Human Rights Law Review, 7 (4), 813-816. doi: 10.1093/hrlr/ngm026
2007
Other Outputs
Implementation of the Rome Statute in the Netherlands
Cinar, Alper, van Niekerk, Sander, Goldmann, Matthias, Liivoja, Rain, Schneider, Cornelia, Swampillai, Ann and Walther, Isabelle E. (2007). Implementation of the Rome Statute in the Netherlands. doi: 10.2139/ssrn.996521
2006
Journal Article
Rahvusvahelise Kriminaalkohtu Rooma statuudi rakendamine Eesti õigussüsteemis
Liivoja, Rain and Värk, René (2006). Rahvusvahelise Kriminaalkohtu Rooma statuudi rakendamine Eesti õigussüsteemis. Riigikogu Toimetised, 13, 165-171.
Funding
Past funding
Supervision
Availability
- Professor Rain Liivoja is:
- Available for supervision
Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.
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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