![Dr Lauren Sanders](/sites/default/files/profiles/31778.jpeg)
Overview
Background
Dr Lauren Sanders is a Senior Research Fellow with the TC Beirne School of Law, The University of Queensland in the Law and Future of War project. Lauren’s current research focus is on the application of export control, arms trade and sanctions regimes relevant to the export and brokering of trusted autonomous military systems and associated technology. Her broader research and teaching interests include international criminal law, international humanitarian law and domestic counter-terrorism law. She is the editor of UQ's Law and Future of War podcast where she interviews experts in the fields of law and emerging and disruptive technology, military strategy and military affairs.
She completed her initial law studies with The University of Queensland, along with a Bachelor of Arts in Peace and Conflict Studies. Her PhD studies were competed at the Australian National University focused on the practical application of universal jurisdiction. She holds an LLM in Legal Practice, Masters in Defence and Strategic Studies and numerous Graduate certificates in military law.
Before returning to The University of Queensland, Lauren spent twenty years as an Australian Army signals officer and legal officer, and has served in Iraq, Afghanistan and East Timor and on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations, a legal advisor to ADF domestic counter-terrorism operations, and an assistant Inspector-General of the ADF. She is a graduate of the Australian Command and Staff College, and was awarded a Conspicuous Service Cross for her work as the Command Legal Officer within Special Operations Command.
She supports the training of military legal officers with the University of Adelaide's Legal Training Module Level Three (Masters Law Course); and is a reserve legal officer, where she is a member of the Principal Writing Team for the Australian Defence Force’s Law of Armed Conflict Manual, and teaches at the Indo-Pacific Centre for Military Law and the ADF's Military Law Centre.
Availability
- Dr Lauren Sanders is:
- Available for supervision
- Media expert
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy, Australian National University
Research interests
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War crimes
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Export controls and sanctions
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International humanitarian law
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State responsibility
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Law relating to military emerging and disruptive technology
Research impacts
Lauren's resereach is used to inform government and Defence industry on best practices relating to the adoption of new and novel weapons technology and legal regulatory requirements; and the adoption of accountability mechanisms in armed conflict utilising new technologies.
Works
Search Professor Lauren Sanders’s works on UQ eSpace
2023
Other Outputs
Law and the Future of War: Season 6 - 10, 2023
Sanders, Lauren (Producer) (2023). Law and the Future of War: Season 6 - 10, 2023. Brisbane, Queensland: Buzzsprout.
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.
2022
Journal Article
Tinker, tailor, soldier, robot – Military human-machine integration and the law
Sanders, Lauren (2022). Tinker, tailor, soldier, robot – Military human-machine integration and the law. Medicine and Law, 41 (4), 571-586.
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
Other Outputs
MH17 convictions pave the way for war crime prosecutions from Ukrainian invasion
Sanders, Lauren (2022, 11 18). MH17 convictions pave the way for war crime prosecutions from Ukrainian invasion The Conversation
2022
Conference Publication
The duty to act in armed conflict
Devereux, John and Sanders, Lauren (2022). The duty to act in armed conflict. Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law, Canberra, ACT Australia, 30 June-2 July 2022.
2022
Other Outputs
Atrocity crimes in Ukraine: What can Australia do?
Breitwieser-Faria, Yvonne and Sanders, Lauren (2022, 05 04). Atrocity crimes in Ukraine: What can Australia do? ILA Reporter
2022
Conference Publication
Built in, not bolted on: the argument for integration of legal considerations during the design and development of novel military technologies
Sanders, Lauren (2022). Built in, not bolted on: the argument for integration of legal considerations during the design and development of novel military technologies. Centre for International Law - International Humanitarian Law and Future Warfare, Pune, India, 28-29 April 2022.
2022
Other Outputs
Accountability and Ukraine: Hurdles to prosecuting war crimes and aggression
Sanders, Lauren (2022, 03 09). Accountability and Ukraine: Hurdles to prosecuting war crimes and aggression Articles of War
2022
Other Outputs
Law and the Future of War: Season 3 - 6, 2022
Sanders, Lauren (Producer) (2022). Law and the Future of War: Season 3 - 6, 2022. Brisbane, Queensland: Buzzsprout.
2021
Other Outputs
Engaging with the industry: integrating IHL into new technologies in urban warfare
Copeland, Damian and Sanders, Lauren (2021, 10 07). Engaging with the industry: integrating IHL into new technologies in urban warfare International Committee of the Red Cross: Humanitarian Law and Policy Blog 1-5.
2021
Other Outputs
Holding autonomy to account: legal standards for autonomous weapon systems
Sanders, Lauren and Copeland, Damian (2021, 09 15). Holding autonomy to account: legal standards for autonomous weapon systems Articles of War 1-7.
2021
Other Outputs
Enforcement of crimes of universal jurisdiction in the absence of traditional jurisdictional nexuses: state, regional and international practice in bringing individuals to justice
Sanders, Lauren (2021). Enforcement of crimes of universal jurisdiction in the absence of traditional jurisdictional nexuses: state, regional and international practice in bringing individuals to justice. PhD Thesis, College of Law, Australian National University. doi: 10.25911/5GTE-ZW87
2020
Other Outputs
Developing an approach to the legal review of autonomous weapon systems
Sanders, Lauren and Copeland, Damian (2020, 11 27). Developing an approach to the legal review of autonomous weapon systems ILA Reporter 1-6.
2019
Conference Publication
Reflections on fighting non-international armed conflicts for 20 Years: the differences in targeting ISIS compared to the Taliban
Sanders, Lauren (2019). Reflections on fighting non-international armed conflicts for 20 Years: the differences in targeting ISIS compared to the Taliban. Respecting Military Law, Melbourne, VIC, Australia, 12-13 March 2019.
2017
Conference Publication
The Australian perspective on battlefield evidence and captured enemy material
Sanders, Lauren (2017). The Australian perspective on battlefield evidence and captured enemy material. Captured Enemy Material Conference, Tampa, FL, United States, 3-5 October 2017. USA:
Supervision
Availability
- Dr Lauren Sanders is:
- Available for supervision
Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.
Media
Enquiries
Contact Dr Lauren Sanders directly for media enquiries about:
- autonomous weapons systems
- export controls
- international humanitarian law
- laws of armed conflict
- laws of war
- military prosecutions
- sanctions
- Universal jurisdiction prosecutions
- War crimes
- weapons law
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