Associate Head of School Law (Research), School of Law

LLM, LLB, BComIndRel UNSW Contact details

• Career Profile
• Awards and Recognition
• Interests
• Publications
• Conferences

Career Profile

Steven Freeland is a Professor in International Law at the University of Western Sydney, Australia, where he teaches both postgraduate and undergraduate students in International Criminal Law, Commercial Aspects of Space Law, Public International Law and Human Rights Law. He is also Associate Head of School (Research) and coordinator of the School’s International Law Mooting Program.

He is a Visiting Professor in International Law at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark and has taught courses and presented guest lectures at Universities in The Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Bulgaria, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Denmark, United States, Australia and Singapore.

He is also a Visiting Professional within the Appeals Chamber at the International Criminal Court, The Hague and has been a Special Advisor to the Danish Foreign Ministry in matters related to the International Criminal Court.

Among other appointments, he is a member of the Space Law Committee of the London-based International Law Association, a member of the Directorate of Studies of the Paris-based International Institute of Space Law, a member of the Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law, a member of the SUR/United Nations Human Rights University Network and a Fellow of the Tim Fischer Centre for Global Trade and Finance.

He sits on the Editorial Board of both the Australian Journal of Human Rights and the Australian International Law Journal, as well as a series of books entitled Studies in Space Law. He is also actively involved in the publication of a series of casebooks annotating the jurisprudence of the International Criminal Court, the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda, the Special Court for Sierra Leone and the Special Panels for Serious Crimes in East Timor.

He has published extensively on various aspects of International Law and is a frequent speaker at national and international conferences, having been invited to present conference papers and keynote speeches in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom and United States.

Awards and Recognition

• Appointed Visiting Professional (Chambers), the International Criminal Court, The Hague, The Netherlands (2005 - continuing)

• Appointed Visiting Professor of International Law, University of Copenhagen, Denmark (2005-continuing)

• Appointed as Special Advisor to the Danish Government in relation to the International Criminal Court and International Law (2005)

• Appointed as a member of the Danish Government Delegation to the Fourth Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Satute of the International Criminal Court, The Hague, The Neverlands 30 November 2005 - 3 December 2005

• Appointed Visiting Scholar, University of Maastricht, The Netherlands (2007- continuing)

Interests

Learning and Teaching Interests

Public International; Law; International Criminal Law; The International Criminal Legal System - Policy and Process; Human Rights Law; Space Law - Commercial Aspects

Research Interests

International Criminal Law; Human Rights Law; Public International Law; Space Law; International Environmental Law

Engagement Interests

Chair, International Law Action Group, Lawyers Reform Association, Australia (since 2003)

Member of Committee on Transnational Enforcement of Environmental Law, International Law Association, London (2003-2007)

Member of Committee on Space Law, International Law Association, London (since 2005)

Member of the International Institute of Space Law, Paris (since 2001)

Elected Member of the Directorate of Studies, International Institute of Space Law, Paris (since 2007)

Member of the Executive Committee, International Law Association (Australian Branch) (since 2002)

Member of the Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law (since 2003)

Fellow of the Tim Fischer Centre for Global Trade & Finance, Australia (since 2003)

Invited Member of the SUR Human Rights University network established by the United Nations Foundation, Sao Paulo, Brazil (since 2004)

Member of the Editorial Board, Australian Journal of Human Rights (since 2002) \

Member of Editorial Board, Australian International Law Journal (since 2002)

Member of Editorial Board for series of books Studies in Space Law Brill Publishers, Leiden, The Netherlands (from 2006)

Assistant to the Editors, Annotated Leading Cases of International Criminal Tribunals, Intersentia, Antwerp, Belgium, Volumes II-XXII (since 2002)

Vice President Jessup International Law Moot Incorporated, Australia (2003-2004) 

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Publications

Selected Publications

Book Chapters

International Criminal Justice and the Death Penalty
forthcoming in Jon Yorke (ed), The Right to Life and the Value of Life: Orientations in Law, Politics and Ethics, Ashgate Publishing UK, (ISBN 978-0-7546-7761-1)

Regulation of Space Activities in Australia
forthcoming in Ram Jakhu (ed), National Regulation of Space Activities (with Noel Siemon)

Space Tourism and the International Law of Outer Space
forthcoming in Sandeep B. Bhat (ed), Space Law in the Era of Commercialization

 A Contemporary Review of the Air Space and Outer Space Regimes: The Thin Lines between Law, Policy and Emergent Challenges
forthcoming in Sanford Silverburg (ed), International Law: Contemporary Issues and Future Problems, Westview Press, USA (with Jackson Maogoto)

The Moon Agreement
forthcoming in Stephan Hobe, Bernhard Schmidt-Tedd and Kai-Uwe Schrogl (eds), Cologne Commentary on Space Law, Volume II –The Other Space Treaties, Carl Heymanns Verlag, Cologne (with Stephan Hobe and Ram Jakhu)

The 2008 Russia / China Proposal for a Treaty to Ban Weapons in Space: A Missed Opportunity or an Opening Gambit?
(2008) 51 Proceedings of the Colloquium on the Law of Outer Space, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 261-271 (ISBN 978-1-60086-717-0)

 

The Internationalization of Criminal Justice
in Stephan Hobe (ed), Globalisation – the State and International Law, 2009 Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 117-121 (ISBN 978-3-515-09375-0)

 

Article II of the 1969 Outer Space Treaty
in Stephan Hobe, Bernhard Schmidt-Tedd and Kai-Uwe Schrogl (eds), Cologne Commentary on Space Law, Volume I – Outer Space Treaty, 2009 Carl Heymanns Verlag, Cologne 44-63 (ISBN 978-3-452-27185-3) (with Ram Jakhu)

The 21^st Century Space Arms Race: Curtailing Heavenly Thunderbolts through the Shield of the ‘Peaceful Purposes’ Mantra
in Sandeep B. Bhat (ed), Outer Space Law: From Theory to Practice, 2009 ICFAI Books, India 79-105 (ISBN 978-81-314-2453-7) (with Jackson Maogoto)

Foreign Relations
in Halsbury Laws of Australia Volume 14, pages 392-001 to 392-767 (261 pages) (ISBN 0 409 304581) (with Christine Chinkin)

Introduction– the Special Panels for Serious Crimes in Timor Leste
in Andre Klip and Goran Sluiter (eds), Annotated Leading Cases of International Criminal Tribunals, Volume XIII, Timor Leste - The Special Panels for Serious Crimes, 2001-2003, 2008 Intersentia, Antwerp 15-27 (ISBN 978-90-5095-673-4) (with Andre Klip, Goran Sluiter and Sergey Vasiliev)

Law of Outer Space
in Roland Robertson and Jan Aart Scholte (eds), Encyclopaedia of Globalization 2007 Routledge, New York 722-724 (ISBN 0-415-97314-7) (with Alexis Goh)

Crimes against the Environment - A Role for the International Criminal Court?
in Alberto Costi and Yves-Louis Sage (eds), Droit de l'Environnement dans le Pacifique: Problématiques et Perspectives Croisées/Environmental Law in the Pacific: International and Comparative Perspectives 2005 New Zealand Association for Comparative Law/Association de Législation Comparée des Pays du Pacifique, RJP Hors Série no V, Wellington, chapter 12, 335-372 (ISBN 0-473-10630-2) (also translated into French)

Australia and the International Criminal Court
in Gabriel A Moens and Rudolphe Biffot (eds), The Convergence of Legal Systems in the 21^st Century – An Australian Approach, 2002 The Australian Institute of Foreign and Comparative Law, The University of Queensland 285-308  (ISBN 1-8763-4409-1) (with Alexis Goh)

Difficulties of Implementing National Space Legislation Exemplified by the Australian Approach
in Stephan Hobe, Bernhard Schmidt-Tedd and Kai-Uwe Schrogl (eds), ‘Project 2001 Plus’ - Global and European Challenges for Air and Space Law at the Edge of the 21^st Century, 2006 Carl Heymanns Verlag, Köln, Germany 65-92 (ISBN 3-452-26090-9)

The Significance of the Nordic Experience for Indigenous Governance in Australia
Chapter 8 in Garth Nettheim, Gary D Meyers and Donna Craig (eds), Indigenous Peoples and Governance Structures: a Comparative Analysis of Land and Resource Management Rights, 2002 Aboriginal Studies Press, AIATSIS, Canberra 185-188 (ISBN 0 85575 379 X) (with Donna Craig)

Indigenous Governance by the Inuit of Greenland
Chapter 9 in Garth Nettheim, Gary D Meyers and Donna Craig (eds), Indigenous Peoples and Governance Structures: a Comparative Analysis of Land and Resource Management Rights, 2002 Aboriginal Studies Press, AIATSIS, Canberra 189-208 (ISBN 0 85575 379 X) (with Donna Craig)

Indigenous Governance by the Sámi of Scandinavia
Chapter 10 in Garth Nettheim, Gary D Meyers and Donna Craig (eds), Indigenous Peoples and Governance Structures: a Comparative Analysis of Land and Resource Management Rights, 2002 Aboriginal Studies Press, AIATSIS, Canberra 209-237 (ISBN 0 85575 379 X) (with Donna Craig)

The Use of the Non-Equity Debt Exchange Mechanism to Promote Sustainable Development
Chapter 23 ‘Financing Sustainable Development’ in Craig, Robinson and Lian (eds), Capacity Building for Environmental Law in the Asia Pacific Region: Approaches and Resources, 2003 Asian Development Bank, Manila 914-929 (1st ed - ISBN 971-561-423-X), (2^nd ed – ISBN 971-561-504-X)

The Applicability of the Jus in Bello Rules of International Humanitarian Law to the Use of Outer Space
(2006) 49 Proceedings of the Colloquium on the Law of Outer Space 338-347, 2007 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (ISBN 1-56347-877-3)

 

The Impact of Space Tourism on the International Law of Outer Space
(2005) 48 Proceedings of the Colloquium on the Law of Outer Space 178-189, 2006 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (ISBN 1-56347-827-7)

The Australian Regulatory Regime for Space Launch Activities: Out to Launch?
(2004) 47 Proceedings of the Colloquium on the Law of Outer Space 56-65, 2005 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (ISBN 1-56347-783-1)

The Crystallisation of General Assembly Space Declarations into Customary International Law
(2003) 46 Proceedings of the Colloquium on the Law of Outer Space 122-130, 2004 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (ISBN 1-56347-673-8) (with Ricky J Lee)

Property and Mining Rights for Lunar Mining Operations in the Absence of International Consensus on the Moon Agreement
(2003) 2 Proceedings of 54th International Astronautical Congress of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF), the International Academy of Astronautics and the International Institute of Space Law 247-257 (with Ricky J Lee)

The Impact of Arms Limitation Agreements and Export Control Regulations on Launch Activities
(2002) 45 Proceedings of the Colloquium on the Law of Outer Space 321-330, 2003 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (ISBN 1-56347-625-8) (with Ricky J Lee)

Peer Reviewed Scholarly International Journal Articles

U.S. Debt-for-Development Legislation: A Missed Opportunity to Enhance United States National Security?
forthcoming in (2010) 6:1 McGill International Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy (with Ross Buckley)

More than Hot Air: Reflections on the Relationship between Climate Change and Human Rights
forthcoming in (2010) 14 University of Western Sydney Law Journal (with Laura Horn)

Between Heaven and Earth: The Legal Challenges of Human Space Travel
forthcoming in (2010) Acta Astronautica (with Tanja Masson-Zwaan)

A Prosecution too far? Reflections on the Accountability of Heads of State under International Criminal Law
forthcoming in (2010) Victoria University Wellington Law Review

Fly me to the Moon? How will International Law cope with Commercial Space Tourism?
forthcoming in (2010) 11:1 Melbourne Journal of International Law

Debt-for-Development-Exchanges: Using External Debt to Mitigate Environmental Damage in Developing Countries
(2010) 16:1 West Northwest Journal of Environmental Law & Policy 77-101 (ISSN 1080-0735) (with Ross P. Buckley)

From Star Wars to Space Wars - The Next Strategic Frontier: Paradigms to Anchor Space Security
(2008) 33 Air and Space Law 10-37 (ISSN 0927-3379) (with Jackson Maogoto)

Mere Children or Weapons of War - Child Soldiers and International Law
(2008) 29 University of La Verne Law Review 19-55 (ISSN 0160-2098)

Space Weaponization and the United Nations Charter: A Thick Legal Fog or a Receding Mist?
(2007) 41:4 The International Lawyer 1091-1119 (ISSN 0020-7810) (with Jackson Maogoto)

The Internationalization of Justice – A Case for the Universal Application of International Criminal Norms
(2007) 4 New Zealand Yearbook of International Law 45-66 (ISSN 1176-6417)

The Final Frontier: The Laws of Armed Conflict and Space Warfare
(2007) 23(1) Connecticut Journal of International Law 165-195 (ISSN 0897-1218) (with Jackson Maogoto)

Teaching International Law Across an Urban Divide: Reflections on an Improvisation
(2007) 57(4) Journal of Legal Education 539-561 (ISSN 0022-2208) (with Fleur Johns)

Towards Universal Justice – Why Countries in the Asia / Pacific Region should Embrace the International Criminal Court
(2007) 5 New Zealand Journal of Public and International Law 49-76 (ISSN 1176-3930)

How Open Should the Door Be? - Declarations by non-States Parties under Article 12(3) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court
(2006) 75(2) Nordic Journal of International Law 211-241 (ISSN 0902-7351)

 Educating Lawyers for Transnational Challenges – The Globalizaton of Legal Regulation

(2005) 55(4) Journal of Legal Education 500-506 (ISSN 0022-2208)

Co-operation or Chaos? - Article 65 of United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Future of the International Whaling Commission
(2005) 2 Macquarie Journal of International and Comparative Environmental Law 1-36 (ISSN 1448-8345) (whth Julie Drysdale)

Up, Up and …. Back: The Emergence of Space Tourism and its Impact on the International Law of Outer Space
(2005) 6(1) Chicago Journal of International Law 1-22 (ISSN 1529-0816)

 Human Rights, the Environment and Conflict – Addressing Crimes against the Environment
(2005) 2 United Nations SUR International Journal on Human Rights 112-139 (ISSN 1806-6445) (also translated into Spanish and Portuguese)

Crossing the Language and Cultural Divide - The Challenges of Educating Asian Law Students in a Globalising World
(2004) 14(2) Legal Education Review 219-238 (ISSN 1033-2839) (with Grace Li and Angus Young)

and

(2005) 41(1) Beijing College of Political Science and Law Journal 50-58 (ISSN 1672-9285) (translated into Chinese by Shi Yubing)

Child Soldiers and International Crimes – How Should International Law be Applied?
(2005) 3 New Zealand Journal of Public and International Law 303-328 (ISSN 1176-3930)

The International Court of Justice and Recent Orders on Provisional Measures
(2004) 11 Australian International Law Journal 47-66 (ISSN 1325-5029) (with Alexis Goh)

When Laws are Not Enough – the Stalled Development of an Australian Space Launch Industry
(2004) 8 University of Western Sydney Law Journal 79-95 (ISSN 1446-9294)

The Bombing of Kosovo and the Milosevic Trial: Reflections on Some Legal Issues
(2002) Australian International Law Journal 150-175 (ISSN 1325-5029)

Turning to a Trusted Friend: Using Debt Exchanges for Environmental and Development Purposes
(2001) Australian International Law Journal 90-142 (ISSN 1325-5029)

Universal Jurisdiction in the Netherlands – the right approach but the wrong case? Bouterse and the December Murders
(2001) 7(2) Australian Journal of Human Rights 91-96 (ISSN 1323-238X) (with Pita Schimmelpennick)

The Kyoto Protocol – An Agreement Without a Future?
(2001) 24(2) University of New South Wales Law Journal 532-542 (ISSN 0313-0096)

and

(2001) 7(2) University of New South Wales Law Journal Forum 2-8

There’s a Satellite in My Backyard – MIR and the Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects
(2001) 24(2) University of New South Wales Law Journal 462-484 (ISSN 0313-0096)

Conferences/Public Speeches 

2009

Crimes Against the Environment – A Role for the International Criminal Court?
Presentation (by invitation) Faculty of Law, University of Maastricht, The Netherlands, 27 January

The Role of Developing Countries in the Development of the International Law of Outer Space
Public Lecture (by invitation) sponsored by the International Institute of Air and Space Law, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands, 27 February 2009

Australia and Denmark – A Comparative Analysis of International Law Perspectives
Presentation (by invitation) Faculty of Law, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, 30 January 2009

International Law and the Commercial Uses of Outer Space
Public lecture (by invitation) to the European Law Students Association, University of Utrecht, The Netherlands, 5 February 2009

The Law of the International Criminal Tribunals – an Amalgam of Common Law and Civil Law?
Presented address (by invitation) at a conference entitled ‘Comparative Law and Legal Cultures’ sponsored by the University of Copenhagen, Denmark and the University of Lund, Sweden, Helsingor, Denmark, 29 March 2009

The Implementation of the United Nations Space Debris Guidelines
Presentation (by invitation) at a conference ‘International Interdisciplinary Congress on Space Debris’ sponsored by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (Vienna, Austria), The McGill University Institute of Air and Space Law (Montreal, Canada), The Cologne University Institute of Air and Space Law (Cologne, Germany), The International Association for the Advancement of Space Safety (Katwijk, The Netherlands), Montreal 7-9 May 2009

The International Criminal Court – Challenges for the Future
Presentation (invited) at an in-house seminar, Faculty of Law, University of Aarhus, Denmark, 18 May 2009

The Internationalization of Justice and the Bashir Arrest Warrant
Presentation (invited) at an in-house seminar, Faculty of Law, University of Padua, Italy, 22 May 2009

The Moon Agreement
Conference presentation (invited) at the Second Authors’ Workshop of the Cologne Commentary on Space Law (CoCoSL), sponsored by the Institute of Air and Space Law (Cologne, Germany), the German Aerospace Centre (Bonn, Germany) and the European Space Policy Institute, Bonn, Germany 18 June 2009 (with Stephan Hobe and Ram Jakhu)

The Problems of Space Debris
Presentation (invited) at an in-house seminar, Institute of Air and Space Law, Faculty of Law, University of Cologne, Germany, 22 June 2009

Child Soldiers and International Law
Public speech (by invitation) sponsored by the NSW Young Lawyers Association and DLA Phillips Fox, Sydney, 15 July 2009

The International Law of Outer Space – Some Contemporary Issues
Presentation (by invitation) to the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Canberra, 17 July 2009

Impunity and Immunity? Prosecuting Heads of State
Public Speech (by invitation) sponsored by the Australian Red Cross and Mallesons Stephen Jaques, Sydney, 4 August 2009

The International Law of Outer Space: Finding Solutions to Contemporary Issues
Public Speech (by invitation) sponsored by the National Space Society of Australia, Power House Museum, Sydney, 8 September 2009

The International Criminal Court: Challenges for the Future
Public Speech (by invitation) sponsored by the Legal Studies Teachers Association of NSW, Sydney, 14 September 2009

Australia’s Growing Role in Outer Space Activities – A Future Imperative
Public Speech (by invitation) sponsored by the Italian Embassy and the Australian Academy of Science, Canberra, 21 October 2009

2008

The “Non-Appropriation” Principle under Space Law and its place within International Law
Presented (by invitation) at the First Authors’ Workshop of the Cologne Commentary on Space Law (CoCoSL), Vienna, Austria 10-11 January 2008, sponsored by the Institute of Air and Space Law (Cologne, Germany), the German Aerospace Centre (Bonn, Germany) and the European Space Policy Institute (Vienna, Austria)

The Application of International Humanitarian Law to the Military Uses of Outer Space
Public lecture (by invitation) sponsored by The Red Cross of The Netherlands, the T.M.C. Asser Institute and the Amsterdam Centre for International Law, The Hague, The Netherlands, 21 February 2008

International Law at the Cross-Roads?
Public Lecture (by invitation) University of Leiden, The Netherlands, 15 February 2008

The Relevance of International Space Law for Global Issues of Concern
Public Lecture (by invitation) sponsored by the Danish Branch of the Comité Maritime International and International Law Association, Copenhagen, Denmark, 14 May 2008

The Implications of Space Tourism for the Insurance Industry
Seminar (by invitation) sponsored by Swiss Re, Zurich, Switzerland, 7 May 2008

Private Human Access to Space - Legal Challenges and Possibilities
Presentation (by invitation) of conference paper at 1^st IAA Symposium on Private Manned Access to Space May 28 – 30, 2008, Arcachon, France (with Tania Masson-Zwaan)

The International Law of Outer Space and its Relevance for Space Business Presentation (by invitation) of conference paper at 10^th Australian Space Development Conference, 21-23 July 2008, Adelaide, Australia

The 2008 Russia / China Proposal for a Treaty to Ban Weapons in Space: A Missed Opportunity or an Opening Gambit?
Presentation (by invitation) of paper for presentation at 51^st Colloquium on the Law of Outer Space, 1 October 2008, Glasgow, Scotland

The International Criminal Court: Challenges for the Future
Public Lecture (by invitation) sponsored by the Sydney Centre for International Law and the International Law Association, Sydney 28 October 2008

Article Thirty-Nine
Guest Speaker (by invitation) at ‘, a concert to raise funds for former child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Enmore Theatre, Sydney, 23 November 2008

The International Responsibility to Protect
Guest speaker (by invitation) at ‘Breaking Down Barriers’, a student social justice conference, Sydney University, 30 November 2008

The International Criminal Court – Recent Developments
Public speech (by invitation) sponsored by Middletons, Solicitors, Sydney 20 November 2008

2007

Current Challenges Facing the International Criminal Court - In-house seminar (by invitation) School of Law, University of New South Wales 22 October 2007

Child Soldiers and International Law - The ‘Solferino Lecture’ (by invitation) sponsored by the Centre for International and Public Law and the International Humanitarian Law Committee of the Australian Red Cross, Canberra, Australia, 27 September 2007

The Application of International Humanitarian Law to the Military Uses of Outer Space - Keynote address (by invitation) at seminar ‘New Developments in International Humanitarian Law’ sponsored by the Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law, New Zealand Red Cross and Victoria University, Wellington, Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand, 1 September, 2007

Challenges Facing the International Criminal Court - Public seminar (by invitation) to the International Law Division of the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department and the Department of Foreign Affairs, Canberra, Australia, 27 September 2007

The Recruitment of Child Soldiers – How International Law Has Reacted - Public lecture (by invitation) sponsored by the Australian Red Cross and Mallesons Stephen Jaques, Sydney, Australia, 14 August 2007

The Applicability of International Humanitarian Law to the Weaponization of Outer Space - Public lecture (by invitation) sponsored by the International Committee of the Red Cross, the T.M.C. Asser Centre and the Grotius Centre for International Law, The Hague, The Netherlands, 7 June 2007

International Criminal Court: Challenges for the Future - Public lecture (by invitation) sponsored by the Danish Foreign Ministry, The Danish International Law Association and the Comité Maritime International, Copenhagen, Denmark, 10 May 2007

Space Law and Aviation Law – a Marriage Made (not quite) in Heaven? - Keynote address (by invitation) at 28th Annual Conference of the Aviation Law Association of Australia and New Zealand, Brisbane, Australia, 2-4 May 2007