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Dr Amy Maguire

Senior Lecturer

Newcastle Law School

Disrupting the International Law Agenda

Dr Amy Maguire, from the Faculty of Business and Law at the University of Newcastle (UON), is putting the rights of displaced people back on the agenda in international law.

Amy Maguire 

Amy's research in the area of 'self-determination' is a topic that has been off the radar in international law but it could soon be sharply back in focus.

Self-determination is the collective human right of a people to determine their political, social, cultural and economic future. Dr Maguire's research has focused on self-determination for peoples who claim a contemporary colonial experience that has not been adequately addressed by international law or the nation states in which they live.

"These cases can become complicated when a group is making a self-determination claim under international law – for example an indigenous population - yet the settler population has established their own identity, such as we've seen in Australia. So we have two parties asserting self-determination on the same territory. We must be careful in this instance to balance the rights of both parties and avoid repeating the injustices of the past."

The right to self-determination is not only relevant to indigenous populations but can have far reaching implications for displaced peoples all over the world. Dr Maguire is now extending her research to peoples displaced by climate change, including those from small Pacific island states who are beginning to bear the effects of environmental change.

"Self-determination is a concept that we can draw on from the past that has real applications in the present, given the large number of people who are already starting to seek refuge from environmental change in neighbouring countries. When these people are relocated, a number of legal questions arise such as their right to remain together, to maintain their identity, or maintain some forms of sovereignty."

As sea levels rise and drought spreads the question of self-determination could become more prominent in international law. In 2013, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that approximately 22 million people were displaced as a result of climate change, a figure that has been projected to reach 200 million by 2050.

Dr Maguire is now collaborating with Dr Jeffrey McGee at the University of Tasmania to explore how the right to self-determination could help to shape official responses to climate change. Importing self-determination into the field of climate change governance would be a world-first from the two Australian researchers. 

"The rights of people aren't sufficiently influencing decision making in the response to climate change. The debate has focused more on governmental responses and emissions reduction targets but in the end, it's the people impacted whose experiences and rights ought to be respected."

An advocate for humanity in controversial public debates, Dr Maguire has become a popular legal commentator with multiple articles published on The Conversation. Her legal commentary spans several key areas including refugees, asylum seekers, Indigenous rights, and capital punishment. The most recent article published by Dr Maguire on The Conversation addresses Australia's role in the abolition of capital punishment world-wide.

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Amy Maguire

Disrupting the International Law Agenda

Dr Amy Maguire's research relates to the collective human right to self-determination, with particular focus on Indigenous peopl

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Career Summary

Biography

Dr Amy Maguire is a Senior Lecturer and the Indigenous Student Liaison at the University of Newcastle Law School. She is an active commentator on international legal and human rights issues. In 2016, Amy was awarded the Vice-Chancellor's Award for Early Career Researcher of the Year at the University of Newcastle. She was also selected as a finalist for the Academic of the Year Award in the Lawyers' Weekly Women in Law Awards. In 2017, Amy was a finalist in the Beryl Nashar Young Researcher award at the University of Newcastle Alumni Awards. She is a featured contributor to The Conversation and her online commentary articles have attracted over 270,000 readers. 

Dr Maguire's fields of research are public international law and human rights, with particular focus on self-determination, Indigenous rights, climate change, refugees and asylum seekers, and the death penalty. Amy has ongoing research collaborations with UoN and external partners in relation to climate change, human rights and human displacement, the legal regulation of climate change mitigation strategies, the Indigenisation of curriculum, and blended/active teaching and learning. She has published widely in highly-regarded journals and edited books. In 2018, she will represent the Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law as one of four sponsored Junior Scholars at the Seventh International Four Societies Conference at Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan. 

Amy has emerged as a national and international commentator in her fields of research, with a number of online publications, media engagements, invited talks and submissions to government inquiries. In 2015, she was invited to appear before and assist the federal parliamentary inquiry into 'Australia's advocacy for the abolition of the death penalty'. Several of Amy's recommendations were incorporated into the Committee's report to Government. In 2016, Amy took up the position as Co-Chair of the Indigenous Rights sub-committee of Australian Lawyers for Human Rights. In that role, she collaborates with other human rights lawyers and law students to promote the recognition and achievement of substantively equal rights for Indigenous peoples in Australia.

Amy has pioneered innovative approaches to teaching that have enhanced her students' experience of learning in international law, human rights and other fields. She was most recently recognised with the 2015 Vice-Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching and Learning in the Faculty of Business and Law. Amy's commitment to Indigenisation is expressed through her teaching in the course Indigenous Peoples, Issues and the Law. She has also shown leadership in program and course design, as part of her broader commitment to collegial service to the University.  

Research expertise

Dr Maguire's PhD was awarded in December 2011. Her doctoral research explored the collective human right to self-determination, with particular focus on Indigenous peoples in Australia and Irish nationalists in the North of Ireland. Amy argued in her thesis that self-determination retains a mission of decolonisation in the twenty-first century, and sought to address the contemporary colonial experience of peoples in settler colonial societies. Amy continues to expand on her doctoral work by proposing novel circumstances in which the right of self-determination might empower vulnerable communities of people.

Dr Maguire's current research extends to a range of fields in public international and human rights law, with a unifying concern for ensuring governmental accountability to human rights obligations. Her online research engagements, most notably through publication in The Conversation, have extended Amy's research to a range of fields in which she aims to contribute to policy development and just outcomes for individuals and communities.

https://theconversation.com/profiles/amy-maguire-129609/articles

Amy has two young children and works part-time. 

Qualifications

  • PhD (Law), University of Newcastle
  • Bachelor of Arts, University of Newcastle
  • Bachelor of Laws (Honours), University of Newcastle

Keywords

  • Human rights
  • Indigenisation
  • Self-determination
  • Indigenous legal issues
  • Public International Law
  • Colonialism and international law
  • Indigenous Peoples, Issues and the Law
  • Climate change and human rights
  • Refugees and human rights
  • Death penalty

Fields of Research

Code Description Percentage
180114 Human Rights Law 50
180116 International Law (excl. International Trade Law) 50

Professional Experience

UON Appointment

Title Organisation / Department
Senior Lecturer University of Newcastle
Newcastle Law School
Australia

Academic appointment

Dates Title Organisation / Department
3/08/2015 -  Indigenisation of Curriculum Committee The University of Newcastle
Australia
8/04/2013 - 30/06/2016 Newcastle Law School Program Management Group Newcastle Law School
Australia
8/04/2013 - 30/06/2016 Teaching and Learning Committee Faculty of Business and Law, University of Newcastle
Australia
1/04/2013 - 30/06/2016 Undergraduate Program Convenor Newcastle Law School
Australia
12/03/2012 - 31/12/2015 Lecturer Newcastle Law School
Australia
1/06/2011 - 16/03/2012 Co-Chair Faculty of Business and Law Academic Women's Network
Australia
3/01/2011 -  Indigenous Student Liaison Newcastle Law School
Australia
1/01/2008 -  Membership - Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law
Australia

Professional appointment

Dates Title Organisation / Department
20/09/2016 -  Co-Chair Indigenous Rights Sub-Committee, Australian Lawyers for Human Rights
Australia
31/05/2015 -  Sub-Committee Member - Indigenous Rights (Australian Lawyers for Human Rights) Indigenous Rights Sub-Committee, Australian Lawyers for Human Rights
Australia

Awards

Award

Year Award
2017 Early Career HDR Candidate Scholarship
The University of Newcastle
2016 Vice-Chancellor's Award for Early Career Research and Innovation in the Faculty of Business and Law
The University of Newcastle - Research and Innovation Division
2016 Vice-Chancellor's Award for Early Career Researcher of the Year
The University of Newcastle - Research and Innovation Division
2015 Vice-Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching in the Faculty of Business and Law
The University of Newcastle
2015 Faculty of Business and Law Excellence in Law Teaching Award 2014
Faculty of Business and Law, University of Newcastle

Distinction

Year Award
2018 Sponsored Scholar, Seventh Annual International Four Societies Conference, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan
Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law

Nomination

Year Award
2017 Beryl Nashar Young Researcher Award
The University of Newcastle Alumni
2016 Academic of the Year - Lawyer's Weekly Women in Law Awards
Lawyer's Weekly

Research Award

Year Award
2010 Faculty of Business and Law Research Higher Degree Best Publication Award
University of Newcastle

Invitations

Speaker

Year Title / Rationale
2015 World Day Against the Death Penalty Forum
2015 Active Learning in Law Symposium

Teaching

Code Course Role Duration
LAWS5024/6034 Indigenous Peoples, Issues and the Law
Newcastle Law School, University of Newcastle, Australia 		Course coordinator 1/03/2013 - 30/06/2018
LAWS5014/6019 International Human Rights Law
The University of Newcastle 		LAWS5014/6019 International Human Rights Law 1/03/2017 - 31/07/2017
LAWS4012 Public International Law
Newcastle Law School 		Course Coordinator 1/01/2008 - 31/12/2017
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Publications

For publications that are currently unpublished or in-press, details are shown in italics.

Chapter (5 outputs)

Year Citation Altmetrics Link
2017 Young T, Maguire AM, 'Indigenization of curricula: trends and issues in tourism education', Handbook of Teaching and Learning in Tourism, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, UK 455-463 (2017) [B1]
DOI 10.4337/9781784714802
Co-authors Tamara Young
2016 Maguire AM, 'Why does international condemnation on human rights mean so little to Australia?', The Conversation Yearbook 2016: 50 standout articles from Australia's Top Thinkers, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne 70-74 (2016)
2015 Maguire AM, 'Hard line on refugees undermines principled opposition to execution', Politics, Policy, and the chance of change: The Conversation 2015 Yearbook, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne 272-275 (2015)
2012 Maguire AM, ''Security starts with the law': The role of international law in the protection of women's security post-conflict'', Post-Conflict Rebuilding and International Law, Ashgate, Surrey, UK 367-392 (2012) [B2]
2009 Maguire AM, ''Security starts with the law': The role of international law in the protection of women's security post-conflict', The Role of International Law in Rebuilding Societies After Conflict: Great Expectations, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 218-243 (2009) [B1]
DOI 10.1017/CBO9780511576478.012
Show 2 more chapters

Journal article (49 outputs)

Year Citation Altmetrics Link
2017 Young TN, Sibson R, Maguire A, 'Educating managers for equity and social justice: Integrating Indigenous knowledges and perspectives in Australian sport, recreation and event management curricula', Journal of Hospitality Leisure Sport & Tourism Education, 21 135-143 (2017) [C1]
DOI 10.1016/j.jhlste.2017.08.005
Co-authors Tamara Young
2017 Maguire AM, 'What is a Refugee?', International Journal of Refugee Law, 29 516-519 (2017)
2017 Maguire AM, McGee J, 'A Universal Human Right to Shape Responses to a Global Problem? The Role of Self-determination in Guiding the International Legal Response to Climate Change', Review of European, Comparative and International Environmental Law, 26 54-68 (2017) [C1]
DOI 10.1111/reel.12193
Citations Web of Science - 1
2017 Choudhury S, Maguire AM, 'The Concept of Climate Migration: Advocacy and its Prospects, by Benoit Mayer', Climate and Carbon Law Review, 21 343-344 (2017)
2017 Maguire AM, 'Refugees and Human Rights: Challenges for Australia', Legaldate, 29 3-6 (2017)
2017 Maguire AM, '¿I can live with either one¿: Palestine, Israel and the two-state solution', The Conversation, (2017)
2017 Maguire AM, Askland H, 'Protesters fight ¿invisible displacement¿ by mine', The Conversation, (2017)
Co-authors Hedda Askland
2017 Maguire AM, 'Australian government challenged to advocate for its citizen on death row in Thailand', The Conversation, (2017)
2017 Maguire AM, 'Challenges persist for multiple legal actions regarding MH17', The Conversation, (2017)
2017 Maguire AM, 'UN condemnation and a sports boycott: Australia again called on to end offshore detention', The Conversation, (2017)
2017 Maguire AM, von Meding J, 'If you destroy it, they will come ¿ climate change displacement and the Trump effect', The Conversation, (2017)
Co-authors Jason Vonmeding
2017 Maguire AM, 'Found with cocaine in Colombia, we should presume Cassandra Sainsbury¿s innocence', The Conversation, (2017)
2017 Maguire AM, 'Clemency for Chelsea Manning ¿ but will Assange or Snowden also find the US merciful?', The Conversation, (2017)
2017 Maguire AM, 'New Home Affairs department should prompt review of Australia¿s human rights performance', The Conversation, (2017)
2017 Maguire AM, '¿Fake refugees¿: Dutton adopts an alternative fact to justify our latest human rights violation', The Conversation, (2017)
2017 Maguire AM, Berhanu Woldemariam S, 'Renewed commitment to multilateralism required to deal with forced human displacement', The Conversation, (2017)
2017 Maguire AM, 'Brexit creates a human rights crisis for Ireland', The Conversation, (2017)
2017 Monaghan G, Maguire AM, 'Will Catalonia's Fate Reverberate Through the European Union?', The World Financial Review, (2017)
2016 McCarthy S, Maguire AM, Elton A, 'Executive Detention: Still no effective review for detainees', Alternative Law Journal, 41 249-253 (2016) [C1]
Co-authors Shaun Mccarthy
2016 Maguire AM, 'The UN declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples and self-determination in Australia: using a human rights approach to promote accountability', 2014 New Zealand Yearbook of International Law, 12 105-134 (2016) [C1]
2016 Maguire AM, Houghton S, 'The Bali Nine, Capital Punishment and Australia's Obligation to Seek Abolition', Current Issues in Criminal Justice, 28 67-91 (2016) [C1]
2016 Maguire AM, 'Lockerbie experience is no model for the effective prosecution of MH17 bombers', The Conversation, (2016)
2016 Maguire AM, 'Manus Island centre set to close ¿ but where to for the detainees?', The Conversation, (2016)
2016 Maguire AM, 'Accusations of deliberate, cruel abuse of refugee children must prompt a more humane approach', The Conversation, (2016)
2016 Maguire AM, Elton A, 'Dutton¿s demonisation of refugees is the latest play in a zero-sum game', The Conversation, (2016)
2016 Maguire AM, 'Recognition: Yes or No? The ABC asks the wrong questions of the wrong people', The Conversation, (2016)
2016 Maguire AM, 'Israel¿s land grab undermines Palestinian statehood ¿ and violates international law', The Conversation, (2016)
2016 Maguire AM, 'Defiant Hanson will test a Coalition government', The Conversation, (2016)
2016 Maguire AM, 'As Indonesia conducts more executions, Australia¿s anti-death-penalty advocacy is still lacking', The Conversation, (2016)
2016 Maguire AM, 'High Court asked to declare Manus detention illegal as 859 detainees seek their day in court', The Conversation, (2016)
2015 Maguire AM, Young T, 'Indigenisation of curricula: Current teaching practices in law', Legal Education Review, 25 95-119 (2015) [C1]
Co-authors Tamara Young
2015 Maguire AM, Bereicua L, Fleming A, Freeman O, 'Australia, Asylum Seekers and Crimes Against Humanity?', Alternative Law Journal, 40 185-189 (2015) [C1]
2015 Brent KA, McGee JS, Maguire AM, 'Does the 'No-Harm' Rule Have a Role in Preventing Transboundary Harm and Harm to the Global Atmospheric Commons from Geoengineering?', Climate Law, 5 35-63 (2015) [C1]
DOI 10.1163/18786561-00501007
Citations Scopus - 3
2015 Maguire AM, 'Much more to be done before MH17 findings can support a war crime trial', The Conversation, (2015)
2015 Maguire AM, 'What more can Australia do to end the death penalty worldwide?', The Conversation, (2015)
2015 Maguire AM, 'Barbaric and futile: world must do away with state-sponsored killing', The Conversation, (2015)
2015 Maguire AM, 'Moratorium or not, Indonesia could be abandoning the death penalty', The Conversation, (2015)
2015 Maguire AM, 'Is it an offence if Australians pay people smugglers to turn back?', The Conversation, (2015)
2015 Maguire AM, 'Australia can do better on Asian boat crisis than ¿nope, nope, nope¿', The Conversation, (2015)
2015 Maguire AM, 'Amnesty accuses Australia of violating international law ¿ but any prosecutions are unlikely', The Conversation, (2015)
2014 Maguire AM, 'Self-determination, Justice, and a 'Peace Process': Irish Nationalism, the Contemporary Colonial Experience and the Good Friday Agreement', Seattle Journal for Social Justice, 13 537-581 (2014) [C1]
2014 Maguire AM, 'A Northern Ireland ¿border poll¿ could help pave path of peace', The Conversation, (2014)
2014 Maguire AM, 'Australia¿s global reputation at stake in High Court asylum case', The Conversation, (2014)
2014 Maguire AM, 'Will the International Criminal Court prosecute Australia for crimes against humanity?', The Conversation, (2014)
2013 Maguire AM, 'Contemporary Anti-colonial Self-determination Claims and the Decolonisation of International Law', Griffith Law Review, 22 238-268 (2013) [C1]
Citations Scopus - 2Web of Science - 2
2010 Howard-Wagner D, Maguire AM, ''The Holy Grail' or 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'?: A qualitative exploration of the ILUAs agreement-making process and the relationship between ILUAs and native title', Australian Indigenous Law Review, 14 71-85 (2010) [C1]
2008 Maguire AM, 'Law protecting rights: Restoring the law of self-determination in the neo-colonial world', Law Text Culture, 12 12-39 (2008) [C1]
Citations Web of Science - 2
2006 Hamber B, Hillyard P, Maguire AM, McWilliams M, Robinson G, Russell D, Ward M, 'Discourses in transition: Re-imagining women's security', International Relations, 20 487-502 (2006) [C1]
DOI 10.1177/0047117806069410
2006 Maguire AM, 'Murdering myths: The story behind the death penalty (Book review)', British Journal of Criminology, 46 532-534 (2006) [C3]
Show 46 more journal articles

Conference (1 outputs)

Year Citation Altmetrics Link
2016 Young TN, Maguire A, 'Decolonising tourism education through Indigenisation: Responsive efforts to the corporate social responsibility of Australian universities', Think Tank XVI: Corporate Responsibility in Tourism - Standards, Practices and Policies. Think Tank Papers & Presentations, Berlin, Germany (2016) [E1]
Co-authors Tamara Young

Other (1 outputs)

Year Citation Altmetrics Link
2017 Maguire A, Von Meding JK, 'Trump-Turnbull call: trading people like pawns undermines the goals of international co-operation', : The Conversation (2017)
Co-authors Jason Vonmeding

Thesis / Dissertation (1 outputs)

Year Citation Altmetrics Link
2011 Maguire AM, ¿Let The People Decide¿: Self-Determination, Liberation from the Colonial Experience and the Human Rights Approach, University of Newcastle (2011)
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Grants and Funding

Summary

Number of grants 8
Total funding $298,734

Click on a grant title below to expand the full details for that specific grant.

20173 grants / $159,014

Research Advantage Early Career Researcher HDR Candidate Scholarship$100,000

Funding body: Research Advantage UON

Funding body Research Advantage UON
Project Team

Amy Maguire
Scheme HDR Scholarship
Role Lead
Funding Start 2017
Funding Finish 2020
GNo
Type Of Funding Internal
Category INTE
UON N

Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation) Grant for Early Career Interdisciplinary Research$50,000

Funding body: The University of Newcastle - Research and Innovation Division

Funding body The University of Newcastle - Research and Innovation Division
Project Team

Hedda Askland, Raymond Chiong, Natalie Lockart, Amy Maguire and Jane Rich
Scheme Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation) Grant for Early Career Interdisciplinary Research
Role Lead
Funding Start 2017
Funding Finish 2018
GNo
Type Of Funding Internal
Category INTE
UON N

2016 Overall Vice-Chancellor's Award For Early Career Research and Innovation Excellence$9,014

Funding body: University of Newcastle

Funding body University of Newcastle
Project Team Doctor Amy Maguire
Scheme VC's Award for Research and Innovation Excellence
Role Lead
Funding Start 2017
Funding Finish 2017
GNo G1700039
Type Of Funding Internal
Category INTE
UON Y

20162 grants / $109,800

Enhancing university retention and success for first-in-family, low SES students through a flipped classroom learning model$89,800

Funding body: Department of Education

Funding body Department of Education
Project Team Professor Johanna Macneil, Doctor Amy Maguire, Doctor Marcus Rodrigs, Doctor David Cameron, Doctor Robert Zinko
Scheme Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Programme
Role Investigator
Funding Start 2016
Funding Finish 2016
GNo G1600149
Type Of Funding C2110 - Aust Commonwealth - Own Purpose
Category 2110
UON Y

Evidence-Based Law and Practice Priority Research Initiative$20,000

The Evidence-based Law and Practice (ELP) Priority Research Initiative will provide a coherent organising theme for research activity to be conducted within four thematic areas: Legal Education, Equity & Scholarship; Health, Justice & Social Affairs; Human Rights & International Affairs; and Business, Regulation & Compliance. The work undertaken as part of this PRI will help build a distinctive and innovative profile for research at Newcastle Law School. The PRI will enable us to become leaders in building a research space around the evidence-based theme, expand our research collaborations and impacts, and build our research capacity, including developing advanced research skills and attracting and mentoring research higher degree students and early career researchers.

Funding body: Faculty of Business and Law, University of Newcastle

Funding body Faculty of Business and Law, University of Newcastle
Project Team

Nola Ries, John Anderson, Tim Connor, Katherine Lindsay, Shaun McCarthy, Nicola Ross
Scheme Priority Research Initiatives
Role Investigator
Funding Start 2016
Funding Finish 2016
GNo
Type Of Funding Internal
Category INTE
UON N

20151 grants / $2,000

Faculty of Business and Law Excellence in Law Teaching Award$2,000

Funding body: Faculty of Business and Law, University of Newcastle

Funding body Faculty of Business and Law, University of Newcastle
Scheme Unknown
Role Lead
Funding Start 2015
Funding Finish 2015
GNo
Type Of Funding Internal
Category INTE
UON N

20112 grants / $27,920

The Right to Self-Determination in International Law: A study of the colonial experiences of Irish nationalists and Indigenous peoples in Australia$24,920

Funding body: University of Newcastle

Funding body University of Newcastle
Project Team Doctor Amy Maguire
Scheme Equity Research Fellowship
Role Lead
Funding Start 2011
Funding Finish 2011
GNo G1000910
Type Of Funding Internal
Category INTE
UON Y

Faculty of Business and Law Teaching and Learning Grant$3,000

Funding body: Faculty of Business and Law, University of Newcastle

Funding body Faculty of Business and Law, University of Newcastle
Project Team

Dr Amy Maguire, Dr Tamara Young
Scheme Unknown
Role Lead
Funding Start 2011
Funding Finish 2011
GNo
Type Of Funding Internal
Category INTE
UON N
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Research Supervision

Number of supervisions

Completed2
Current2

Total current UON EFTSL

PhD0.85

Current Supervision

Commenced Level of Study Research Title Program Supervisor Type
2017 PhD Asylum Seekers, Mandatory Detention and Questions of Justice PhD (Law), Faculty of Business and Law, The University of Newcastle Principal Supervisor
2017 PhD Human Displacement: An International Law, Human Rights and Risk Reduction Nexus PhD (Law), Faculty of Business and Law, The University of Newcastle Principal Supervisor

Past Supervision

Year Level of Study Research Title Program Supervisor Type
2017 PhD An Analysis of the Failed West Papuan Decolonisation Process: National Narrative vs the Rights of a Non-Self-Governing Territory PhD (Politics), Faculty of Business and Law, The University of Newcastle Co-Supervisor
2017 PhD The Potential of the No-Harm Rule to Prevent Transboundary Harm and Harm to the Global Atmospheric Commons from SRM Geoengineering Law, University of Tasmania Co-Supervisor
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Research Projects

Modelling climate change-driven human displacement in the Hunter region of NSW: An interdisciplinary assessment of risks and adaptation strategies 2017 -

The notion of climate change-induced displacement remains underexplored within the context of the developed world. This project will initiate an inquiry into climate change induced-displacement in Australia, using the Hunter Region of NSW as a case study. Cutting across conventional disciplinary boundaries, the project will draw on insights from engineering, information technology, law, public health and anthropology. By listening to the co-presence of diverse analytical perspectives, the researchers will seek collaborative moments driving new knowledge and a holistic understanding of risks and adaptation strategies in the context of climate change. Using climate models and projections of mobility and migration, the project will: (i) investigate how climate change may manifest within the lives of Hunter residents; (ii) assess risks of displacement; (iii) consider legal and logistical tools that are required to adapt to the projected climate reality; (iv) consider political tools for effective adaptation and mitigation; and (v) present a conceptual framework for understanding climate change induced displacement in the context of the Hunter, including how it relates to psychosocial and environmental distress. 

Grants

Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation) Grant for Early Career Interdisciplinary Research

Funding body: The University of Newcastle - Research and Innovation Division

Funding body The University of Newcastle - Research and Innovation Division
Scheme Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation) Grant for Early Career Interdisciplinary Research

Collaborators

Name Organisation
Doctor Natalie Anne Lockart University of Newcastle
Doctor Hedda Haugen Askland University of Newcastle
Doctor Jane Louise Rich University of Newcastle
Doctor Raymond Jun Wen Chiong University of Newcastle

Human Displacement: An International Law, Human Rights and Risk Reduction Nexus 2017 -

The objective of this study is to examine the frameworks of international law and human rights with respect to human displacement and inquire into the potential future role those frameworks might play in reducing the risk of displacement. To meet this objective, the following aims will be pursued:

Examine the fitness for purpose of current frameworks, policies, agreements and institutions of international law and human rights in protecting displaced people;

Analyse the points of intersection of public international law generally, international human rights law, and human displacement;

Analyse the competing interests involved in crafting policies, such as refugee and migration policies, that impact the response to human displacement;

Identify the preventive roles international law and human rights can play in the context of human displacement; and

Define the hierarchy of responsibilities and the relationships among the various actors working on human displacement including national authorities, international organisations and non-governmental organisations based on the current order of international law. 

Grants

Research Advantage Early Career Researcher HDR Candidate Scholarship

Funding body: Research Advantage UON

Funding body Research Advantage UON
Scheme HDR Scholarship

Students

Program Research Title
PhD
Faculty of Business and Law		 Human Displacement: An International Law, Human Rights and Risk Reduction Nexus

Collaborators

Name Organisation
Doctor Jason Kyle Von Meding University of Newcastle

Self Determination Revived: A Problem-Solving Tool for International Law 2015 -

Struggles for the collective human right of self-determination lie at the heart of many global problems, yet the right is rarely invoked. This project aims to enhance the problem-solving capacity of international law by reviving the right of self-determination. Using legal and sociological methods, the project intends to show self-determination's problem-solving potential in non-traditional settings. Expected outcomes include principles and mechanisms designed to facilitate the assertion and assessment of claims. This should deliver social benefit in Australia and internationally, by driving robust legal and policy responses to crises like Brexit and climate-driven human displacement and enhancing human rights for vulnerable communities.

Grants

2016 Overall Vice-Chancellor's Award For Early Career Research and Innovation Excellence

Funding body: University of Newcastle

Funding body University of Newcastle
Project Team Doctor Amy Maguire
Scheme VC's Award for Research and Innovation Excellence

The Right to Self-Determination in International Law: A study of the colonial experiences of Irish nationalists and Indigenous peoples in Australia

Funding body: University of Newcastle

Funding body University of Newcastle
Project Team Doctor Amy Maguire
Scheme Equity Research Fellowship

Publications

Maguire AM, 'Law protecting rights: Restoring the law of self-determination in the neo-colonial world', Law Text Culture, 12 12-39 (2008) [C1]

Maguire AM, 'Contemporary Anti-colonial Self-determination Claims and the Decolonisation of International Law', Griffith Law Review, 22 238-268 (2013) [C1]

Maguire AM, 'Self-determination, Justice, and a 'Peace Process': Irish Nationalism, the Contemporary Colonial Experience and the Good Friday Agreement', Seattle Journal for Social Justice, 13 537-581 (2014) [C1]

Maguire AM, 'The UN declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples and self-determination in Australia: using a human rights approach to promote accountability', 2014 New Zealand Yearbook of International Law, 12 105-134 (2016) [C1]

Refugees and Human Rights 2015 -

Research within this project focuses on human rights law issues raised by Australian and global responses to refugees and people seeking asylum. This includes a study on the potential for the collective human right of self-determination to be extrapolated into the refugee context. 

This is a key area of focus for Dr Maguire's column on The Conversation: https://theconversation.com/profiles/amy-maguire-129609/articles


Publications

Maguire AM, Bereicua L, Fleming A, Freeman O, 'Australia, Asylum Seekers and Crimes Against Humanity?', Alternative Law Journal, 40 185-189 (2015) [C1]

McCarthy S, Maguire AM, Elton A, 'Executive Detention: Still no effective review for detainees', Alternative Law Journal, 41 249-253 (2016) [C1]

Maguire AM, 'Why does international condemnation on human rights mean so little to Australia?', The Conversation Yearbook 2016: 50 standout articles from Australia's Top Thinkers, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne 70-74 (2016)

Students

Program Research Title
PhD
Faculty of Business and Law		 Asylum Seekers, Mandatory Detention and Questions of Justice

Collaborators

Name Organisation
Associate Professor John Lance Anderson University of Newcastle
Professor Jim William Jose University of Newcastle

Self-determination and Climate Change Displacement 2015 -

International climate change law is at a critical juncture. Two decades of international treaty negotiations have delivered rising greenhouse gas emissions and minimal adaptation funding. The pattern of negotiations suggests that key States will often only make significant commitments that are aligned with their material interests and reciprocated by their competitors. This ‘logic of reciprocity’ in international climate negotiations has limited ambition such that vulnerable States are facing existential threats from sea level rise, storm surge and salt-water inundation. We consider whether the international legal system offers any alternative logics that might found a duty on emitters to reduce their emissions in a timelier fashion and respond to climate-change-induced forced migration. We therefore focus on the foundational principle of the self-determination of peoples, a collective human right which has supported movements towards decolonization and the emancipation of oppressed peoples. We argue that self-determination might offer an alternative logic of duty on high-emitting States to the plight of populations who find their territory (and potentially their nationhood) under threat from anthropogenic climate change.

Publications

Maguire AM, McGee J, 'A Universal Human Right to Shape Responses to a Global Problem? The Role of Self-determination in Guiding the International Legal Response to Climate Change', Review of European, Comparative and International Environmental Law, 26 54-68 (2017) [C1]

Collaborators

Name Organisation
Jeffrey McGee University of Tasmania

Australia's Advocacy Role in the Global Abolition of Capital Punishment 2015 -

The executions of Australian nationals Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran in April 2015 brought capital punishment to the forefront of public consciousness in Australia. Indonesia carried out their death sentences, and those of six others convicted of drug offences, despite Australia’s determined advocacy for clemency. Their deaths represent a tiny fraction of the numbers killed in execution of the death penalty each year, but ought to prompt a renewed inquiry into the global practice of capital punishment and Australia’s position in relation to it. Research within this project identifies the states which continue to impose the death penalty and those which oppose it. It situates capital punishment as a human rights issue, and explores how Australia can fully undertake its international legal commitments through more prominent and effective advocacy for the abolition of the death penalty worldwide. This research has informed contribution to national parliamentary inquiries and reports regarding Australia's role in the abolition of capital punishment.

Publications

Maguire AM, 'Hard line on refugees undermines principled opposition to execution', Politics, Policy, and the chance of change: The Conversation 2015 Yearbook, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne 272-275 (2015)

Maguire AM, Houghton S, 'The Bali Nine, Capital Punishment and Australia's Obligation to Seek Abolition', Current Issues in Criminal Justice, 28 67-91 (2016) [C1]

Indigenisation of tertiary curricula 2011 -

This project explores the justifications for, and methods of, 'Indigenising' higher education curricula. The collaborators are concerned with the incorporation of Indigenous-related content, and Indigenous perspectives and law in university teaching and learning. 

Grants

Faculty of Business and Law Excellence in Law Teaching Award

Funding body: Faculty of Business and Law, University of Newcastle

Funding body Faculty of Business and Law, University of Newcastle
Scheme Unknown

Faculty of Business and Law Teaching and Learning Grant

Funding body: Faculty of Business and Law, University of Newcastle

Funding body Faculty of Business and Law, University of Newcastle
Scheme Unknown

Publications

Maguire AM, Young T, 'Indigenisation of curricula: Current teaching practices in law', Legal Education Review, 25 95-119 (2015) [C1]

Young TN, Maguire A, 'Decolonising tourism education through Indigenisation: Responsive efforts to the corporate social responsibility of Australian universities', Think Tank XVI: Corporate Responsibility in Tourism - Standards, Practices and Policies. Think Tank Papers & Presentations, Berlin, Germany (2016) [E1]

Young T, Maguire AM, 'Indigenization of curricula: trends and issues in tourism education', Handbook of Teaching and Learning in Tourism, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, UK 455-463 (2017) [B1]

Collaborators

Name Organisation
Doctor Tamara Nicole Young University of Newcastle
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News

Dr Amy Maguire finalist in Women in Law Awards

September 8, 2016

University of Newcastle academic Dr Amy Maguire is a finalist in the academic category.

Australia can do better on Asian boat crisis than ‘nope, nope, nope’

May 29, 2015

Is Australia guilty of crimes against humanity?

October 27, 2014

Dr Amy Maguire examines if the International Criminal Court prosecute Australia for crimes against humanity?

A referendum in Northern Ireland could mean more than just Yes or No

October 9, 2014

In the wake of the Scottish referendum, Martin McGuinness, the deputy first minister of Northern Ireland, renewed his party Sinn Féin's call for a "border poll"

Newcastle Law School panel accepted at prestigious conference

September 22, 2014

Is Australia a Responsible International Citizen?

August 20, 2014

High Court of Australia

Australia’s global reputation at stake in High Court asylum case

July 22, 2014

Dr Amy Maguire

Position

Senior Lecturer
Newcastle Law School
Faculty of Business and Law

Contact Details

Email amy.maguire@newcastle.edu.au
Phone (02) 4921 5374
Links Research Networks
Research Networks

Office

Room X-530
Building NeW Space
Location City Campus

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Research Networks

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