Law School academics take home prestigious research awards

In 2019, the Council of Australian Law Deans established a prestigious national award scheme for the legal academic discipline named the Australian Legal Research Awards (ALRA).

The principal objective of the ALRA scheme is to encourage, recognise and promote research excellence and innovation in the discipline of law by Australian legal scholars.

Professor Emily Crawford and Associate Professor Jacqueline Mowbray have both received accolades, solidifying the Sydney Law School’s position as a leader in legal education and research.

Professor Crawford received the award for the Non-Traditional Research Output (NTRO) category, following on from Dr. Carolyn McKay’s win in this category in 2023.

Her exhibition At the Vanishing Point: Encounters with the Souvenirs, Merchandise and Memorabilia of International Law, reflects on the material objects of international law and uses them as a lens through which to understand and interrogate international law and its institutions.

Examining how international organisations present themselves to the world by way of souvenirs, merchandise and memorabilia, the exhibition asks what these things tell us about how society at large perceives international law and international institutions.

Professor Crawford says the exhibition gave people an alternative way to begin examining international law.

“We are delighted and honoured to have received the 2024 ALRA award for non-traditional research output for our exhibition,” Crawford shares.

“Our exhibition challenged viewers to think of international law as something not limited to remote venues like the United Nations or the International Court of Justice but as something that infuses our everyday lives, that is collectible and commercialised, and to contemplate how such material encounters with the law can shape how we perceive and engage with international law.”

Associate Professor Mowbray took home the ARLA award in the Article/Chapter category.

Mowbray’s article ‘Multilingualism, Translation and International Law: Four Myths’ details how international law and its institutions operate in a multilingual world.

The article examines how the use of translation affects the law and legal practice and found that international law makes a number of assumptions about how translation works which are flawed, or even incorrect.

Associate Professor Mowbray is very pleased to be announced as the winner.

“I’m honoured and excited to be named as a joint winner of the 2024 Australian Legal Research Award for an article or chapter,” Mowbray says.

“I’m thrilled to be recognised by the Council of Australian Law Deans, I thank them for their support of the article.”

Law School researchers Dr Jose-Miguel Bello y Villarino, Dr Chidozie Chukwudumogu and Frances Elisabeth Anggadi were also shortlisted for awards on the evening.

Dr Arlie Loughnan, Professor of Criminal Law and Criminal Law Theory and Associate Dean Research at the University of Sydney Law School, offers her warm congratulations to award winners and shortlisted candidates.

“These results provide wonderful recognition of our talented researchers,” she says.

 “We are so proud of them and proud to be fostering a supportive research culture which promotes excellence across the huge variety of legal research.”

Interim Dean and Head of School, Professor Rita Shackel, is full of praise for the Law School’s award winners.

“The Law School is exceptionally proud of the outstanding and insightful work of Professor Crawford and Professor Mowbray and its recognition through the ALRA,” she says.

“We are also very proud of the work and achievements of all Sydney Law School researchers shortlisted for awards.”