Restoration Law and Finance Conference: Legal and Financial Obstacles to Rehabilitation, Rehydration and Regeneration of Land and Water and Options for Reform
2026-01-05 15:57 (Australia/Sydney) | Law Foyer, Level 2
Restoration Law and Finance Conference: Legal and Financial Obstacles to Rehabilitation, Rehydration and Regeneration of Land and Water and Options for Reform
In-person event

The Australian Centre for Climate and Environmental Law at Sydney Law School invites you to Australia’s inaugural â€˜Restoration Law and Finance Conference’ on Thursday and Friday, 7 & 8Â December 2023.
The Australian Federal Government has committed to â€˜preventing, halting and reversing the loss of nature’ by signing up to The United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, publishing the Nature Positive Plan (2022) and introducing the Nature Market Repair Bill (2023). As stated in the recently released Independent Review of the NSW Biodiversity Act 2016, chaired by Ken Henry, it is time to move â€˜beyond biodiversity conservation to a â€œnature positiveâ€ framing that emphasises the need to repair past damage and to take urgent action to halt and reverse biodiversity loss, putting nature on a path to recovery, so that thriving ecosystems can support future generations’.
To achieve this, legal and financial barriers to restoration need to be addressed urgently.
Through a series of keynotes, presentations and panel discussions, the conference will bring together a diverse range of speakers, including Indigenous experts, lawyers, investors, restoration practitioners and government officials to discuss the legal and financial barriers to restoring nature across a range of land tenures, and workable solutions to address these issues. Federal initiatives for nature positive repair are unlikely to succeed unless these challenges are confronted head on.
Speakers include: Dr Justine Bell-James (Associate Professor, University of Queensland Law School); Dr Gerry Bates (University of Sydney); Dr Louise Camenzuli (Partner, Corrs Chambers Westgarth); Dr Emma Carmody (Restore Blue); Rohan Clarke (Regen Farmers Mutual); Raeleen Draper (Senior Natural Environment Project Officer (Blue Heart), Sunshine Coast Council); Veda FitzSimonsÂ (Associate Director, Pollination); Carolyn Hall (CEO and Managing Director, The Mulloon Institute);Â Dr Ken HenryÂ (Economist, Non-Executive Director of the Australian Securities Exchange, Cape York Partnership and Accounting for Nature Ltd.); Fiachra Kearney (Forever Wild); Stella Kondylas (The Nature Conservancy); Jock Mackenzie (EarthWatch); Grantley Smith (Restore Blue); Heidi Mippy (Noongar and This-Man-Warriyangka woman, Curtin University); Associate Professor Brad Moggridge (University of Canberra);Â Stephen Murphy (Conservation Partners); Claire Smith (Partner, Clayton Utz);Â Professor Ben Richardson (University of Tasmania Law School); James Trezise (Biodiversity Conservation Council); Laura Waterford (Director, Pollination);Â Cassandra Stevens (Director, Kullilli Bulloo River Aboriginal Corporation)

View the program and read speaker bios here (Updated 7 December 2023)

Thursday 7 – Friday 8 December 2023
Venue:Â Law Foyer, Level 2, New Law Building (F10), University of Sydney, Camperdown campus

This event is hosted by the Australian Centre for Climate and Environmental Law (ACCEL) at Sydney Law School and is proudly supported by Mills Oakley.

Business Compliance in International Commercial Transactions across Asia Pacific
2026-01-05 15:57 | New Law Building (F10)
Business Compliance in International Commercial Transactions across Asia Pacific
This international conference will be held on 21 February 2024 at The University of Sydney Law School.Â
The year 2024 marks the thirtieth anniversary of the Shanghai Winter School program, offered by the University of Sydney Law School in collaboration with the East China University of Political Science and Law. To celebrate this milestone, the Sydney Law School will proudly host an academic conference titled â€˜Business Compliance in International Commercial Transactions in Asia Pacific’ on Wednesday, February 21, 2024.
Business compliance in international transactions across the Asia-Pacific region holds immense importance for organizations seeking to expand their activities within this dynamic and evolving landscape. Multinational corporations operating in Asia Pacific often confront unique compliance challenges due to the swiftly changing regulatory and geopolitical environment in the region.
The event will take place at the Camperdown campus of the University of Sydney Law School in Sydney, Australia, on Wednesday February 21, 2024. The primary language of the conference will be English.
We will also be holding a celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the Shanghai Winter School program after the conference. You will need to register separately for this event. Please find further details here.
The Conference will cover the following topics:

Keynote: Justice and injustice in foreign judgments – does terminology matter?
Professor Andrew Dickinson, Oxford University Law School

Anti-Money Laundering: current challenges and new responses
Victoria Trent, Commonwealth Bank

Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing compliance: A banking perspective on the value of adopting a commercial risk-based approach.

Dr. David Chaikin and Dr. Lana Nadj, USYD

A Critical Analysis of the Risk-Based Approach to Anti-Money Laundering and the Legal Profession

Manvee Kumar Saidha, Trilegal, Mumbai, India

Online: Digitisation in Trade Financing: Mitigating Money Laundering Risks through Technological Innovation, Regulatory Interoperability, and Increased Policy-focused Dialogue

Dr Anastasia Suhartati Lukito, University of Surabaya, Indonesia

Enhancing Business Compliance Through Beneficial Ownership Disclosure in Indonesia

(Anti-Money Laundering and Corporate Crime Perspectives)
Financial Crime and Corporates
Professor Philip Nichols, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

Does Compliance With the Antibribery Regime Require the Use of Artificial Intelligence?

Avin Persad-Ford, Howard C. Cohen & Associates

Online: Deferred Prosecution Agreements in Australia: How to Protect the Shawcross Principle

Dr Alan Koh, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Mandatory Human Rights Due Diligence and Director Liability: Bridging the Enforcement Gap

Soumya Rajsingh, Faculty of Legal Studies, South Asian University

Exahing Corporate Compliance for Combating Modern Slavery in India’s Global Value Chain: An Analysis

Private International Law-Arbitration
Professor Luke Nottage, USYD

Compliance with Alternative Dispute Resolution commitments in international commercial and investment agreements

Yang Liu, ECUPL

Unilateral Sanctions as Defenses in Investment Arbitration

Ganesh Sahathevan, Centre For Industrial Research, Melanesian Mambefor Corporation

Remote Sensing Evidence in The Resolution Of Disputes Concerning Non-Compliant Carbon Credit Products

Dan Xie, ECUPL

The Judicial Understanding and Implementation of Due Process Defence under the New York Convention by Chinese Courts: A Comprehensive Analysis

Private International Law-Litigation
Professor Vivienne Bath, USYD
Professor Tao Du, ECUPL

The HCCH Conventions in Chinese Courts

Dr Yan Li, Seoul National University Law Research Institute
Declining Jurisdiction in China and South Korea: A Mixture of Civil and Common Law Culture in Private International Law?
Dr Thu Thuy Nguyen, Hanoi Law University
Online: The Barriers for Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Vietnam
Â
Private International Law-International commercial transactions
Professor Bing Ling, USYD
Dapo Wang, Shanghai Jiaotong University

Economic Sanctions and the Trade-Compliance Dilemmas for Chinese Companies

Dr Lemuel Didulo Lopez, RMIT University

Online: â€œChoice of Forum Clause and the Protection of Weaker Parties: Lessons from Asiaâ€

Stefano Dominelli, University of Genoa, Italy

Online: â€œâ€˜Once a Trader, Always a Trader’ – Or Maybe not: The EU Law Shaping of the Law of State Immunitiesâ€

Cross Border Flow of Data
Professor Henry Gao, Singapore Management University

WTO Joint Statement Initiative on E-commerce: half full or half empty?

Shangxuan Wu, ECUPL

An Anatomy of China’s Cross-border Data Flow Regulation Regime

Dr Phoebe Li and Dr. Minako Morita-Jaeger, University of Sussex School of Law

Online: Interoperability of the UK’s data governance regimes: From domestic to international trade perspectives

Naeem Allah Rakha, Tashkent State University of Law

Online: â€œTowards a Cross-Border Cyber-security Legal Framework: Examining Data Protection Compliance Risks in Digital Trade across the Asia Pacificâ€

Data Protection and Security
Yixian Li, Ravi Prakash Vyas and Inma Conde, USYD

Is China the World’s Biggest Face Recognition Dealer?: Global Companies and China’s Data Surveillance and Privacy Laws

Guangyi Qu, ECUPL

The Concept of Security in International Trade Law

Tianqi Gu, USYD

Data Protection and National Securityâ€”Foreign Direct Investment in Australia and China

Fitria Dewi Navisa, Universitas Islam Malang, Indonesia

Legality of Legal Products Produced by AI based on Positive Law in Indonesia

Supply Chain Round Table Discussion

Professor Zhenjie Zhou, College for Criminal Law Science, Beijing Normal University
Dr. Wangjie Chen, ECUPL
Online: Minh Nhut Le, International Law Faculty at Ho Chi Minh City University of Law in Vietnam
Other speakers to be announced.

Click here to view the program.

Wednesday 21 February 2024
Venue:Â New Law Building (F10), University of Sydney, Eastern Avenue, Camperdown campus
Registration:Â $50 for the full-day conference
For USYD students, staff and alumni, please email us at law.events@sydney.edu.au for a discount code.
Registration has now closed for this event.Â
Enquiries may be directed to: law.events@sydney.edu.au

This conference is hosted by the Centre for Asian and Pacific Law at Sydney Law School and the China Studies Centre at the University of Sydney.

ACCEL Distinguished Speaker Address and Panel Discussions: Legal accelerants for climate action: taking stock for COP28
2026-01-05 15:57 | Law Lounge, Level 1
ACCEL Distinguished Speaker Address and Panel Discussions: LegalÂ accelerantsÂ for climate action: taking stock for COP28
In-person event
Climate action is more urgent than ever. The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has reached its highest point in at least two million years, and climate change is causing widespread, and unequal, adverse impacts on nature and people (IPCC, 2023) .Â In order to limit global warming to 1.5Â°C above pre-industrial levels and prevent the worst impacts, developed countries must reach net zero by 2040, and emerging economies by 2050. Despite this, current policies will lead to a 2.8Â°C temperature rise by 2100.Â In a time when we should be accelerating our efforts, we backslide.Â
In November, leaders will gather at COP28 for the first global stocktake of the Paris Agreement. The process for preparing the next cycle of Nationally Determined Contributions will also be launched.Â
This event will bring together leading researchers and professionals ahead of the COP to provide insights on how to conceptualise, develop and implement legal and governance tools to accelerate deep decarbonisation, adaptation and address loss and damage, on a whole of economy basis. Against the backdrop of the UN’s 2023 Acceleration Agenda, experts will discuss the various dimensions of legal acceleration to ensure a more equitable transition to a low-carbon and climate-resilient global economy.
The 2023 ACCEL Distinguished Address will be delivered by Dr Ian Fry, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change. Dr Fry will discuss important human rights and justice dimensions of the UN’s Acceleration Agenda, including the need to integrate human rights standards and principles into accelerated climate action.Â
The Distinguished Address will be supported by a series of panels in which leading experts will discuss the role and potential of legal accelerants in the context of climate finance, climate litigation, law and nature and the law of the sea. Speakers include Frances Anggadi (University of Wollongong), David Barnden (Equity Generation Lawyers), Gareth Bryant (University of Sydney), Zoe Bush (Environmental Defenders Office), Emma Carmody (Restore Blue),Â Arjuna Dibley (Sustainable Finance Hub, University of Melbourne), Dominique Hogan-Doran SC (5 Wentworth), Tim Stephens (University of Sydney), Zoe Whitton (Pollination) andÂ Rachel Walmsley (Environmental Defenders’ Office).
Draft schedule
8.30amÂ Registration
9.00am:Â Welcome and opening remarks
9.15am: Legal acceleration and the role of climate litigation
Speakers:Â Dominique Hogan-Doran SC (5 Wentworth),Â David Barnden (Equity Generation Lawyers) andÂ Zoe Bush (Environmental Defenders Office)
10.30am: Morning tea
11amÂ Climate finance and accelerated climate action
Speakers:Â Arjuna Dibley (Sustainable Finance Hub, University of Melbourne),Â Gareth Bryant (University of Sydney) and Kate Owens (ACCEL)
12.30pmÂ Lunch
1.30pmÂ Â Nature restoration and the acceleration agenda
Speakers: Gerry Bates (University of Sydney),Â Emma Carmody (Restore Blue),Â Rachel Walmsley (Environmental Defenders’ Office), Rachel Killean (Chair, University of Sydney)
3.00pmÂ Afternoon tea
3.30pmÂ Climate change and the Law of the Sea
Speakers: Ian Fry (Special Rapporteur), Tim Stephens (University of Sydney),Â Â Frances Anggadi (University of Wollongong) and Chester Brown (Chair, University of Sydney)â€‚â€‚
5.00pmÂ Cocktail reception
5.30pmÂ 2023 ACCEL Distinguished Speaker Address: Human rights, climate justice and the UN Acceleration Agenda
Registration – now open

FullÂ day: $100
Panel DiscussionsÂ only: $70
2023 ACCEL Distinguished Speaker Address: $40

Student rates

Full day: $50
Panel Discussions only: $35
2023 ACCEL Distinguished Speaker Address: $20

Tuesday 31 October 2023
Venue:Â Law Lounge, Level 1, New Law Building Annex (F10A)

This event is hosted by the Australian Centre for Climate and Environmental Law (ACCEL) at Sydney Law School.

Global Food Governance Conference
2026-01-05 15:57
Global Food Governance Conference
This year, the Food Governance Node at the Charles Perkins Centre (The University of Sydney) and the George Institute for Global Health have partnered with the Global Center for Legal Innovation on Food Environments (Georgetown University Law Center) to organise the Global Food Governance Conference.
This conference, to be held online December 14 to 16 2021 from 6am-11am AEDT, will bring together lawyers, policymakers, nutritionists, and health scientists to explore how law, policy, and regulation can help address food system challenges at the local, national, regional, and global levels.
About the conference
Malnutrition, climate change, globalisation, and trade patterns profoundly shape the global food system. These challenges, along with rapid population growth, have compromised the ability of food systems to deliver safe, nutritious, sustainable, and equitable foods, in turn impacting the fulfillment of fundamental human rights.
Through a broad and interdisciplinary approach, the Global Food Governance Conference will consider how legislative, regulatory, and policy regimes impede or facilitate access to safe, nutritious, sustainable, and equitable food. The conference will explore issues such as (1) food security, safety, and sustainability, (2) the promotion of healthier diets, addressing both under and over-nourishment, including diet-related risk factors for non-communicable diseases, (3) equity and social justice in global food systems, including human rights-based approaches, and (4) Indigenous food systems governance.
Hoping to highlight the interrelationships between the main challenges facing the global food system in the 21st century, this conference also aims to create new opportunities for collaborations that promote access to healthy and sustainable food for all.
Confirmed speakers

Namukolo Covic,Â Senior Research Coordinator, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
Nicholas Freudenberg,Â Distinguished Professor of Public Health, City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy
Amandine Garde, Professor of Law, University of Liverpool
Carlos Monteiro, Professor of Nutrition and Public Health, School of Public Health, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil
Maximo Torero, Chief Economist, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Registration

Full Conference Fee (3 days): $100 USD
Full Single Day Fee: $30 USD
Discounted Full Conference Fee: $50 USD (Students, civil society members, unwaged, and researchers/academics based in low- and middle-income countries)
Discounted Single Day Fee: $15 USD (Students, civil society members, unwaged, and researchers/academics based in low- and middle-income countries)

There will also be an option to request aÂ complete fee waiver. This request can be submitted by anyone that identifies as any of the above listed categories. Requests will be determined by the Conference Organizing Committee.
Find out more information on the official Global Food Governance Conference page.

Contact
Should you have questions, please email:

Margherita CinÃ : mmc313@georgetown.edu
Dr Belinda Reeve, Sydney Law School: belinda.reeve@sydney.edu.au.

The Food Governance Node at the Charles Perkins Centre (The University of Sydney) and the George Institute for Global Health have partnered with the Global Center for Legal Innovation on Food Environments (Georgetown University Law Center) to organise the 2021 Global Food Governance Conference.
