Responding to the Brereton Inquiry
and allegations of Australian war crimes

About the speakers

The Law and the Future of War Research Group investigates the diverse ways in which law constrains, enables or ignores technological change in the context of national and global security. 

Dr Simon McKenzie

Simon McKenzie is a Research Fellow at the University of Queensland School of Law. Simon's current research focuses on the legal challenges connected with the defence and security applications of science and technology, with a particular focus on the impact of autonomous systems.

More broadly, his research and teaching interests include the law of armed conflict, international criminal law, and domestic criminal law.

Associate Professor Rain Liivoja

Rain Liivoja is an Associate Professor at the University of Queensland Law School, where he leads the Law and the Future of War research group. Rain's current research focuses on the legal challenges associated with military applications of science and technology. His broader research and teaching includes general international law, the law of armed conflict and human rights law.

Dr Eve Massingham

Dr Eve Massingham is a Senior Research Fellow with the School of Law. Her current research focuses on the diverse ways in which the law constrains or enables autonomous functions of military platforms, systems and weapons. Eve is the co-editor of Ensuring Respect for International Humanitarian Law (Routledge, 2020) and she has published a number of book chapters and journal articles in the fields of international humanitarian law and international law and the use of force. 

Read Eve’s latest article on the Brereton Inquiry into alleged Australian war crimes: How Australia reacts to the Brereton Inquiry will be telling for its ability to demand respect for the laws of war by other nations

Further Reading

• The Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force Afghanistan Inquiry (The Brereton Report)
• Eve Massingham, 'Australian Special Forces War Crimes Prosecutions: Crucial but Just One Aspect When It Comes to Respect for the Laws of War' Opinio Juris (20 November 2020)
• Douglas Guilfoyle, 'Australian war crimes in Afghanistan: The Brereton Report' EJIL!Talk (23 November 2020)
• David Letts, ‘Allegations of murder and ‘blooding’ in Brereton report now face many obstacles to prosecution’ The Conversation (19 November 2020)
• Matthew Doran, 'Afghanistan war crimes report released by Defence Chief Angus Campbell includes evidence of 39 murders by special forces' ABC Australia (19 November 2020)
• Christopher Knaus and Rory Callinan, ''We expected better from Australia': shock and anger in Afghanistan at war crimes report' The Guardian (20 November 2020)
• Rain Liivoja, Criminal Jurisdiction Over Armed Forces Abroad (Cambridge University Press, 2017)
• Eve Massingham and Annabel McConnachie, Ensuring Respect for International Humanitarian Law: what it looks like in practice.
• Rain Liivoja, 'Technological change and the evolution of the law of war' (2016) 97 International Review of the Red Cross 900, 1157-1177. 
• Martin van Creveld, Technology and War: From 2000 B.C. to the Present (1991, Touchstone).
• Max Boot, War Made New:  Weapons, Warriors and the Making of the Modern World (2007, Penguin Putnam Inc).