Associate ProfessorMaria O'Sullivan

The Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law (ANZSIL) was established in 1992. ANZSIL aims to: - increase public awareness and understanding of international law; - develop and promoting the discipline of international law; advance the teaching of international law; - provide a forum for scholars, practitioners and students of international law to discuss research and issues of practice of international law. ANZSIL’s Interest Groups provide a forum for in-depth discussion and the exchange of ideas amongst those with a particular interest in specific areas of international law. I am the Co-Chair of the committee for the International Human Rights Law Interest Group and am responsible for organising events for the group and establishing links with other international human rights law groups internationally. The ANZSIL International Human Rights Law Interest Group (IHRLIG) was established in 2022. The IHRLIG aims to foster a community of human rights academics and practitioners, by holding events and developing networks to share research on the theory and practice of human rights. By providing a forum for debate and research collaboration amongst ANZSIL members and the broader international human rights law community, the IHRLIG seeks to contribute to the strengthening of systems and processes for promoting human rights. The group encourages the involvement of graduate students and early-career researchers.

This co-authored piece Two weeks after Queensland passed legislation outlawing use of the phrases “from the river to the sea” and “globalise the intifada” in certain contexts, Hillier said the police got in touch him

This piece responded to reforms proposed by the federal government to the FOI system. This piece was utilised/cited by a number of civil society organisations.

An invited Conversation piece responding to calls for Australia to establish a permit system for all protests

This media opinion, published by the ABC, discussed a difficult and controversial issue at the time - university protests occurring in Australia and around the world in 2024 in response to events in the Middle East, specifically in Gaza. The opinion explained the right to protest and the role of universities and argued that the right to protest and the role of universities in permitting protests should be viewed as a central component to effecting social and political change where that is needed — as part of the democratic process. It argued that this is especially true if one considers the role of protesters in giving voice to those who are marginalised or unable to demonstrate publicly themselves. It concluded that the significant role undertaken in society by academics and students — academics as public intellectuals and of students as learning the skills of intellectual debate and tolerance of views at our universities — should be a central consideration in our response to the current university protests.

Federal Court releases Novak Djokovic decision reasoning, ABC News, 20 January 2022

The implications of the deportation of Novak Djokovic, ABC News Australia, 17 January 2022

Commentary on the Victorian Pandemic Bill, ABC News 24, 26 October 2021

The European Migrant Crisis, SBS Television (The Feed), 3 September 2015

Detention of asylum seekers at sea: The High Court decision BBC World News Service: Newshour, 28 January 2015

I was interviewed on several radio stations across Australia about the granting of asylum to several members of the Iranian soccer team.

I was interviewed on ABC's PM program about the changes to Victoria's protest laws by which Victorian Police will have increased powers to unmask protesters and restrict where people gather.

I was interviewed by several radio stations about the implications of a judgement by the NSW Supreme Court relating to a planned protest at the Sydney Opera House.