Professor Justine Nolan

Professor Justine Nolan

Director

MPP University of California, Berkeley

LLB(Hons) ANU

BSc ANU

Law & Justice
School of Global & Public Law

Justine Nolan is the Director of the Australian Human Rights Institute and a Professor in the Faculty of Law and Justice at UNSW Sydney. She is an internationally recognised expert in modern slavery and human rights issues relating to business practices. For more than 25 years, Professor Nolan has provided advice and training to business, civil society, government and the UN on business and human rights and her career is notable for its collaborative approach and its strong and sustained en...

Phone
+61 (0)425 260496
E-mail
justine.nolan@unsw.edu.au
Location
Room 332 Law Building UNSW Kensington Campus

  • 2024 Laudes Foundation 'Unveiling the potential of transformative business practices: leveraging human rights and environmental due diligence' EUR238,033
  • 2023 Freedom Fund 'The Impact of Strategic Human Rights Litigation on Corporate Behaviour' US$72,727
  • 2023  Funded by select Australian Universities'Understanding HDR-Supervisor Relationship Challenges' 
  • 2022  UNDP 'Business and Human Rights Training for National Human Rights Institutions' US$19,499
  • 2021  Westpac Research Grant Program: 'Measuring the prevalence of OCSE' $150,000
  • 2021  Australian Government National Security and Criminal Justice Program: National Action Plan to Combat Modern Slavery 2020-25 Grant Program: 'Improving the Regulation of Modern Slavery and Access to Remedy. Learning from Experience' $177,742
  • 2018  CPA Australia, Global Research Perspectives Program:  'Regulating Transparency and Disclosures on Modern Slavery in Global Supply Chains' $61,000
  • 2014  UNSW  Labour Migration Recruitment Industry: A Human Rights Based Approach $6,000 
  • 2009  UNSW Corporate Accountability for Human Rights and Codes of Conduct: evaluating the mechanisms of protection $7,000
  • 2007  UNSW Early Career Researcher grant ‘Corporate Complicity in Human Rights Violations’ $11,000
  • 2006  UNSW Early Career Researcher grant ‘The legal liabilities of multinational corporations regarding human rights’ $8,500

UNSW Arc Postgraduate Outstanding Research Supervisor Award (2020)

Academic of the Year, Australian Law Awards (2019)

UNSW Vice Chancellor's Award for Teaching Excellence (2018)

UNSW Plus Alliance Fellow (2019-2020)

For more recent media, see https://www.humanrights.unsw.edu.au/news

Interview with ABC Radio Perth Focus program on modern slavery 5 July 2018

Interview with Radio Adelaide on modern slavery, 4 July 2018

'Modern Slavery Bill a step in the right direction - now business must complyThe Conversation 29 June 2018

''Rana Plaza: Five Years On and Australians still benefit from modern slavery every day' ABC News, 24 April 2018

'Corporate Dependence on Outsourcing is Resulting in Modern Day Slavery' Global Trade, May 17, 2016

'Business as usual is not an option' The Drum, April 23, 2014 .  Also in The Sydney Morning Herald, April 24 2014 

'Companies shouldn't be able to hand-pass footballs made by children' The Sydney Morning Herald September 24, 2012

Legal, not just moral, liability is key to child labour outrage’ The Canberra Times, September 24, 2012

Global scourge of corporate buck-passing on workers' rights’ The Sydney Morning Herald June 10, 2010. (Also featured in The Age and The Canberra Times)

‘On CSR, Human Rights and the State of Play in  Australia’ Law Society Journal July 2009 Vol 47 No. 6 pp22-25

'Free Tibet (Just not on the IOC's time)' May 19 2008, On Line Opinion

'Games spirit stifled under an iron fist' The Age August 4, 2008

'Chasing an ideal through Olympic rings of hope' The Canberra Times Aug 5 2008 

On 25 April 2007, AHRC Deputy Director Justine Nolan was interviewed for Radio Australia regarding a landmark lawsuit that has been filed against Yahoo in the district court of California, USA alleging the internet giant's practices in China have led to human rights violations. Wang Xiaoning and his wife Yu Ling filed the suit and accuse Yahoo of being directly responsible for Wang's arrest, 10 year prison sentence and alleged torture. Justine Nolan discusses the human rights responsiblities of companies like Yahoo and the legal loopholes that currently exist in the field of corporate responsibility. http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/connectasia/, opens in a new window

'Corporations Behaving Badly: firm rules needed' Nov 29 2006 The Canberra TimesView Article, opens in a new window

'Ingrained Culture' Nov 28 2006 The Courier MailView Article, opens in a new window

'Style over substance clouds corporate value judgements' April 9 2005 The AgeView Article, opens in a new window

'Brought to account: the business of honour in the boardroom', Sydney Morning Herald, July 23, 2004. View Article, opens in a new window

'What is a good company?' Opinion, The Age, July 26, 2004. View Article, opens in a new window

Non refereed papers

Nolan. J, 'Foreword' University of New South Wales Law Journal Vol. 40 2017 No. 3 1171-1174.

‘Is the World Cup Worth Dying For?’ Human Rights Defender Vol. 23 Issue 1 April 2014 26. Also published in UNSW Uniken Issue 73, Spring 2014 (co-authored with Bassina Farbenblum).

'If I were AG.... Companies must uphold human rights' Human Rights Law Centre HRLC Bulletin Vol 79 - November 2012 

'A new frontier in human rights protection: human rights, NGOs and business' (co-authored with Michael Posner) Human Rights Defender Vol 17 Issue August 2008 2-4

Materiality and the Australian Policy Landscape' AccountAbility Forum, Winter 2006 Vol 11

Contribution to (peer review of survey) "Commerce, crime and conflict: Legal Remedies for Private Sector Liability for Grave Breaches of International Law' by Anita Ramasastry and Robert C Thompson, Sept. 2006

'New Mechanism to hold corporations accountable for human rights' Issue 13/1 2004 19 Human Rights Defender

'Human Rights, the Environment and Business' Law Society Journal July 2004 Vol 42 No 6 66

My Research Supervision

I am currently supervising several doctoral students on subjects including: Human rights protection in manufacturing supply chains and multi-stakeholder initiatives,  Extraterritorial Processing of Refugees; the Lithium extractive sector and corporate human rights compliance and remedying corporate human rights violations. 

My Teaching

Course taught include:

  • International Human Rights Law and Advocacy (LAWS3182)
  • International Human Rights (LAWS8181)
  • Business and Human Rights (LAWS8189)
  • Human Rights Law in Practice (New York) (LAWS3146)
  • Law in the Global Context (LAWS2270)
  • Law, Rights and Development (LAWS8192)

In 2018 I received the Vice Chancellor's Award for Teaching Excellence.