Overview
Dale Smith’s research focuses primarily on topics in legal philosophy, especially the jurisprudential writings of Ronald Dworkin. He also writes on theoretical aspects of statutory interpretation and (with Colin Campbell) on anti-discrimination law.
Dale’s research has been published in the Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, Legal Theory, Law and Philosophy, the Modern Law Review, Law Quarterly Review and the University of Toronto Law Journal. His recent publications include:
- ‘Should Courts Follow Mistaken Statutory Precedents?’ in Timothy Endicott, Hafsteinn Dan Kristjánsson, and Sebastian Lewis (eds), Philosophical Foundations of Precedent (OUP, 2023)
- ‘Distinguishing Between Direct and Indirect Discrimination’ (with Colin Campbell) (2023) 86 Modern Law Review 307-330
- ‘Unstated Legal Obligations’ in Stefano Bertea (ed), Contemporary Perspectives on Legal Obligation (Routledge, 2021)
- ‘The Grounding Requirement for Direct Discrimination’ (with Colin Campbell) (2020) 136 Law Quarterly Review 258-283
- ‘What Is Statutory Purpose?’ in Lisa Burton Crawford, Patrick Emerton and Dale Smith (eds), Law under a Democratic Constitution: Essays in Honour of Jeffrey Goldsworthy (Hart, 2019)
- ‘The Practice-based Objection to the “Standard Picture” of How Law Works’ (2019) 10 Jurisprudence 502-531
Dale is currently working on a monograph on statutory interpretation.
Dale is an experienced supervisor of doctoral students, having supervised theses on legal, moral and political philosophy, constitutional theory and the philosophy of human rights.
Prior to joining Melbourne Law School in 2014, Dale was a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Law at Monash University. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Surrey Centre for Law and Philosophy at the University of Surrey in 2019, and a Visiting Academic at the Faculty of Laws, University College London in 2012.
Dale is a past Editor of the Australasian Journal of Legal Philosophy (now the Journal of Legal Philosophy), and a past Treasurer of the Australasian Society of Legal Philosophy. He is a former Associate Dean (Research) at Melbourne Law School.
Other Faculty and University Responsibilities
Director, Staff Development
Co-Convenor, Legal Theory Workshop
Memberships and Affiliations
Member, Australian Society of Legal Philosophy
Teaching (2024)
The Melbourne JD