Dr Sophie Rigney

Overview

Dr Sophie Rigney is a Lecturer at Melbourne Law School, and a Senior Research Associate at the Indigenous Law Centre at the University of New South Wales. Sophie’s research is in three areas: first, relationships between Indigenous peoples and the state (including the Uluru Statement from the Heart, the Voice to Parliament, and how Indigenous communities create and practice a distinctly Indigenous international law); secondly, international criminal law (particularly the formation of a carceral and penal abolition movement for international criminal law, the rights of the accused, and the role of defence lawyers); and thirdly, international law's narratives, especially the ways in which international law is depicted in children's literature.

Sophie currently works on the ARC-funded project, 'Recognition after Uluru: What Next for First Nations?' with Professors Megan Davis and George Williams. She previously worked as a Lecturer in Law at the University of Dundee, Scotland (2017-2020). Prior to her academic career, Sophie worked as a practicing lawyer at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (2009-2011). This included working for the defence of Lahi Brahimaj and the stand-by defence team for Radovan Karadzic. Sophie has also previously served as the Chair of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (UK), and as a Director of Amnesty International Australia.