Professor Anne Orford appointed to Permanent Court of Arbitration

International law expert Melbourne Laureate Professor Anne Orford has been appointed to the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague.

Countries are entitled to nominate four members of the Court for terms of six years. The four Australian members of the PCA constitute the Australian National Group, which is responsible for the nomination of candidates for election to the International Court of Justice.

The other current Australian members of the PCA are the Hon Susan Kiefel AC, Chief Justice of Australia; Dr Stephen Donaghue KC, Commonwealth Solicitor-General; and Mr Henry Burmester AO KC.

Dean of Melbourne Law School, Professor Matthew Harding said the appointment was a fitting acknowledgment of Professor Orford’s scholarly contributions to the study of international law and international dispute settlement.

“Professor Orford is one of the world’s most significant scholars of international law, and her knowledge and experience will greatly enrich this important international institution,” Professor Harding said.

“I warmly congratulate Professor Orford on this well-deserved honour.”

Professor Orford is Melbourne Laureate Professor and Michael D Kirby Chair of International Law at Melbourne Law School, and Visiting Professor of Law and John Harvey Gregory Lecturer on World Organization at Harvard Law School. She researches and teaches in the areas of international law, international dispute settlement, international economic law, and climate change.

Professor Orford is also a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia and a past President of the Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law. She is a Visiting Legal Fellow at the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for 2022-23.

In 2022 she was awarded the European Society of International Law Monograph Prize for her book International Law & the Politics of History (Cambridge University Press, 2021). The prize is awarded for excellence in international law scholarship.

The PCA was established in 1899 as the first permanent intergovernmental organisation to provide a forum for the resolution of international disputes through arbitration and other peaceful means.