Elizabeth Ann Black

Professor

TC Beirne School of Law

Phone:

+61 7 336 52243

Email:

a.black@law.uq.edu.au

Address:

W251 Forgan Smith Building,

University of Queensland, St Lucia

A Bit About Me

I am a Professor in law who researches in the field of comparative law, law & religion, and legal pluralism, with particular interest in Islamic law and the law and legal cultures of Asia, especially Brunei Darussalam.

I am the Executive Director, Comparative Law, in the Centre for Public, International and Comparative Law and the Program Director for the Legal Pluralism, the Korean Law and the Indonesian Law Programs and a member of the Law and Religion Program. I serve on UQ's Teaching and Learning Committee and am an adviser on academic matters to international students studying law.

Currently, I teach two comparative law courses in the undergraduate program - Asian Legal Systems and Introduction to Islamic law in addition to Fundamentals of the Common Law and Comparative Criminal Law in the School's Master's program. I am the co-author with Gary Bell, of Law and Legal Institutions of Asia: Traditions, adaptations and innovations (Cambridge University Press, 2011); Modern Perspectives on Islamic Law, with Hossein Esmaeili and Nadirsyah Hosen, (Edward Elgar, 2013); and with Jahid Bhuiyan, Religious Freedom in Secular States: a 21st Century Perspective (Brill's Studies in Religion, Secular Beliefs and Human Rights, 2022). Early next year, also co-edited with Jahid Bhuiyan is Freedom of Religion and Religious Diversity: State accommodation of Religious Minorities across Europe and Asia (Routledge).

For three editions I was a co-author of Legal Studies for Queensland (with Roger Woodgate, Jeff Biggs, and David Owen).

An Eye Opening Experience

My first visit to Japan as a nine year old.

Two Decades of ‘Doing Differently’ in Law courses:

2000 – Asian legal systems
2001 – Islamic Law
2003 – First fully online LLM course – East Asian Legal Systems
2005 – Chinese-Australian law major
2006 – Guest Panel (Muslim lawyer, Imam, Indonesian Syariah scholar, Rep from Muslim Business
Network) LAWS5189
2007 – Asian Law Bulletin commences LAWS5167
2008 – Present at Harvard Law School – adopt Islamic primary source material LAWS5189
– Trial optional group work in LAWS5159
– Muslim Women panel (Malaysia, Australian convert; Saudi Arabia) LAWS5189
2011 - Asian Law Bulletin goes online
2012 – Doing Business in Asia - skype to bring Asian legal experts from Shanghai, Tokyo; Jakarta into the class.
– Video Options in LAWS5167 and LAWS5189
– Skype expert panels from Asian lawyers
2015 – Mock trial LAWS7936
2017 – 3MT - Elevator Pitch LAWS7970
– Posters + in LAWS5167
2019 – Briefing Notes introduced LAWS5167
2020 –Discussion Board LAWS5167
– Video Gallery LAWS5189
– Group work – Country Report Video LAWS5189
2021 – Padlet world maps and walls
2022 – Asian Law Bulletin – weekly class online newspaper

2023 – Sharia-in-5 Group News Reports LAWS5189

– 2MT-in class oral presentations +e-posters LAWS5189

– Mock trial for international students for case law +legislation integration LAWS7936

Publications

BOOK CHAPTERS:

‘The Syariah Factor: One of many Challenges for Foreign Judges in the Courts of Brunei Darussalam’ in Anna Dziedzic &; Simon Young (eds) Cambridge Handbook Foreign Judges on Domestic Courts, in press.
‘In the time of the COVID-19: law, religious freedom and the secular state’ in Jahid Bhuiyan; Ann Black (eds) Religious Freedom in a Secular State: a 21 st Century Perspective, Brill, 2022, 42-72.
‘Recalibrating the Scales of Criminal Justice in Brunei Darussalam: Religious Penal Clauses 1905-2018 in Li-ann Thio and Jaclyn Neo (eds) Religious Offences in Common law Asia - Colonial Legacies, Constitutional Rights and Contemporary Practice, Hart, 2021, 351-388.
‘Brunei Darussalam: Undertaking a bold experiment in Criminal Law’ in Kanaphon Chanhom; Pramote Sermsilatham (eds) Criminal Law in ASEAN Max Plank, in press, 2022.
‘Brunei Darussalam: Small by choice but great in the eyes of Allah’ in Tony Angelo & Jennifer Corrin, Small States: a Collection of Essays, 2019 CLJP, 81- 108
‘Cultural expertise in Australia: Colonial laws, customs, and emergent legal pluralism’ in Austin Sarat and Livia Holden (ed) Studies in Law, Politics, and Society, 2019 Emerald Publishing, 133-155.
‘Mixed Blessings: Fatwas in the Age of Technology’ in Patricia Branco et al (eds), Tools of Meaning: Representation, Objects, and Agency in Law and Religion, I Saggi di Lexia, Aracne, Rome 2018.
‘Colonial Legacies: family law in Singapore and Australia’ in Nadirsyah Hosen (ed) Research Handbook on Islamic Law and Society, Edward Elgar, 2018, 16-47.
‘Judicial Independence, Impartiality and Integrity in Brunei Darussalam’ in Hoong Phun Lee; Marilyn Pittard (eds) Asia-Pacific Judiciaries: Independence, Impartiality and Integrity, CUP, 2018, 57-81.
Ann Black &; Peter Black, ‘Going Global: Australia Seeks to Internationalise Legal Education’ in Andrew Harding, Jiaxiang Hu and Maartje de Visser (eds) in Legal Education in Asia, 2017, Brill, 42-71.
‘Islamic Exceptionalism: Do the Religious and Legal Imperatives of Islam Necessitate Special Responses by Legal Regimes in Secular Nations’ in Erich Kolig &; Malcolm Voyce (eds) Muslim Integration: Pluralism and Multiculturalism in New Zealand and Australia, Lexington, 2016, 229-250.
‘Can there be a compromise? Australia & state of confusion regarding Sharia family law’ in Elisa Giunchi (ed) Muslim Family Law in the Western Courts, Routledge, 2013, 149-167.
‘In the Shadow of our Legal System: Shari’a in Australia’ in Rex Ahdar and Nicholas Aroney (eds) Shari’a in the West, Oxford University Press, 2010, 477 – 508.
‘Brunei Darussalam: Ideology and law in a Malay Sultanate’ in Ann Black &; Gary Bell, Law and Legal Institutions of Asia: traditions, adaptations and innovations, Cambridge University Press, 2011, 299-329.
‘Brunei Darussalam: Balancing a British legacy with a Malay and Islamic identity’ in Joseph Liow and Nadirsyah Hosen (eds.), Islam in Southeast Asia, Routledge, 2009, 185-214.
‘Informed by Ideology: a Review of the Court Reforms in Brunei Darussalam’ in Andrew Harding &; Pip Nicholson, New Courts in Asia, Routledge: Asian Law Series, 2009, 327-349.
‘Islamisation, Modernity and Re-positioning of women in Brunei’ in Amanda Whiting &; Carloyn Evans (eds) Mixed Blessings: Laws, Religions and Women's Rights in the Asia-Pacific Region, Brill, 2006, 211-240.
‘Religious Rights: Testing the Limits of Tolerance’ in Bertus De Villiers & Pan Mohammad Faiz (eds) Courts and Diversity: Twenty Years of the Constitutional Court of Indonesia (Brill) in press.
‘Through an Islamic Lens: Inequalities in Brunei’s Personal Status Laws’ in Jean-Louis Halperin and Nathalie Bernard-Maugiron et al (eds) Handbook on Personal Status Laws (Routledge) in press.

Publications on Asia and Islam
BOOKS:

Jahid Bhuiyan and Ann Black, Religious Freedom in Secular States: 21st Century Perspectives, Brill 2022.
Ann Black, Nadir Hosen and Hussein Esmaeili, Modern Perspectives on Islamic Law, Edward Elgar, 2014.
Ann Black, Gary Bell (eds), Law and Legal Institutions of Asia: traditions, adaptations and innovations, Cambridge University Press, 2011.

Religious Freedom in Secular Staters.jpg

JOURNAL ARTICLES:

‘The Sultanate of Brunei’s Gender Paradox’ (2022) 23 (2) Australian Journal of Asian Law: Women and Legal Change in Asia, 45-51.
‘Regulating the COVID-19 Pandemic: Fatwas, Laws and Policy in Australia’ (2022) Vol 7 (1) Journal of Law and Policy Transformation, 9-27.
'Development of Sharia and Legal Studies in Australia’ (2022) Vol 20 (1) Jurnal Hukum Islam 1.
‘Exporting a Constitutional Court to Brunei?: an analysis of benefits, impediments and prospects’ (2022) 8 (2) Constitutional Review, 361-391.
‘Something amiss in the Sultanate of Brunei Darussalam: reflections on diversity, inclusion, and the rule of law’ (2021) July, Advancing Together: Rule of Law in Asia
‘Monarchy in Brunei: Marching to the beat of a different drum’ (2020) 7 Royal Studies Journal, 94 -116.
‘An Islamic Court in Context: an ethnographic study of Judicial Reasoning: an Islamic Court in Context: an ethnographic study of Judicial Reasoning by Erin E. Stiles (2020) 16 Manchester Journal of Transnational Islamic Law & Practice, 222-227.
‘Casting the First Stone: the significance of Brunei Darussalam’s Syariah Penal Code Order for LGBTIQ Bruneians’ (2019) 20 The Australian Journal of Asian Law, 247-263.
‘Brunei’s stoning for ‘gay-sex’ law flies under the radar’ (2020) 4 East Asia Forum.
‘Adaptations of Islamic family law for the Australian Context’ (2017) 30 Aust. Family Law J,159-179.
Ann Black; Kwang-Soo Jung, ‘When a revealed affair is a crime, but a hidden one is romance: adultery laws in the Republic of Korea’ [2014] International Survey of Family Law, 275 -308.
Ramifications of the English High Court case of Re AI v MT [2013] Lawasia, 18-22.
‘Court ceremonies, ritual and symbolism: how Islamic law and English common law are conceptualised and apply to an unlawful killing’ (2012) 21 Griffith Law Review, 500-533.
‘Replicating ‘a model of mutual respect’: Could Singapore’s legal pluralism work in Australia?’ (2012) 65 Journal of Legal Pluralism, 1-37.
Kerrie Sadiq & Ann Black, ‘Embracing Sharia-Compliant Products through Regulatory Amendment to Achieve Parity of Treatment’ 2012 (34) Sydney Law Review, 189 -211.
‘Good and bad Sharia: Australia’s mixed response to Islamic law’ (2011) 17 (1) UNSW Law Journal Forum: Religion and Australian Law, (with Kerrie Sadiq), 383- 412.
‘Legal recognition of Sharia law: Is this the right direction for Australian family matters? (2010) 84 Family Matters, 64-69.
'Fatwas and Surgery: How and Why a Fatwa May Inform a Muslim Patient's Surgical Options' (2009) 79 (12) Australian and New Zealand Journal of Surgery 866-871.
‘Fatwas: Their Role in Contemporary Secular Australia' (2009) 18 (2) Griffith Law Review: A Journal of Social and Critical Legal Studies, 405-427 (with Nadirsyah Hosen).
‘Window into Shari’ah Family Law’ Part 1: Marriage (2010) 15 Family Relationships Quarterly.
‘Window into Shari’ah Family Law’ Part 2: Divorce (2010) 16 Family Relationships Quarterly.11-13.
'The Stronger Rule of the More Enlightened European; the Consequences of Colonialism on Dispute Resolution in the Sultanate of Brunei’, (2009) 13 (1) Legal History, 93-122.
‘Finding the role for Shari’a law in post-reformasi Indonesia’ 2008 Lawasia Journal, 165 –180.
‘Accommodating Shariah law in Australia’s legal system’ (2008) 33 (4) Alternative law Journal, 214-219.
‘Ideology and Law: The Impact of the MIB ideology on law and Dispute Resolution in the Sultanate of Brunei Darussalam’ (2008) 3 Asian Journal of Comparative Law, 105 -142.
‘Double Jeopardy Revisited: Why Common law countries are tinkering with one of the Law’s most treasured precepts’ (2007) 1 Law Journal of the National Academy of Nepal, 121-144.
‘Responding to the Challenge of Multiculturalism: Islamic law courses in law school curricula in Australasia’ (2006) 10 Flinders Journal of Law Reform, 205 -226 (with Jamila Hussain)
‘The Blind Masseurs Case’ (2006) LAWASIA Journal (with Jeong-Seop Yoon)
‘Women and Religion in the Legal System of Brunei Darussalam’ (2006) Pandora’s Box, 14-32.
‘Unravelling the Dr Death Inquiry’ (2005) 11 The Verdict, 16-21.
‘Survival or Extinction? Animistic Dispute Resolution in the Sultanate of Brunei’ (2004) 13
Willamette Journal of International Law and Dispute Resolution, 1-24.
‘Alternative Dispute Resolution in Brunei Darussalam: the Blending of Imported and Traditional Processes’ (2001) Bond Law Review, 305 – 334.
‘Beyond Myths and Misunderstanding: What Consent to Sexual Acts Really Means’ (2004) The Verdict, Queensland Law Society, Spring, pp.6-8.
‘Spotlight on Double Jeopardy’ (2003) May, The Verdict,4-8.
‘ADR in Brunei Darussalam: the meeting of three traditions’ (2001) 4 (8) The ADR Bulletin, 107- 109.
‘Finding the Equilibrium for Dispute Resolution: how Brunei Darussalam balances a British legacy with its Malay and Islamic identity’ (2002) 7 International Trade and Business Law Annual, 185 – 214.

2019, ‘Can I have a fatwa?: uses and abuses of fatwa in an electronic and global age’ Global Law Conference: CLE, Paris, France, 3-5 January 2019.
2018, ‘Recalibrating the Scales of Criminal Justice in Brunei Darussalam’ Religious Penal Clauses - Colonial Legacies and Contemporary Practice Conference, NUS, Singapore 4-5 December.
2018, ‘Law, religion and intolerance in SE Asia’ Britain Pacific Conference, London, United Kingdom, 14-21 December.
2018, ‘Fatwas: informing a Muslim patient's surgical & medical options’ Medico-legal Conference, Budapest 12 July.
2018, ‘At the Crossroads: Islam, law and growing intolerance in SE Asia’, Global Law Conference, CLE Paris, 5 January.
2017, ‘Dynamics of legal change in Southeast Asia’ for Institut für Strafrecht und Kriminologie, University of Vienna Law School, 11 October.
2017, ‘Can I have a fatwa on that?’ CLE Global Law Conference in Paris, 6 January.
2016, ‘Cultural Expertise in Australia: Colonial laws, customs, and emergent legal pluralism’ at Cultural Expertise in Europe: what is it useful for? Oxford University, December.
2016, ‘Mixed Blessings: Fatwas in the Age of Technology’ for Technologies of Law and Religion International Symposium, Prato, Italy, 13-15 June .
2015, ‘One law for all?’ at Shari’a, Culture and Legal Pluralism Symposium, UWS Bankstown Campus, 14–15 September.
2015, ‘Syariah Criminal law in a religiously diverse nation: the case of Brunei Darussalam’ ASLI Conference, Taipei, Taiwan 20-22 May.
2015, ‘Consent: an Islamic Perspective’ in the Medico-Legal section, Australian & International ENT Conference, Canazei, Italy. 24 January.
2014: ‘Legal pluralism in SE Asia: intersection of law and religion’ Conference on Law and Religion, NUS, Singapore.
2013, ‘Medical and Surgical Fatwas’, East-West Medico-Legal Conference in Istanbul 28 July.
2013, ‘Pros and Cons of Dual systems of Family Law’ LAWASIA Family Law Conference, Penang, Malaysia,13-14 July.
2012, ‘Can Islamic Family Law Be Reconciled in Non-Muslim Countries? Challenges and Solutions’, Shariah Law Symposium, Convention Centre, Brisbane ,7 December.
2012, ‘Islamic Family Law: its relevance and adherence today by Australian Muslims’ Federal Magistrates National Conference, 26 April.
2011, 'A System of Mutual Respect: - Would Singapore's Model of Legal Pluralism Work in Australia?'; Asian Law Institute Seminar Series, National University of Singapore, September.
2011, ‘Maintaining the right to be different: situating Islamic family law within secular common law legal systems. LAWASIA Conference Seoul, October.
2011, ‘Unlawful Killing: Court ceremonies and ritual in Islamic law’, Ceremonies of Law Conference, University of Wollongong, December 2011.
2012: Plenary Speaker for the Federal Magistrates National Conference, ‘Islamic Family Law: its relevance and adherence today by Australian Muslims’, 26 th April, 2012.
2011, ‘Beating a different drum: Islam, Politics and Women’s Rights in Brunei Darussalam’, Spirited Voices from the Muslim World, University of Sydney, April 2011.
2010, ‘Surgical fatwas’, International Otolaryngology Conference, Campitello, Italy.
2010, ‘Shari’a law in Australia’s secular legal system: some essentials of Islamic law for legal practitioners’ member’s forum for the Queensland Law Society.
2009, ‘Perspectives on Muslim Life: the Legal Issues’ for the Queensland Law Society, as a community forum for legal practitioners and community workers (counsellors, social workers, policy and government officers).
2008, Judges Conference, Supreme Court of Queensland on the topic of ‘Muftis and their fatwas; Kadis and their judgments’.
2009, 'Encountering ‘the Other’: How and Why the Teaching Islamic Law and the Laws of Asian Countries is Permeating Legal Education in Australia. 22nd Lawasia Conference, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
2008, ‘Reflections on the teaching of Islamic law in Australia.’ Harvard University Law School Workshop on Islamic Law.
2008, ‘Muftis and their fatwas; Kadis and their judgments’, Judges Conference, Supreme Court of Queensland.
2007, ‘Demystifying Syariah Law’, Australian Institute of International Affairs.
2007, ‘Informed by Ideology: A Review of the Court Reforms in Brunei Darussalam’, New Courts in the Asia-Pacific Region Workshop, Centre for Asia-Pacific Initiatives, University of Victoria, Canada.
2007, ‘Giving Limited Recognition to Shariah Law in Australia’ LAWASIA Annual Conference, Hong Kong SAR,
2006, ‘Fatwas and their role in Islamic Law’, QLS Legal Education and Young Lawyers Conference, Royal on the Park Hotel, Brisbane, 9 June.
2006, ‘Fatwas and their role in contemporary secular Australia’, UQ Alumni Association and Extension Studies Domestic, the Institute of Continuing and TESOL Education, The University of Queensland, Emmanuel College, St Lucia, 20 September.
2005, Ann Black and Jamila Hussein, ‘Islamic Law: should it be taught in Australian Law Schools and how?’ Australasian Law Teachers Association Conference, ‘One law for All?’ Waikato Law School, New Zealand.
2004, ‘Islamic Law: Its Relevance for Legal Education in Australia’ Islam and Society: Perspectives and Prospects Conference, The University of Queensland.
2004, ‘Islamisation and Ideology in the Sultanate of Brunei Darussalam’, 22 nd Annual Law and Society Conference, Recollections, Official Knowledge and the Memory of Unofficial Practices, Griffith University.

REFERENCE WORKS

Elgar’s Encyclopedia of Asian Law, edited by Veronica Taylor and Sarah Biddulph Melbourne Law School’s Asian Law Centre Two chapters on Brunei for Encyclopedia of Asian Law (forthcoming).
Encyclopedia of Law and Religion, edited by Gerhardt Robbers & W. Cole Durham ‘Brunei Darussalam: a Malay Islamic Monarchy’ Brill, 2015.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Shari’ah Law in Brunei 2014: a year in Review’ 2015 Yearbook
Concise Australian Legal Dictionary, Contributor for terms and concepts on Islamic law and Criminal law (2012) (2016). 2012 was the first time Islamic law and concepts had been included: 50 entries with additions in the 2016 edition.
Encyclopedia of World Constitutions, ‘Constitution of Brunei Darussalam’ and ‘Constitution of Timor Leste’ Facts on File, New York.
Legal Systems of the World: a Political, Social and Cultural Encyclopaedia, edited by Herbert M Kritzer, ‘Country Profile: Brunei Darussalam’, ABC-CLIO, 2002.

SCHOLARLY INTERNATIONAL & NATIONAL CONFERENCE PAPERS

2022, ‘Exporting a Constitutional Court to Brunei? An analysis of the Benefits and Prospects’. 5th International Constitutional Court International Symposium, Bali, Indonesia, 5 -7 October 2022. Bali, Indonesia.
2022 ‘Pluralising Legalities: Religious Freedom in Secular States’. Legal Pluralism and Law Reform. Otago Centre for Law and Society , Faculty of Law Otago University.
2021, ‘Development of Sharia and Legal Studies in Australia’, International Conference of Sharia and Legal Studies, Sharia Faculty of Iain Pekalongan, Indonesia, 9 November.
2021, The Syariah Factor: One of the many challenges for ‘foreign’ judges in the courts of Brunei Darussalam’ at Foreign Judges on Domestic Courts University of Hong Kong [Zoom] 7 May.
2019, ‘Brunei Darussalam: Undertaking a bold experiment in Criminal Law’ National Criminal Law of ASEAN Countries, Bangkok, Chulalongkorn University, 21 May.

Law and Legal Insitutions of Asia (Cambridge University Press).jpg