Professor Irene Watson

Research Professor of Law UniSA Justice & Society

City West Campus (LB1-05)
tel +61 8 830 20874

email Irene.Watson@unisa.edu.au

Research Degree Supervisor

About me

UniSA Justice & Society

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About me

Professor Irene Watson is a Researh Professor of Law with Justice and Society, at the University of South Australia, where her research focuses on Indigenous Peoples, colonialism and international law. Professor Watson belongs to the Tanganekald, Meintangk, Bunganditj and Potaruwutj First Nations Peoples, of the South East of South Australia. From 2016-2023 Irene was appointed as Pro Vice Chanellor Aboriginal Leadership and Strategy and David Unaipon Chair, at the University of South Australia. Irene holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) and a PhD in Law from the University of Adelaide, and was awarded the Bonython Prize for best law thesis in 2000. She previously held academic positions at the University of Adelaide and Flinders University Law Schools. Irene was a post-doctoral research fellow with the University of Sydney Law School from 2005 to 2008 when she took up an appointment at the David Unaipon College of Indigenous Research and Education at the Universty of South Australia. Professor Watson has provided independent academic opinions to First Nations Peoples across Australia for some 40 years. In 1989 she was acknowledged for her scholarship and her being the first Aboriginal law graduate in the dedication of the 'Irene Watson Room' at the Adelaide University Law School, this was given a ceremonial re-launch in 2016. Another room at the Adelaide University of Adelaide was dedicated to her in 1999 by the student union. In 1987 she was nominated by the National Aboriginal and Islander Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) as 'SA Aboriginal of the Year'. She has held a legal practicing certificate since 1985 and been a member of the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement in South Australia since 1973, where she served as a board member, legal practitioner and CEO. From 2010 until 2019 Irene was the Chairperson of Kungari Aboriginal Heritage Association, established in 1988 by Elders for the purpose of managing and protecting Aboriginal lands and culture in the South East region of S.A. She has served on numerous Aboriginal bodies across Australia, primarily concerned with advancing Aboriginal rights. She has written numerous journal articles and book chapters; her books include Aboriginal Peoples, Colonialism, and International Law: Raw Law (Routledge 2015), and Indigenous Peoples as Subjects in International Law (Routledge 2017).

Research

Research focus

Law
Cultural Studies
Other Studies in Human Society
Aboriginal Peoples and the Law
Business and Management

Highlights

SA History Trust Grant awarded in (2023) in partnership with the S.A. National Trust, 'Telling the Whole Story: The Maria Creek Project'. This project engages across the south east region of South Australia, to advance two-way engagement and develop partnerships with the Kingston District Council and the South East Landscape Board. The project enables the voices of Meintangk First Nations People to tell their story from the long perspective of 65,000 years connection to country.

Research

Outputs

Research outputs for the last seven years are shown below. Some long-standing staff members may have older outputs included. To see earlier years visit ORCID, ResearcherID or Scopus

Open access indicates that an output is open access.

Highlights

Year	Output
2022	Watson, I 2022, 'Inter-Nation relationships and the natural world as relation', in U Natarajan & J Dehm (eds), Locating Nature: Making and Unmaking International Law, Cambridge University Press, UK, ch. 14, pp. 354-374. Open access 4
2018	Watson, I 2018, 'Aboriginal recognition: treaties and colonial constitutions, "We have been here forever..."', Bond Law Review, vol. 30, no. 1, article no. 2, pp. 7-18. Open access
2018	Watson, I 2018, 'Aboriginal relationships to the natural world: Colonial 'protection' of human rights and the environment', Journal of Human Rights and the Environment, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 119-140. Open access 29 13 8
2017	Watson, I 2017, Indigenous peoples as subjects of international law, Routledge, US. 4 6
2014	Watson, I 2014, Aboriginal peoples, colonialism and international law : raw law, Taylor and Francis, UK. 59 55

Books

Year	Output
2017	Watson, I 2017, Indigenous peoples as subjects of international law, Routledge, US. 4 6
2014	Watson, I 2014, Aboriginal peoples, colonialism and international law : raw law, Taylor and Francis, UK. 59 55

Chapters

Year	Output
2022	Watson, I 2022, 'Inter-Nation relationships and the natural world as relation', in U Natarajan & J Dehm (eds), Locating Nature: Making and Unmaking International Law, Cambridge University Press, UK, ch. 14, pp. 354-374. Open access 4
2018	Watson, I 2018, 'Civilizing missions and humanitarian interventions: into the laws and territories of first nations', in J Nichols and A Swiffen (eds), Legal violence and the limits of the law, Routledge, US, ch. 7, pp. 108-121. Open access 1
2017	Watson, I 2017, 'Aboriginal laws of the land: surviving fracking, golf courses and drains among other extractive industries', in N Rogers & M Maloney (eds), Law as if earth really mattered: the wild law judgment project, Routledge, UK, ch.14, pp. 209-218. Open access 5 45
2017	Watson, I 2017, 'First Nations, Indigenous Peoples: our laws have always been here', in I Watson (ed.), Indigenous Peoples as subjects of international law, Routledge, US, ch. 5, pp. 96-119. Open access 5
2017	Watson, I 2017, 'Introduction', Indigenous Peoples as Subjects of International Law, Routledge, US, pp. 1-4. Open access 1
2017	Watson, I 2017, 'Standing our ground and telling the one true story', in P Dudgeon et al. (eds), Us women, our ways, our world, Magabala Books, Australia, ch. 10, pp. 129-142.
2017	Watson, I 2017, 'What is the mainstream? The laws of First Nations peoples', in R Levy et al. (eds), New directions for law in Australia : Essays in contemporary law reform, Australian National University Press, Canberra, Australia, ch. 18, pp. 213-220. Open access
2016	Watson, I 2016, 'Genocide, the state, and original first nations', in V Negri & I Schulte-Tenckhoff (eds), Mimesis la formation du droit international = Towards international normativity, Editions A. Pedone, France, ch. 10, pp. 171-186.
2015	Watson, I & Burns, M 2015, 'Indigenous knowledges: a strategy for First Nations peoples engagement in higher education', in S Varnham, P Kamvounias & J Squelch (eds), Higher education and the law, Federation Press, Australia, ch. 4, pp. 41-52.
2014	Watson, I 2014, 'First Nations stories, grandmother's law: too many stories to tell', in H Douglas et al., Australian feminist judgments: righting and rewriting law, Hart Publishing Limited, UK, ch. 3, pp. 41-54.
2012	Watson, I & Venne, S 2012, 'Talking up Indigenous Peoples' original intent in a space dominated by state interventions', in E Pulitano (ed.), Indigenous rights in the age of the UN declaration, Cambridge University Press, UK, ch. 3, pp. 87-109. Open access 12
2010	Watson, I & Venne, S 2010, 'Sex, race and questions of Aboriginality', in M Thornton (ed.), Sex discrimination in uncertain times, ANU E-Press, Canberra, ACT, Australia, ch.14, pp. 347-367. Open access
2009	Watson, I 2009, 'Assimilation agendas of the state: what space remains for Aboriginal law and culture', in P Singh (ed.), Indigenous Identity and Activism, Shipra Publications, India, ch. 7, pp. 124-137.
2008	Watson, I 2008, 'De-colonising the space: dreaming back to country', in S Morgan, T Mia, B Kwaymullina (eds), Heartsick for Country, Freemantle Arts Centre Press, Australia, ch. 4, pp. 90-107.

Journal Articles

Year	Output
2022	Bowrey, K, Watson, I & Hadley, M 2022, 'Decolonising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander research', Australian Universities' Review, vol. 64, no. 1, pp. 54-64. Open access
2019	Watson, I 2019, 'Colonial logic and the Coorong massacres', Adelaide Law Review, vol. 40, no. 1, pp. 167-171. Open access 1 1
2018	Watson, I 2018, 'Aboriginal recognition: treaties and colonial constitutions, "We have been here forever..."', Bond Law Review, vol. 30, no. 1, article no. 2, pp. 7-18. Open access
2018	Watson, I 2018, 'Aboriginal relationships to the natural world: Colonial 'protection' of human rights and the environment', Journal of Human Rights and the Environment, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 119-140. Open access 29 13 8
2017	Watson, I 2017, 'Aboriginal laws and colonial foundation', Griffith Law Review, vol. 26, no. 4, pp. 469-479. 12 4
2016	Watson, I 2016, 'First Nations and the colonial project', Inter Gentes, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 30-39. Open access
2014	O'Brien, L & Watson, I 2014, 'In conversation with Uncle Lewis: bushfires, weather-makers, collective management', Alternative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples, vol. 10, no. 5, pp. 450-461. Open access 10
2014	Watson, I 2014, 'Re-centring first nations knowledge and places in a terra nullius space', Alternative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples, vol. 10, no. 5, pp. 508-520. Open access 71
2012	Watson, I 2012, 'The future is our past: we once were sovereign and we still are', Indigenous Law Bulletin, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 12-15. Open access
2011	Watson, I 2011, 'Aboriginal(ising) International Law and other centres of power', Griffith Law Review, vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 619-640. 19 16
2011	Watson, I 2011, 'The 2007 declaration on the rights of Indigenous peoples: Indigenous survival - where to from here?', Griffith Law Review, vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 507-514. 10 5
2010	Watson, I 2010, 'Universality: what space exists for Aboriginality?', International Journal of Critical Indigenous Studies, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 15-25. Open access
2009	Watson, I 2009, 'Aboriginality and the violence of colonialism', Borderlands E-Journal: New Spaces in the Humanities, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 1-8. Open access
2009	Watson, I 2009, 'In the Northern Territory intervention what is saved or rescued and at what cost?', Cultural Studies Review, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 45-60. Open access
2009	Watson, I 2009, 'Sovereign space, caring for country, and the homeless position of Aboriginal peoples', South Atlantic Quarterly, vol. 108, no. 1, pp. 27-51. 76 62

Conferences

Year	Output
2012	Cleland, A, Fredericks, B & Watson, I 2012, 'Cultural competence in Indigenous Australian social work: what's needed in preparing human service practitioners to work effectively with Indigenous Australian people', 5th biennial International Indigenous Development Research Conference 2012, Ngā̄ Pae o te Māramatanga, pp. 115-121. Open access
2008	Watson, I 2008, 'A journey away from violence to a place of law-fullness', in Te Rito, Joseph S (ed.), Proceedings of the traditional knowledge conference 2008 : traditional knowledge and gateways to balanced relationships, Nga Pae o te Maramatanga, pp. 35-45.
2008	Watson, I 2008, 'The recognition of cultural background in Indigenous sentencing', ANU/NJCA Sentencing Conference 2008, National Judicial College of Australia.

Reports

Year	Output
2023	Bowrey, K, Cochrane, T, Hadley, M, McKeough, J, Pappalardo, K, Thiel, J, Watson, I & Weatherall, K 2023, Producing, owning and managing knowledge in the 21st century university: fieldwork report, University Open Access, Australia. Open access

Research

Current research & highlights

ARC, project 'Managing Producing and Owning Knowledge in the 21st Century', DP200110578 was awarded in 2020 in colloboration with K. Bowrey, (UNSW) J. McKeough,(UTS) K. Pappalardo, (QUT) K. Weatherall (USYD) and T. Cochrane (QUT). This project investigated how open access to research can be improved and made more accessible to not only university researchers but for the public benefit also. However open access raises critical questions for First Nations who often have negative research experiences. The project is developing guides for both First Nations and researchers to navigate the legal regulatory framework of intellectual property laws, sector wide grant conditions, licensing agreements with libraries and university policies on intellectual property ownership, authorship, open access and engagement. Discussions with First Nations have focused on governance frameworks in developing guidelines which provide a two way approach that values and recognises Aboriginal ownership of Aboriginal Knowledges. The project objective is to: build specific understanding of the research interface with First Nations. The project team will hold a roundtable with the Academy of Social Sciences, at the conclusion of the project to introduce and discuss our findings.

The Australian legal system and its response to Aboriginal law and culture, this project began in 2008 supported by an AIATSIS research grant. It is an archival reading of judicial constructions of Aboriginality across Australian legal history. The archive includes the earliest newspaper reports of South Australian courts from 1840-1860 which involve First Nations peoples coming before the courts for sentencing. Formal law reporting didn’t occur in South Australia until the 1860s. Court reports earlier than that are found in the archives of the newspapers and judges’ notebooks of the time. I have taken a decolonising approach to the archive, deploying a First Nations’ lens to analyse these reports. This project builds upon the data gathered to date and examines the universality of Australian law while opening space to a pluriversal view.

External engagement & recognition

Collaborations

Highlights

Editorial Board Member International Advisory Board Feminist Legal Studies, 2016

Editorial Board Member International Journal Critical Indigenous Studies, 2016

Editorial Board Member Australian Journal: Critical Race and Whiteness Studies, 2016

Editorial Board Member Editorial Board Alter Natives Journal, 2016

Member, Indigenous Higher Education Advisory Committee, 2011-2012

Member External Review, of Law Programs Southern Cross University Law Review, 2011.

Chair and member Kungari Aboriginal Heritage Association, 1988-2016

Member Indigenous Studies Research Network, QUT, 2008-2016

External engagement & recognition

Collaborations

Organisation	Country
Central Queensland University	AUSTRALIA
University of Adelaide	AUSTRALIA
University of New England	AUSTRALIA
University of New South Wales	AUSTRALIA
University of Newcastle	AUSTRALIA
University of South Australia	AUSTRALIA
University of Sydney	AUSTRALIA
Working Group on Indigenous Populations	SWITZERLAND

External engagement & recognition

Engagement/recognition	Year
Editorial board member Feminist Legal Studies, Springer	2024
Editorial board member Feminist Legal Studies, Springer	2023
Indigenous Studies Excellence and Engagement Group, ARC ERA, advising on development and implementation of the new FOR 45 Code, Indigenous Studies Australian Research Council	2023
Editorial board member Feminist Legal Studies, Springer	2022
Indigenous Studies Excellence and Engagement Group, ARC ERA, advising on development and implementation of the new FOR 45 Code, Indigenous Studies Australian Research Council	2022
Editorial board member Feminist Legal Studies, Springer	2021
Indigenous Studies Excellence and Engagement (ISEE) Group Australian Research Council (ARC)	2021
Indigenous Studies Excellence and Engagement Group, ARC ERA, advising on development and implementation of the new FOR 45 Code, Indigenous Studies Australian Research Council	2021
Editorial board member Feminist Legal Studies, Springer	2020
Editorial board member Feminist Legal Studies, Springer	2019
Assessor Australian Research Council (ARC)	2018
Chair Kungari Aboriginal Cultural Association	2018
Editorial board member Feminist Legal Studies, Springer	2018
Editorial Board Member Alter Natives Journal	2018
Editorial Board Member International Journal Critical Indigenous Studies	2018
Engagement and Impact Assessment EI 2018 Panel Member (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research Panel) Australian Research Council (ARC)	2018
Member Indigenous Studies Research Network, QUT	2018
Assessor Australian Research Council (ARC)	2017
Chair Kungari Aboriginal Cultural Association	2017
Editorial board member Feminist Legal Studies, Springer	2017
Editorial Board Member Alter Natives Journal	2017
Editorial Board Member International Journal Critical Indigenous Studies	2017
External Assessor, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada	2017
Member Indigenous Studies Research Network, QUT	2017
Peer reviewer for Law Discipline Australian Research Council (ARC)	2017
Assessor Australian Research Council (ARC)	2016
Chair Kungari Aboriginal Cultural Association	2016
Committee Member Law Society of South Australia, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee	2016
Editorial board member Feminist Legal Studies, Springer	2016
Editorial Board Member Alter Natives Journal	2016
Editorial Board Member Critical Race and Whiteness Studies Journal	2016
Editorial Board Member International Journal Critical Indigenous Studies	2016
External assessor Research Council of Canada, Social Sciences and Humanities	2016
International Advisory Board Member, Feminist Legal Studies Kent University	2016
Member Indigenous Studies Research Network, QUT	2016
University of Adelaide Student Union Room named Irene Watson Room The University of Adelaide	2016
Assessor Australian Research Council (ARC)	2015
Chair Kungari Aboriginal Cultural Association	2015
Editorial Board Member International Journal Critical Indigenous Studies	2015
Editorial Board Member Critical Race and Whiteness Studies Journal	2015
External assessor Research Council of Canada, Social Sciences and Humanities	2015
International Advisory Board Member, Feminist Legal Studies Kent University	2015
Member Indigenous Studies Research Network, QUT	2015
University of Adelaide Student Union Room named Irene Watson Room The University of Adelaide	2015
Assessor Australian Research Council (ARC)	2014
Chair Kungari Aboriginal Cultural Association	2014
Editorial Board Member Critical Race and Whiteness Studies Journal	2014
Editorial Board Member International Journal Critical Indigenous Studies	2014
External assessor Research Council of Canada, Social Sciences and Humanities	2014
International Advisory Board Member, Feminist Legal Studies Kent University	2014
Member Indigenous Studies Research Network, QUT	2014
University of Adelaide Student Union Room named Irene Watson Room The University of Adelaide	2014
Assessor Australian Research Council (ARC)	2013
Chair Kungari Aboriginal Cultural Association	2013
Editorial Board Member International Journal Critical Indigenous Studies	2013
Editorial Board Member Critical Race and Whiteness Studies Journal	2013
Expert Consultation on civil and political rights of Indigenous Peoples Intervention made to the United Nations Independent Expert on The promotion of an Equitable and Democratic International Order - Alfred de Zayas, Expert Consultation Geneva	2013
External assessor Research Council of Canada, Social Sciences and Humanities	2013
International Advisory Board Member, Feminist Legal Studies Kent University	2013
Member Indigenous Studies Research Network, QUT	2013
Member Indigenous Higher Education Advisory Committee, Minister of Education, Canberra	2013
University of Adelaide Student Union Room named Irene Watson Room The University of Adelaide	2013
Assessor Australian Research Council (ARC)	2012
Chair Kungari Aboriginal Cultural Association	2012
Editorial Board Member International Journal Critical Indigenous Studies	2012
Editorial Board Member Critical Race and Whiteness Studies Journal	2012
Expert Consultation on Aboriginal law, native title and failed recognition Intervention to United Nations Seminar on Strengthening partnership between Indigenous Peoples and States, Treaties, Agreements and Constructive Arrangements, Geneva	2012
External assessor Research Council of Canada, Social Sciences and Humanities	2012
International Advisory Board Member, Feminist Legal Studies Kent University	2012
Member Indigenous Studies Research Network, QUT	2012
Member Indigenous Higher Education Advisory Committee, Minister of Education, Canberra	2012
University of Adelaide Student Union Room named Irene Watson Room The University of Adelaide	2012
Assessor Australian Research Council (ARC)	2011
Chair Kungari Aboriginal Cultural Association	2011
Editorial Board Member International Journal Critical Indigenous Studies	2011
Editorial Board Member Critical Race and Whiteness Studies Journal	2011
External assessor Research Council of Canada, Social Sciences and Humanities	2011
External Reviewer, Law Programs Southern Cross University Law Review, NSW	2011
Gladys Elphick Award South Australian Aboriginal Community	2011
International Advisory Board Member, Feminist Legal Studies Kent University	2011
Member Indigenous Studies Research Network, QUT	2011
University of Adelaide Student Union Room named Irene Watson Room The University of Adelaide	2011
Assessor Australian Research Council (ARC)	2010
Chair Kungari Aboriginal Cultural Association	2010
Editorial Board Member Critical Race and Whiteness Studies Journal	2010
Editorial Board Member International Journal Critical Indigenous Studies	2010
External assessor Research Council of Canada, Social Sciences and Humanities	2010
International Advisory Board Member, Feminist Legal Studies Kent University	2010
Member Juvenile Justice Review Board South Australia	2010
Member Indigenous Studies Research Network, QUT	2010
University of Adelaide Student Union Room named Irene Watson Room The University of Adelaide	2010
Vice Chancellor Nomination ATN Women Executive Development Program	2010
Assessor Australian Research Council (ARC)	2009
Chair Kungari Aboriginal Cultural Association	2009
Editorial Board Member Critical Race and Whiteness Studies Journal	2009
External assessor Research Council of Canada, Social Sciences and Humanities	2009
Member Juvenile Justice Review Board South Australia	2009
Member Indigenous Studies Research Network, QUT	2009
University of Adelaide Student Union Room named Irene Watson Room The University of Adelaide	2009
Assessor Australian Research Council (ARC)	2008
Chair Kungari Aboriginal Cultural Association	2008
Editorial Board Member Critical Race and Whiteness Studies Journal	2008
External assessor Research Council of Canada, Social Sciences and Humanities	2008
Member Indigenous Studies Research Network, QUT	2008
Member Artists in the Black Reference Group, NSW	2008
Member Juvenile Justice Review Board South Australia	2008
University of Adelaide Student Union Room named Irene Watson Room The University of Adelaide	2008
Visiting Fellowship University of Westminster
Visiting Fellowship Keele University

Teaching & student supervision

Teaching strengths

Experiential teaching
Innovative teaching

Highlights

Aboriginal Knowledges

Colonialism and the Law

International Law and Aboriginal Peoples

Critical Legal Theory

Legal History

Teaching & student supervision

Research degree supervision

Supervisions from 2010 shown

Thesis title	Student status
Laws that colonise: Aboriginal children, child protection and the Australian legal system	Current
Indigenous education policies in Malaysia and Australia: a study of the recognition of Indigenous rights and self-determination	Completed
Society and the recognition of First Nations in international and domestic laws	Completed

Professor Irene Watson

About me

About me

UniSA Justice & Society

About me

Professional Associations

Experience

Qualifications

Work history

Research

Research focus

Highlights

Projects

Other projects

Outputs

Highlights

Books

Chapters

Journal Articles

Conferences

Reports

Current research & highlights

External engagement & recognition

Collaborations

Highlights

Collaborations

External engagement & recognition

Editorial board member

Editorial board member

Indigenous Studies Excellence and Engagement Group, ARC ERA, advising on development and implementation of the new FOR 45 Code, Indigenous Studies

Editorial board member

Indigenous Studies Excellence and Engagement Group, ARC ERA, advising on development and implementation of the new FOR 45 Code, Indigenous Studies

Editorial board member

Indigenous Studies Excellence and Engagement (ISEE) Group

Indigenous Studies Excellence and Engagement Group, ARC ERA, advising on development and implementation of the new FOR 45 Code, Indigenous Studies

Editorial board member

Editorial board member

Assessor

Chair

Editorial board member

Editorial Board Member

Editorial Board Member

Engagement and Impact Assessment EI 2018 Panel Member (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research Panel)

Member

Assessor

Chair

Editorial board member

Editorial Board Member

Editorial Board Member

External Assessor, Social Sciences and Humanities

Member

Peer reviewer for Law Discipline

Assessor

Chair

Committee Member

Editorial board member

Editorial Board Member

Editorial Board Member

Editorial Board Member

External assessor

International Advisory Board Member, Feminist Legal Studies

Member

University of Adelaide Student Union Room named Irene Watson Room

Assessor

Chair

Editorial Board Member

Editorial Board Member

External assessor

International Advisory Board Member, Feminist Legal Studies

Member

University of Adelaide Student Union Room named Irene Watson Room

Assessor

Chair

Editorial Board Member

Editorial Board Member

External assessor

International Advisory Board Member, Feminist Legal Studies

Member

University of Adelaide Student Union Room named Irene Watson Room

Assessor