Prof. Spencer Zifcak

Spencer Zifcak was President of Liberty Victoria during 2011 and 2012. He is Allan Myers Professor of Law and Director of the Institute of Legal Studies at Australian Catholic University. He obtained his Ph.D from the London School of Economics and Political Science. His principal areas of research and teaching are in public international law, comparative constitutional law, international human rights law and international organization.

His two most recent books, Globalization and the Rule of Law and United Nations Reform have been published by Routledge (UK). He has been Visiting Fellow at the UNESCO Centre for Human Rights Education at Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia; Visiting Fellow at Wofson College, University of Oxford; Visiting Scholar in the Centre for Global Justice and Human Rights, New York University; and Visiting Fellow in the Faculty of Law, Trinity College, Dublin.

In 2010 he was awarded the position of Benjamin Meaker Visiting Research Professor, Institute of Advanced Studies, University of Bristol (UK). Professor Zifcak has been actively involved in consultancy work concerning the introduction of national human rights legislation. In 2000, he worked with the Constitution Unit at University College, London, in examining the implementation of the UK Human Rights Act. In 2005, he drafted a Model Human Rights Act for Australia which formed one key building block for the establishment of the National Human Rights Consultation conducted in Australia in 2009. In 2008, he worked with colleagues at the University of Bristol in the UK on the development and drafting of human rights legislation in Northern Ireland. He serves voluntarily on governmental and non-governmental boards and committees.

In addition to his involvement with Liberty Victoria, Prof Zifcak is a Director of the leading public policy think-tank, the Australia Institute and the Centre for Dialogue at La Trobe University. He serves on the Steering Committee of the Australian Human Rights Group and is a Director of the Accountability Round Table, the leading advocacy organisation for integrity and accountability in Australian government.