The entering undergraduate class of 2023 was approximately 67 students.[3] To date, the school has nearly 3000 alumni.[4] Additionally, UQ Law School offers LLM, MICLaw, MICLaw/MCom, MIL, MIR/MIL,[5]MPhil[6] and PhD degrees.[7]
The ULS is home to one of Australia's largest academic law libraries called the Walter Harrison Law Library. The library was built almost 70 years ago in 1949.[8][9] The school has over 93 professional and academic staff.[4] According to the University of Queensland, 81% of 300 students who had graduated from UQ Law school in 2016 had current employment.[10]
History
Although the Law School began properly teaching in 1936, a Faculty of Law was established pro forma with the foundation of the University of Queensland in 1911.[11] This enabled the university to confer ad eundem gradum degrees, an honorary degree recognizing the award given by another university, and Doctors of Laws honoris causa, recognizing the contribution of selected persons toward the establishment of the university.[11]
A limited number of law subjects began to be taught in 1926 when the first Garrick Professor of Law was appointed.[11] However, this was under the ambit of the university's Faculty of Arts, as no law school had been properly established yet.[11] In 1935 Thomas Charles Beirne endowed the university with £20,000, enabling the university's senate to officially approve the law school on 10 May 1935.[11] In May 1936, students commenced studies under the newly formed TC Beirne School of Law.[11]
World Champions (viz. winner of the Frédéric Eisemann Award) (1997, 2000) in the prestigious Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot. Runners-up (1998, 2002). Equal Third Place (2020).[23] Teams from UQ Law (TCB) have been the most successful to partake in this moot (by way of moot wins and runners-up).[24]
World Champions (2008, 2012, 2013, 2018, 2019, 2023, 2024)[25][26][27][28][29][30] in the International Maritime Law Arbitration Moot.
The NICA rankings evaluate law schools based on their performance in moot court competitions. The rankings consider two factors: the weight of the competitions, determined by the number of participating law schools, and the advancement of teams within these competitions. The system provides a straightforward comparison of law schools' performance in moot courts.
The UQ Law School boasts a leading mooting program, with its students consistently excelling in international moot court competitions. Between 2013 and 2023, they achieved an average world ranking of 27th and an Australian ranking of 3rd, making UQ Law School the highest-ranked law school for mooting in Australia.[46]
In 2015, the University of Queensland (UQ) undertook a refurbishment of the west wing of the heritage-listed Forgan Smith building. The project aimed to reimagine the School of Law and the Walter Harrison Law Library, resulting in a program restructure and a smaller cohort size.[48] The refurbishment was completed in 2017 by Brisbane-based architecture firm BVN.[49] The redesigned west wing of the Forgan Smith building has received recognition, including several awards:[49]
RAIA National Awards – Educational Architecture Award;
RAIA National Awards – Interior Architecture Award;
The UQ Law School is Queensland's premier law school; usually achieving the highest rank for law of any Queensland university.[50][51] The UQ Law School is Australia's best academically-performing law school, as measured by the averaged QS citations per paper (CPP) and QS H-Index citations (H-index) ranking, at 27.5;[52]ANU College of Law follows UQ Law at an averaged CPP & H-index ranking of 38.5.[52]
University of Queensland's School of Law often appears to be Australia's foremost law school: according to Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), the school has ranked 1st (nationally) for CPP in 2017,[53] 2018,[54] 2019,[50] and 2020;[52] and 1st, 3rd, and 2nd (nationally) regarding H-index in 2018,[54] 2019,[50] and 2020[52] respectively. Globally, the school currently ranks =25th for QS' CPP metric (alongside Cambridge University's law school) and =30th for QS' H-Index citations metric.[52]
Notably, UQ's Law School achieved a THE-WUR citation ranking of 3rd globally (1st domestically) in 2017 (THE 2018) – two positions above Yale Law School, six positions above top-ranked Duke Law School, and just one position below Harvard Law School.[55] UQ's Law School also recently received a THE-WUR research ranking of 36th in the world (THE 2020).[56]
Joint degree program
Since 2011, the UQ Law School established a partnership with Washington University School of Law, enabling current UQ students to pursue their UQ law degree while also obtaining an American LLM degree in a shorter timeframe.[57][58]
Current and previous ranking positions
(Positions enclosed in parentheses refer to domestic ranking)
***US News (Social Sciences and Public Health)[66]
22 (1st)
21 (2nd)
26 (2nd)
*THE-WUR ranks ahead of the current year (e.g. the ranking(s) released in 2019 were "2020" rankings).
**TheARWU Law subject ranking does not necessarily reflect the quality of a given law school (hence why universities without law schools feature on the ranking- see Princeton University). The ARWU Law subject ranking primarily measures the amount and performance of papers which relate to Law (the ranking additionally may include papers from Law-related subjects such as Policy, Public Affairs, and Criminology- hence why Griffith University, renowned for Criminology, performs well solely on the ARWU Law subject rankings) and that are associated with, or originate out of, a given university.
*** This subject ranking includes research on social policy, political science, education, demographics, law, and public health and administration.[67]
UQ Law Centres
Australian Centre for Private Law (ACPL)
The APCL aims to foster the development and understanding of private law through the means of advanced research, and seeks to effectively disseminate that research through education and professional outreach.[68]
Centre for Public International and Comparative Law (CPICL)
The CPICL is a large research centre that brings together faculty members and doctoral students to support, coordinate, promote and showcase work related to: Public International Law; Private International Law; Comparative Law; Competition Law; Constitutional Law; Administrative Law; Human Rights Law; Law of Institutions; Legal Philosophy; International Criminal and Humanitarian Law; and The Law of International Organisations.[69]
Marine and Shipping Law Unit (MASLU)
The MASLU is a community of legal scholars focused on teaching, researching and consulting services in maritime law and international law of the sea. The MASLU also collaborates with other recognised marine centres on multi-disciplinary projects, and liaises with legal and marine scholars on multiple issues.[70]
UQ Pro Bono Centre
The UQ Pro Bono Centre strives to be a national leader in developing, promoting and providing student pro bono legal services, as well as to educate about the importance of access to justice. About 30% of TC Beirne School of Law's students are registered to the pro bono program offered by the centre.[71]
Publications
The following publications are produced by staff or students at UQ Law:[72]
LAWASIA Journal is a leading international law journal primarily dealing with legal issues and developments in the Asia Pacific region. LAWASIA Journal's editorial board consists entirely of legal scholars and members of the judiciary in the Asia Pacific region; such as former justice of the High Court of Australia, Michael Kirby, and former Chief Justice of India, M.N. Venkatachaliah.[74]
Australian and New Zealand Maritime Law Journal
The Australian and New Zealand Maritime Law Journal (ANZ Mar LJ) is the online incarnation of the Maritime Law Association of Australia and New Zealand Journal (MLAANZ Journal). The ANZ Mar LJ focuses on making contributions to the areas of maritime law and commerce. The ANZ Mar LJ is edited by, and features contributions from, academics as well as students.[75]
Megan Davis, UNSW pro vice-chancellor indigenous, former commissioner of the NSW Land and Environment Court, UN expert member of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples.
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