This month, La Trobe Law School’s International and Comparative Law Cluster held its 2026 Annual Lecture, ‘Can international law be a life-giving force?’.
The lecture was delivered by Professor Michael Fakhri (University of Oregon), former UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food. A world-leading scholar of international law, international economic law and food systems, Professor Fakhri’s scholarship is at the forefront of global debates on human rights, economic governance and economic justice.
In his lecture, Professor Fakhri drew on his experience to reflect on how international law can move beyond documenting death, destruction and suffering to become a force that sustains and creates life.
The lecture was accompanied by a two-day “thinking together” workshop which featured Professor Michael Fakhri, Professor Fleur Johns (Sydney Law School) and Professor Sundhya Pahuja (Melbourne Law School).
Through a series of roundtable conversations, the workshop provided an opportunity to explore how contemporary transformations in life, technology and capital are reshaping the conditions of politics, law and collective existence.
The event was opened by Professor Theo Farrell, Vice-Chancellor of La Trobe University, and Professor Lorne Neudorf, Dean of La Trobe Law School.
Professor Neudorf said La Trobe Law School was grateful to Professor Fakhri for his thought-provoking lecture.
“Professor Fakhri challenged us to think critically about the role of international law, not only as a legal framework for responding to human suffering and global challenges, but also as a means of creating the conditions for a more just and sustainable world. His lecture reminded us of the value of questioning established assumptions about law and its capacity to improve people's lives.”
Led by Associate Professor Maria Elander and Professor Luis Eslava, La Trobe’s International and Comparative Law Cluster unites and supports researchers tackling key issues in international and comparative law. Their diverse program of events includes seminars, workshops, and lectures that bring together members, colleagues, and those from the wider academic and professional community.
Find out more about the International and Comparative Law Cluster.
