About the Centre
This page introduces the Centre, sets out our goals and objectives, and introduces the people.
The Cyberspace Law and Policy Centre at UNSW provides a focus for research, public interest advocacy and education on issues of law and policy concerning digital transactions in cyberspace. It is a Centre of the Faculty of Law at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. Its founding sponsors were the local and global partners of Baker & McKenzie,* a leading international law firm.
(*In recognition of the generous startup funding provided by the firm for its first several years of operation, the original name was the Baker & McKenzie Cyberspace Law and Policy Centre. In 2005, with the advent of substantial ARC research project funding made possible during that startup phase, the nature of the firm's ongoing support changed and the Centre's name was shortened.)
The Centre's work covers e-commerce, provision of government services by Internet, Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and the use of encryption, Internet governance, intellectual property in digital artifacts, decision-making technologies in public administration, privacy and freedom of information in digital records, to name only the most obvious issues.
Much of the Centre's work concerns Australian law and policy, but there is also an important focus on the development of cyberspace regulation in Asia, the fastest growing part of cyberspace's 'terrestrial footprint'.
For further information, see also:-
Our goals and objectives
The Cyberspace Law and Policy Centre provides a focus for research, public interest advocacy and education on issues of law and policy concerning digital transactions in cyberspace.
The Centre's work encompasses all aspects of e-commerce, the provision of government services by Internet, Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and the use of encryption, Internet governance, intellectual property in digital artifacts, decision-making technologies in public administration, and privacy and freedom of information in digital records including those in electronic health and biometrics systems. Business and government will also benefit from better identification, analysis and articulation of the public interest in cyberspace.
The Centre's distinctive focus is to take a public interest perspective on these often-technical issues. The emphasis is not on technology as such, but rather on the regulation of the social space created by computing networks - 'cyberspace'.
Key personnel
David Vaile (Executive director)
David Vaile has been executive director of the Cyberspace Law and Policy Centre UNSW since 2002. He coordinates Centre support for current and future ARC research projects such as Young people and filtering, Unlocking IP, Interpreting Privacy Principles and Regulating Online Investing, including input into public policy processes; presents at conferences and fora; runs intern programs; and teaches Cyberspace Law, Law in the Information Age, and Advanced Legal Research. His background in law, IT and communications includes medical record software (JAM Software), legal research (Legal Aid NSW), data protection (Privacy Commissioner's Office), pro bono, public interest and test case litigation (Public Interest Advocacy Centre and others), co-founding a pre-Internet-but-still-running virtual community for advocates ('First Class Law' with the Law and Justice Foundation of NSW and NACLC), online professional education, and organisational governance of IT risks. He also assists AustLII with stakeholder liaison, and the Centre for CLE in course development and presentation.
His research interests include content regulation, e-security and IT risk management, personal safety online, privacy and data protection, jurisdictional issues, copyright and digital IP, e-health records, online communities and user-centred design. He is also a past member of the Information Security World Advisory Board, former chair of a statewide community legal service, and currently board member of the Australian Privacy Foundation.
His research interests in cyberspace law and policy include e-security and IT risk management, personal safety online, privacy and data protection, online jurisdictional issues, copyright and digital intellectual property, e-health records, online communities and user-centred design. He is also a past member of the Information Security World Advisory Board, former chair of a statewide community legal service, and currently board member of the Australian Privacy Foundation.
Graham Greenleaf (Academic director)
Graham Greenleaf is a Professor of Law at UNSW, where he teaches most aspects of cyberspace law and the computerisation of law. His main research interests in cyberspace law are in privacy and intellectual property: he is the chief investigator in the Centre's major ARC research projects Unlocking IP and Interpreting Privacy Principles. He teaches LAWS1031 Information Technology Law (LLB) via Internet delivery, and co-teaches LAWS 3037 Data Surveillance and Information Privacy Law (LLM). He is a co-director of AustLII, the general editor of Privacy Law and Policy Reporter, and the foundation director of this Centre; until late 2002 he was Distinguished Visiting Professor at Hong Kong University Law Faculty.
Alana Maurushat (Acting academic director s2 2007)
Alana Maurushat, B.A. (University of Calgary), B.C.L.(McGill), LL.B. (McGill), LL.M. with Concentration in Law and Technology (University of Ottawa), PhD Candidate (University of New South Wales) is Acting Academic Director of the Cyberspace Law and Policy Centre, sessional lecturer, and PhD candidate at the Faculty of Law at UNSW.
Prior to moving to Sydney, she was an Assistant Professor and Deputy Director of the LLM in Information Technology and Intellectual Property at the University of Hong Kong’s Faculty of Law. She has taught in summer programs for the University of Santa Clara, Duke University, and has been invited to teach at the Université de Nantes this coming year. Her current research is focused on technical, ethical and legal dimensions of computer malware building on past research projects which addressed the impact of surveillance technologies on free expression and privacy.
Invaluable contributions have also been made earlier by Chris Connolly (founding co-director, now at Galexia Consulting), Dr Lee Bygrave (Acting Director), and Than Yeng, Bridget McDermott and Jason Mumbulla (coordinators).
In addition, undergraduate interns, postgraduate researchers, consultants and experienced Research Associates contribute to the Centre's operation. See the Research Associates and Postgraduate research associates and interns pages.