Professor Douglas Guilfoyle

Professor Douglas Guilfoyle

Professor

Doctor of Philosophy (International Law), University of Cambridge, 2007

Master of Laws (International Law), University of Cambridge, 2004

Bachelor of Arts (Hons I) and Bachelor of Laws (Hons I) Australian National University, 2000

UNSW Canberra
School of Humanities & Social Sciences

Professor Douglas Guilfoyle joined UNSW Canberra in 2018. His principal areas of research are maritime security, the international law of the sea, and international and transnational criminal law. Particular areas of specialism include maritime law-enforcement, the law of naval warfare, international courts and tribunals, and the history of international law.

He is a 2022-2025 Australian Research Council Future Fellow, working on the project "Small States' use of law of the sea litigation against greater powers" (FT210100186). He is also a non-resident fellow at the Sea Power Centre - Australia and was a Visiting Legal Fellow at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (2018-2019).

He is the author of Shipping Interdiction and the Law of the Sea (CUP 2009) and International Criminal Law (OUP 2016); and the editor of Modern Piracy: Legal Challenges and Responses (Elgar 2013). His research work is informed by his consultancy to various government and international organisations.

He was previously a Professor of Law at Monash University, Reader in Law at University College London, and has worked as a judicial associate in the Australian Federal Court and the Australian Administrative Appeals Tribunal. He has also practised as a commercial litigation solicitor in Sydney.

He was a Gates Cambridge Trust scholar and Chevening scholar during his graduate study at the University of Cambridge.

  • Books | 2019
    Nagtzaam G; van Hook DE; Guilfoyle D, 2019, International Environmental Law: A Case Study Analysis, Routledge, https://www.routledge.com/International-Environmental-Law-A-Case-Study-Analysis-1st-Edition/Nagtzaam-Guilfoyle-van-Hook/p/book/9781138556768
    Books | 2016
    Guilfoyle D, 2016, International Criminal Law
    Books | 2013
    Guilfoyle D, 2013, Modern Piracy: Legal challenges and responses
    Books | 2013
    Guilfoyle D, 2013, Preface
    Books | 2009
    Guilfoyle D, 2009, Shipping Interdiction and the Law of the Sea, Cambridge University Press
  • Book Chapters | 2022
    Chan ESY; Guilfoyle D, 2022, 'Coast guards' changing nature: The rise of the China coast guard', in Maritime Cooperation and Security in the Indo-Pacific Region: Essays in Honour of Sam Bateman, pp. 189 - 203, http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/9789004532847_011
    Book Chapters | 2022
    Guilfoyle D, 2022, 'The Mavi Marmara Incident', in Letts D; McLaughlin R (ed.), Maritime Operations Law in Practice Key Cases and Incidents, Routledge Research on the Law of the Sea
    Book Chapters | 2022
    Guilfoyle D, 2022, 'The So San Incident', in Letts D; McLaughlin R (ed.), Maritime Operations Law in Practice Key Cases and Incidents, Routledge Research on the Law of the Sea, https://www.routledge.com/Maritime-Operations-Law-in-Practice-Key-Cases-and-Incidents/Letts-Mclaughlin/p/book/9781032308548
    Book Chapters | 2021
    Guilfoyle D, 2021, 'Maritime Security', in The Oxford Handbook of the International Law of Global Security, Oxford University Press, pp. 291 - 309
    Book Chapters | 2020
    Guilfoyle D, 2020, 'Transnational Crimes', in Heller K; Megret F; Nouwen S; Ohlin J; Robinson D (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of International Criminal Law, Oxford University Press, UK, pp. 791 - 810
    Book Chapters | 2019
    Guilfoyle D; McLaughlin R, 2019, 'The Crime of Piracy', in Jalloh C; Clarke K; Nmehielle V (ed.), The African Court of Justice and Human and Peoples' Rights in Context Development and Challenges, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 388 - 408, http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/9781108525343
    Book Chapters | 2019
    Guilfoyle D, 2019, 'Somali Pirate Skiff', in International Law’s Objects, pp. 443 - 452, http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198798200.003.0038
    Book Chapters | 2019
    Guilfoyle D, 2019, 'The oceans', in International Environmental Law: A Case Study Analysis, pp. 387 - 424
    Book Chapters | 2018
    Guilfoyle D, 2018, 'Somali Pirate Skiff', in International Law's Objects, Oxford University Press, USA, pp. 443 - 452, http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198798200.001.0001
    Book Chapters | 2018
    Guilfoyle D, 2018, 'The Gulf of Tonkin Incident - 1964', in The Use of Force in International Law: A Case-Based Approach, Oxford University Press, pp. 108 - 117, https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-use-of-force-in-international-law-9780198784357?cc=au&lang=en&
    Book Chapters | 2017
    Guilfoyle D, 2017, 'Maritime Security', in Risk and the Regulation of Uncertainty in International Law, Oxford University Press, pp. 57 - 76
    Book Chapters | 2017
    Guilfoyle D, 2017, 'SS Lotus (France v Turkey) (1927)', in Landmark Cases in Public International Law, Hart Publishing, pp. 89 - 109
    Book Chapters | 2017
    Guilfoyle D, 2017, '“Governing the oceans and dispute resolution: An evolving legal order?”', in Global Governance and Regulation Order and Disorder in the 21st Century, Routledge, pp. 173 - 191
    Book Chapters | 2016
    Guilfoyle D, 2016, 'Jurisdiction at sea: Migrant interdiction and the transnational security state', in Human Rights and the Dark Side of Globalisation Transnational Law Enforcement and Migration Control, Routledge, pp. 114 - 137
    Book Chapters | 2016
    Guilfoyle D, 2016, 'Maritime Security', in Law of the Sea UNCLOS as a Living Treaty, pp. 329 - 362
    Book Chapters | 2016
    Guilfoyle D, 2016, 'Transnational crime and the rule of law at sea: Responses to maritime migration and piracy compared', in 'Boat Refugees' and Migrants at Sea: A Comprehensive Approach Integrating Maritime Security with Human Rights, BRILL, pp. 169 - 198
    Book Chapters | 2016
    Rayfuse R, 2016, 'The Role of Port States', in Warner R; Kaye S (ed.), Routledge Handbook of Maritime Regulation and Enforcement, ROUTLEDGE, pp. 71 - 85
    Book Chapters | 2015
    Guilfoyle D, 2015, 'Defending individual ships from pirates: Questions of State responsibility and immunity', in Sovereignty, Statehood and State Responsibility Essays in Honour of James Crawford, Cambridge University Press, pp. 307 - 324, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/CBO9781107360075.023
    Book Chapters | 2015
    Guilfoyle D, 2015, 'The high seas', in The Oxford Handbook of the Law of the Sea, OUP Oxford, pp. 203 - 225
    Book Chapters | 2015
    Guilfoyle D, 2015, 'The use of force against pirates', in The Oxford Handbook of the Use of Force in International Law, Oxford University Press, pp. 1057 - 1076
    Book Chapters | 2015
    Guilfoyle D, 2015, 'Transnational Crime', in Routledge Handbook of Maritime Regulation and Enforcement, Routledge, pp. 262 - 276
    Book Chapters | 2014
    Guilfoyle D, 2014, 'Counter-proliferation activities and freedom of navigation', in Freedom of Navigation and Globalization, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, pp. 71 - 87, http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/9789004284081_006
    Book Chapters | 2014
    Guilfoyle D, 2014, 'Piracy and suppression of unlawful acts against the safety of maritime navigation', in Routledge Handbook of Transnational Criminal Law, Routledge, pp. 364 - 378
    Book Chapters | 2014
    Guilfoyle D, 2014, 'Piracy and terrorism', in The Law and Practice of Piracy at Sea European and International Perspectives, Bloomsbury Publishing, pp. 33 - 52
    Book Chapters | 2013
    Guilfoyle D; Giles-Samson M, 2013, 'The Permanent Court of International Justice and the "invention" of international advisory jurisdiction', in Legacies of the Permanent Court of International Justice, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, pp. 41 - 68
    Book Chapters | 2013
    Guilfoyle D, 2013, 'Article 16: Ships owned or opened by a State', in The United Nations Convention on Jurisdictional Immunities of States and Their Property A Commentary, Oxford University Press, pp. 259 - 276
    Book Chapters | 2013
    Guilfoyle D, 2013, 'Chapter 14: Policy tensions and the legal regime governing piracy', in Modern Piracy, Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 325 - 336, http://dx.doi.org/10.4337/9781849804936.00024
    Book Chapters | 2013
    Guilfoyle D, 2013, 'Chapter 3: Piracy off Somalia and counter-piracy efforts', in Modern Piracy, Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 35 - 60, http://dx.doi.org/10.4337/9781849804936.00010
    Book Chapters | 2013
    Guilfoyle D, 2013, 'Chapter I: Introduction: piracy, law and lawyers', in Modern Piracy, Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 1 - 10, http://dx.doi.org/10.4337/9781849804936.00007
    Book Chapters | 2013
    Guilfoyle D, 2013, 'Introduction: Piracy, law and lawyers', in , pp. 1 - 9
    Book Chapters | 2013
    Guilfoyle D, 2013, 'Piracy off Somalia and counter-piracy efforts', in Modern Piracy: Legal Challenges and Responses, pp. 35 - 60
    Book Chapters | 2013
    Guilfoyle D, 2013, 'Policy tensions and the legal regime governing piracy', in Modern Piracy: Legal Challenges and Responses, pp. 325 - 336
    Book Chapters | 2013
    Murdoch A; Guilfoyle D, 2013, 'Capture and disruption operations: The use of force in counter-piracy off Somalia', in Modern Piracy: Legal Challenges and Responses, pp. 147 - 171
    Book Chapters | 2013
    Murdoch A; Guilfoyle D, 2013, 'Chapter 7: Capture and disruption operations: the use of force in counter-piracy off Somalia', in Modern Piracy, Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 147 - 171, http://dx.doi.org/10.4337/9781849804936.00015
    Book Chapters | 2012
    Guilfoyle D; Murdoch A, 2012, 'The use of lethal force in counter-piracy operations off Somalia', in Shooting to Kill Socio-Legal Perspectives on the Use of Lethal Force, Bloomsbury Publishing, pp. 239 - 262
    Book Chapters | 2011
    Guilfoyle D, 2011, 'Chapter Five. Human Rights Issues And Non-Flag State Boarding Of Suspect Ships In International Waters', in Selected Contemporary Issues in the Law of the Sea, Brill | Nijhoff, pp. 83 - 104, http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/ej.9789004184022.i-360.42
    Book Chapters | 2011
    Guilfoyle D, 2011, 'Human rights issues and non-flag state boarding of suspect ships in international waters', in Selected Contemporary Issues in the Law of the Sea, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, pp. 83 - 104
    Book Chapters | 2010
    Guilfoyle D, 2010, 'The legal challenges in fighting piracy', in The International Response to Somali Piracy: Challenges and Opportunities, pp. 127 - 152, http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/ej.9789004183056.i-202
    Book Chapters | 2010
    Guilfoyle D, 2010, 'The legal challenges in fighting piracy', in The International Response to Somali Piracy: Challenges and Opportunities, pp. 127 - 152, http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/ej.9789004183056.i-202.41
  • Journal articles | 2023
    Guilfoyle D, 2023, 'Litigation as Statecraft: Small States and the Law of the Sea', British Yearbook of International Law, http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/bybil/brad009
    Journal articles | 2023
    Guilfoyle D, 2023, 'The Outlaw Ocean: Crime and Survival in the Last Untamed Frontier', EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL LAW, 34, pp. 517 - 519, http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ejil/chad019
    Journal articles | 2022
    Guilfoyle D; Chan ESY, 2022, 'Lawships or warships? Coast guards as agents of (in)stability in the Pacific and South and East China Sea', Marine Policy, 140, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2022.105048
    Journal articles | 2022
    Guilfoyle D; Kyriakakis J; O'Brien M, 2022, 'Command Responsibility, Australian War Crimes in Afghanistan, and the Brereton Report', International Law Studies, 99, pp. 220 - 283, https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/ils/vol99/iss1/8/
    Journal articles | 2022
    Guilfoyle D; Paige TP; Mclaughlin R, 2022, 'THE FINAL FRONTIER OF CYBERSPACE: THE SEABED BEYOND NATIONAL JURISDICTION AND THE PROTECTION OF SUBMARINE CABLES', International and Comparative Law Quarterly, 71, pp. 657 - 696, http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0020589322000227
    Journal articles | 2022
    Guilfoyle D; Rothwell DR; Young MA, 2022, 'James Crawford: His Legacy and Impact on International Law in Australia and Globally', Australian Year Book of International Law, 40, pp. 25 - 45, http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/26660229-04001003
    Journal articles | 2022
    Mclaughlin R; Paige TP; Guilfoyle D, 2022, 'Submarine Communication Cables and the Law of Armed Conflict: Some Enduring Uncertainties, and Some Proposals, as to Characterization', Journal of Conflict and Security Law, 27, pp. 297 - 338, http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jcsl/krac014
    Journal articles | 2022
    Strating R; Guilfoyle D; Ratuva S; Wallis J, 2022, 'Commentary: China in the Maritime Pacific', Marine Policy, 141, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2022.105092
    Journal articles | 2021
    Guilfoyle D, 2021, 'The Chagos Archipelago before International Tribunals: Strategic Litigation and the Production of Historical Knowledge', Melbourne Journal of International Law, 21, pp. 749 - 771, https://law.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/3962501/12Guilfoyle-unpaginated.pdf
    Journal articles | 2020
    Guilfoyle D, 2020, 'Lacking Conviction: Is the International Criminal Court Broken? An Organisational Failure Analysis', Melbourne Journal of International Law, 20, https://law.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/3386507/Guilfoyle-advance-copy.pdf
    Journal articles | 2020
    Guilfoyle D, 2020, 'Maritime Delimitation as a Judicial Process by Massimo Lando [Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2019, 432pp, ISBN 9781108497398, £95 (h/bk), 100USD (ebk)]', International and Comparative Law Quarterly, 69, pp. 499 - 500, http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0020589320000056
    Journal articles | 2020
    Klein N; Guilfoyle D; Karim MS; McLaughlin R, 2020, 'Maritime Autonomous Vehicles: New Frontiers in the Law of the Sea', International and Comparative Law Quarterly, 69, pp. 719 - 734, http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0020589320000226
    Journal articles | 2019
    Guilfoyle D, 2019, 'The ICC pre-trial chamber decision on jurisdiction over the situation in Myanmar', Australian Journal of International Affairs, 73, pp. 2 - 8, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10357718.2018.1538316
    Journal articles | 2019
    Guilfoyle D, 2019, 'The rule of law and maritime security: Understanding lawfare in the South China Sea', International Affairs, 95, pp. 999 - 1017, http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiz141
    Journal articles | 2019
    Nagtzaam G; Guilfoyle D, 2019, 'Ramming Speed: The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and the Law of Protest', Monash University Law Review, 44, pp. 360 - 383, https://www.monash.edu/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/1815322/Vol-44-No2_Nagtzaam-and-Guilfoyle.pdf
    Journal articles | 2018
    Guilfoyle D, 2018, 'Remarks by Douglas Guilfoyle', American Society of International Law. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting, 112, pp. 7 - 10, http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/amp.2019.46
    Journal articles | 2018
    Guilfoyle D, 2018, 'The South China Sea Award: How Should We Read the un Convention on the Law of the Sea?', Asian Journal of International Law, 8, pp. 51 - 63, http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S2044251317000133
    Journal articles | 2017
    Guilfoyle D, 2017, 'Maritime Law Enforcement Operations and Intelligence in an Age of Maritime Security', International Law Studies, 93, pp. 298 - 321, https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1708&context=ils
    Journal articles | 2016
    Guilfoyle D, 2016, 'Reading the City and the City as an international lawyer: Reflections on territoriality, jurisdiction and transnationality', London Review of International Law, 4, pp. 195 - 207, http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/lril/lrw002
    Journal articles | 2015
    Guilfoyle D, 2015, 'Maritime interdiction: what challenges lie ahead?', Revue Belge de Droit International, 47, pp. 95 - 111
    Journal articles | 2014
    Guilfoyle D; Miles CA, 2014, 'Provisional measures and the mv arctic sunrise', American Journal of International Law, 108, pp. 271 - 287, http://dx.doi.org/10.5305/amerjintelaw.108.2.0271
    Journal articles | 2013
    Guilfoyle D, 2013, 'Prosecuting pirates: The contact group on piracy off the coast of somalia, governance and international law', Global Policy, 4, pp. 73 - 79, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1758-5899.2012.00190.x
    Journal articles | 2012
    Guilfoyle D, 2012, 'International law and counter-piracy in the Indian Ocean', Journal of the Indian Ocean Region, 8, pp. 202 - 218, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19480881.2012.730753
    Journal articles | 2012
    Guilfoyle D, 2012, 'Prosecuting somali pirates: A critical evaluation of the options', Journal of International Criminal Justice, 10, pp. 767 - 796, http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jicj/mqs036
    Journal articles | 2012
    Guilfoyle D, 2012, 'Somali pirates as agents of change in international law–making and organisation', Cambridge International Law Journal, 1, pp. 81 - 106, http://dx.doi.org/10.7574/cjicl.01.03.58
    Journal articles | 2011
    Guilfoyle D, 2011, 'Remarks by Douglas Guilfoyle', Proceedings of the ASIL Annual Meeting, 105, pp. 546 - 549, http://dx.doi.org/10.5305/procannmeetasil.105.0546
    Journal articles | 2011
    Guilfoyle D, 2011, 'Responsibility for Collective Atrocities: Fair Labelling and Approaches to Commission in International Criminal Law', Current Legal Problems, 64, pp. 255 - 286, http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/clp/cur006
    Journal articles | 2011
    Guilfoyle D, 2011, 'The Mavi Marmara Incident and Blockade in Armed Conflict', British Yearbook of International Law, 81, pp. 171 - 223, http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/bybil/brr002
    Journal articles | 2010
    Guilfoyle D, 2010, 'Counter-piracy law enforcement and human rights', International and Comparative Law Quarterly, 59, pp. 141 - 169, http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S002058930999011X
    Journal articles | 2010
    Guilfoyle D, 2010, 'Executive measures on the high seas to combat piracy', Japanese Yearbook of International Law, 53, pp. 149 - 177
    Journal articles | 2010
    Guilfoyle D, 2010, 'Mevedyev and others v. France, European Court of Human Rights', International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law, 25, pp. 437 - 442, http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/157180810X520327
    Journal articles | 2010
    Guilfoyle D, 2010, 'The Laws of War and the Fight against Somali Piracy: Combatants or Criminals?', Melbourne Journal of International Law, 11, pp. 141 - 154
    Journal articles | 2010
    Guilfoyle D, 2010, 'Transnational criminal law as a governance strategy in the global labour market: Criminalizing globalization from below', Refugee Survey Quarterly, 29, pp. 185 - 205, http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/rsq/hdq006
    Journal articles | 2008
    Guilfoyle D, 2008, 'II. Piracy off Somalia: UN Security Council Resolution 1816 and IMO regional counter-piracy efforts', International and Comparative Law Quarterly, 57, pp. 690 - 699, http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0020589308000584
    Journal articles | 2007
    Guilfoyle D, 2007, 'Interdicting vessels to enforce the common interest: Maritime countermeasures and the use of force', International and Comparative Law Quarterly, 56, pp. 69 - 82, http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/iclq/lei150
    Journal articles | 2007
    Guilfoyle D, 2007, 'Maritime interdiction of weapons of mass destruction', Journal of Conflict and Security Law, 12, pp. 1 - 36, http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jcsl/krm001
    Journal articles | 2001
    Guilfoyle D, 2001, 'Nulyarimma v Thompson : Is Genocide A Crime At Common Law?', Federal Law Review, 29, pp. 1 - 36

Australian Research Council Future Fellowship: ‘The use of strategic law of the sea litigation by small States against greater powers’ ($948,000), 2022-2025

Australian Research Council Discovery Project: ‘Legal Regulation of Marine Autonomous Vehicles’ ($158,000), 2020-2023 (with N Klein, R McLaughlin and S Karim)

British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship, 2012-2013

Gates Cambridge Scholar, 2004-2007

British Council Chevening Scholar, 2003-2004

My research is focused on maritime security and the law of the sea, transnational and international crime, international courts and tribunals, and the role of international law in international politics. My current ARC Future Fellow project "Small States' use of law of the sea litigation against greater powers", examines how small States use UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) dispute settlement mechanisms to gain political advantages in conflicts with greater powers, including Security Council permanent members. It aims to understand how UNCLOS can be leveraged to defend coastal State rights in strategic disputes concerning sovereign rights, unresolved boundaries, and military affairs.

My prior work has been concerned with maritime security broadly, including the South China Sea dispute, counter-piracy, maritime interdiction operations, the law of naval warfare, and the protection of submarine cables. My interest in transnational and international crime crosses over from the maritime domain to international criminal law generally, including questions of the effectiveness of international criminal tribunals and the law of superior responsibility.

I am a frequent contributor to leading international law blogs such as EJIL:talk and Opinio Juris