You are invited to attend:
Faculty of Law Twilight Seminar
Towards a Utopia and Away from a Dystopia: Multilateral Conventions, Declarations, and Resolutions
Presented by Professor Vai Io Lo
Date: Thursday, 27 November 2025
Time:5.00pm - 6.30pm (AEST)
Venue: Faculty of Law (Building 4), Level 3, Room 3_41 - View on campus map
Closest Parking: PG2 (Parking General 2) - View on campus map
Open to the public – all welcome!
In the past decade, various international events, such as the Russia-Ukraine War, the armed conflict between Israel and Palestine, the Rohingya genocide in Myanmar, and the discharge of nuclear wastes into the ocean by Japan, have raised questions about the effectiveness of international law. After WWII, States established the United Nations. The vision of the founding UN Members could be deemed utopian, that is, to re-build the world where States could coexist peacefully. In the following years, the Cold War, environmental degradation, automatic and biological weapons, wars and refugees, and anthropogenic climate change have prompted the international community to take measures to prevent dystopian effects. In the past 80 years, numerous treaties, declarations, and UN resolutions have been passed. This seminar will highlight major agreements in three important areas of international law: environment protection, human rights, and use of force. In doing so, this seminar aims to provoke discussions on international issues having an impact on both present and future generations.
The seminar will commence at 5.30pm with light refreshments being offered from 5pm (vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free options available).
Please register your attendance by 5pm, Wednesday 19 November 2025.
Professor Vai Io Lo
Vai Io Lo is a professor and doctoral supervisor at the Faculty of Law, Bond University, Australia. She served as the Associate Dean (Research) in the Faculty of Law from 2017 to 2020 and managed the Tim Fischer Centre for Global Trade and Finance from 2006 to 2014. She has had teaching or research appointments with the University of Washington, University of Tokyo, National University of Singapore, the International University of Japan, and Bond University. She has also been a Visiting Scholar to Harvard University, Peking University, and Renmin University of China. In terms of research interests, she has concentrated on comparative and interdisciplinary studies, especially on Australian, Chinese, Japanese and US laws, and in the areas of labour and employment, foreign direct investment, health care, law and society, legal education, judicial reform, international trade, law and development, consumer protection, and elder law. Her publications are distributed worldwide, including books, journal articles, and book chapters. She has received the Vice-Chancellor's Quality Award for Research Excellence (2008) and the Law Faculty Research Supervision Awards (2021).