Jessie Chella came to Bond in 1997 to study her Bachelor of Laws degree and enjoyed it so much she continued on to complete her Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice, Master of Laws (by research) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) by 2012.
With a keen interest in International Criminal Law, Jessie’s research focussed on human rights law, international humanitarian law, the international criminal court and ad hoc tribunals, mining and resources law, corporate social responsibility and conflict-affected areas in Africa. Additionally, Jessie undertook a 6 month internship with the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (based in the Hague) for the work experience component of the PLT program.
Since 2010 Jessie has been working as an Adjunct Tutor for the Faculty of Law and incorporates her quirky sense of humour in her presentation style. She believes if you make classes memorable, the students are more likely to remember difficult concepts.
Furthermore, Jessie worked as a casual research assistant during her PhD. Reporting to Professor Patrick Keyzer, Professor Laurence Boulle and the Dean Professor Geraldine McKenzie, Jessie worked on preventative detention of high risk offenders; balancing foreign direct investment pressures; becoming a member of the BRICS; evaluating the performance of indigenous sentencing courts; and sentencing and public confidence in Australia: the dynamics and foci of group deliberations.
Jessie was supervised by Emeritus Professor Eric Colvin for both her Masters and PhD degrees and felt fortunate to have a supervisor who cared passionately about her research area. This made a difference when discussing and receiving feedback and created a good working relationship.
In regards to advice to future research students, Jessie recommends that students understand their learning style, adopt a filing/admin system early on in their degree, compile and update the bibliography and footnotes at the time (it will be overwhelming if left to the end), attend seminars, workshops and conferences to learn more about the topic by listening to others, communicate regularly with the supervisor and, even though the inclination is to run in the opposite direction when chapters are due, stick around as the supervisor usually has pearls of wisdom.
Jessie has just been offered a Lecturing position at the School of Law, University of the South Pacific in Vanuatu and is very excited about co-ordinating the International Criminal Law subject.
Jessie would like to use the findings of her research to advise multinational corporations and governments operating in the extractive industries, specifically in conflict-affected areas and weak-governance zones. She is also considering setting up a consultancy and providing unique tailor-made advice.