International Law and the Regulation of Protest – Comparative Perspectives from Australia and the UK

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International Law and the Regulation of Protest

Comparative Perspectives from Australia and the UK

Panel Discussion and Book Launch of International Law and the Regulation of Protest with Professor Azadeh Dastyari, Associate Professor Maria O’Sullivan and Professor David Mead.

If you would like to join, please register here! 

The Centre for Law as Protection invites you to join a symposium celebrating the publication of the edited volume, International Law and the Regulation of Protest (Routledge, 2026) edited by Azadeh Dastyari and Maria O’Sullivan.

The symposium will feature a panel discussion between Professor Azadeh Dastyari (Western Sydney University), Associate Professor Maria O’Sullivan (Deakin Law School) and Professor David Mead (University of East Anglia, UK). Speakers will discuss developments in protest law in Australia and the UK, including restrictions on the right to protest, the proscription of protest groups (such as Palestine Action in the UK) and policing practices.

The panel will be chaired by Associate Professor Tania Penovic, Stream Co-Lead of the Centre for Law as Protection.

This discussion will be relevant to students, legal practitioners, civil society and academic researchers.

When: Wednesday 25 March 2026, 5:00pm to 7:00pm AEDT

Arrival and registration: 5pm

Panel discussion and webinar: 5.15-6.15 pm

Reception: 6.15 to 7pm.

Where: Deakin Downtown – 727 Collins Street, Tower 2 Level 12 Melbourne, Vic 3008

Online: Zoom

David Mead is Professor of UK Human Rights Law at the University of East Anglia where he specialises in protest, policing and public order law and policy. He is the author of The New Law of Peaceful Protest (2010) as well as over a dozen articles on protest law. He was Parliamentary Academic Fellow with the Joint Committee on Human Rights 2021/22 as the Police Crime Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 made its way through the Westminster Parliament. He has given evidence to and been cited by Parliamentary Committees, and his research expertise has been called on by policymakers in the UK and abroad; by UN Special Rapporteurs; by practitioners as cases make their way through the courts; and by civil society organisations such as Netpol, Liberty, Amnesty and Greenpeace. He is approached regularly for comment by the media on protest and policing. David has recently published a chapter on the implementing the right to protest, including the practical hurdles confronting protesters wanting to exercise their fundamental rights, in Azadeh Dastyari and Maria O’Sullivan, International Law and the Regulation of Protest (Routledge, 2026). David has also curated a Special Issue Analysis Section of the journal Public Law, to mark 40 years of the UK’s Public Order Act 1986, that will be published in April.

Professor Azadeh Dastyari is a leading scholar in human rights law, dedicated to challenging systemic inequality and transforming the conditions that silence and marginalise communities. As the Director of the Centre for Western Sydney at Western Sydney University, her work focuses on dismantling structural barriers and amplifying community-led solutions through rigorous research, deep collaboration, and strong public engagement. Azadeh has recently published an edited volume on protest with Associate Professor Maria O’Sullivan: International Law and the Regulation of Protest (Routledge, 2026).

Maria O’Sullivan is an Associate Professor at Deakin Law School with expertise in human rights law, particularly the law of protest. Her work has been cited by the High Court of Australia, the European Court of Justice and in a number of government inquiries. Maria has recently published an edited volume on protest with Professor Azadeh Dastyari: International Law and the Regulation of Protest (Routledge, 2026). She is also a regular media commentator on the law of protest and examples of her media work on protest include:

· With more restrictive laws across the country, how can we protect the right to protest?, The Conversation, 19 February 2026

· Isaac Herzog visit: protesters lose challenge to sweeping special police powers. What now?, The Conversation, 9 February 2026

· Should you need a permit to protest? Here’s why that’s a bad idea (and might be unlawful), The Conversation, 8 October 2024

· Can university protest camps be removed? What does the law say? The Conversation, 13 May 2024

· ‘The right to protest on university campuses: Freedom of speech, safety, and the role of the modern university’, ABC Religion and Ethics, 14 May 2024

Tania Penovic is an Associate Professor at Deakin Law School. She is an expert in human rights and access to justice with a strong track record of research impact. She is a civil society member of Australia’s Open Government Forum, a member of The Accountability Roundtable and senior co-chair in women and girls’ rights and an executive management committee member of Australian Lawyers for Human Rights. A/Prof Penovic serves on the editorial board of the Australian Feminist Law Journal and is a 2024 E.G. Whitlam Research Fellow at Western Sydney University, an affiliated academic member of the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law at Monash University and stream co-lead for the Centre for Law as Protection.