Donald R Rothwell is Professor of International Law at the ANU College of Law, ANU and one of Australia’s leading experts in International Law with specific focus on the law of the sea; law of the polar regions, use of force and implementation of international law within Australia. He has published 28 authored and edited books and over 200 book chapters and articles including, with Tim Stephens, The International Law of the Sea 3rd ed (Hart: 2023). Another recent work is Islands and International Law(Hart: 2022). 

Major career works include The Polar Regions and the Development of International Law (CUP: 1996), and International Law: Cases and Materials with Australian Perspectives 3rd (CUP: 2018) with Kaye, Akhtarkhavari, Davis, and Saunders.

Rothwell is also Co-Editor of the Australian Year Book of International Law and Editor-in-Chief of the Brill Research Perspectives in Law of the Sea. He has taught a range of courses including Law of the Sea, International Dispute Resolution, International Law and Use of Armed Force, International Humanitarian Law, Military Operations Law, and Public International Law.

Rothwell was previously Challis Professor of International Law and Director of the Sydney Centre for International and Global Law, University of Sydney (2004-2006), where he had taught since 1988. He has acted as a consultant or been a member of expert groups for UNEP, UNDP, IUCN, the Australian Government, and acted as advisor to the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).

He is a regular media commentator on international law issues and has written for all of the major daily newspapers in Australia. His media interviews have included ABC TV 7.30, ABC Radio ‘AM’ and ‘PM’, ABC Radio National ‘Breakfast’, ABC News 24, Al Jazeera (TV), BBC World (TV), and the Voice of America.