ABOUT US
Originally named the 'Australian Society of Legal Philosophy', the ASLP was founded in 1961 at the University of Sydney. The administration of the Society remained in Sydney until 1995, when it moved to the University of Queensland in Brisbane. From 1999 until 2007, the Society was based at the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra, before moving to Monash University in Melbourne from 2008 until 2013. The name of the Society was changed to the 'Australasian Society of Legal Philosophy' following a vote in 2017, in order to reflect a broader regional orientation.
The administration of the Society is currently shared between the University of Sydney, the University of Technology Sydney and the University of Auckland. The President of the Society is Associate Professor Kevin Walton of the University of Sydney. The Society's Treasurer is Dr Honni van Rijswijk of the University of Technology Sydney, and the Society's Secretary is Dr Arie Rosen of the University of Auckland.
The officers of the Society are elected at the Annual General Meeting. Previous Presidents include Professor Jonathan Crowe (2014-2018), Professor Jeffrey Goldsworthy (2007-2014), and Professor Tom Campbell (1999-2007).
The Society holds an Annual Conference which all are welcome to attend. The Annual Conference is the main occasion for members of the Society to get together and discuss papers on any topic within legal philosophy. The conference also features a Book Symposium on a recent work that is subsequently published in the Society’s journal.
The Society’s journal is the Journal of Legal Philosophy, a refereed journal currently edited by Professor Jonathan Crowe of the University of Southern Queensland, Associate Professor Hillary Nye of the University of Alberta and Associate Professor Raff Donelson of Chicago-Kent College of Law. This journal, which was previously known as the Bulletin of the Australian Society of Legal Philosophy and the Australasian Journal of Legal Philosophy, has been published annually for more than 30 years. It is currently published by Edward Elgar.
The Society also offers an annual Essay Prize for work on legal philosophy, which is open to current graduate students in any discipline, subject to the condition that the prize winning essay be submitted to the Journal.