The 2026 Hal Wootten Lecture marked 20 years since UNSW Law & Justice established the series.
International justice has the potential to place people and the planet at the centre of a more peaceful future.
This was the message from Michelle Jarvis, Executive Director of the Gender Justice Practitioner Hub (GJHub), as she delivered the 2026 Hal Wootten Lecture .
Inspired by Professor Hal Wootten AC’s belief that law should be judged by the extent to which it promotes human wellbeing, the lecture highlighted how the world is currently at a crossroads.
“Without question, we have an ‘earth crisis’. The systemically interconnected challenges of climate, the unravelling of our multi-lateral systems, disregard for the rule of law, the spectre of uncontrollable AI, to name just some of the strands,” she said.
“A crisis of our own making, which has exposed some confronting questions about what we value, and the world view through which we approach life on this planet.”
From Quorn to Geneva
Ms Jarvis grew up in Quorn, a small town in South Australia, and studied law at the University of Adelaide.
She has spent more than 25 years working in international criminal justice, including in cases involving crimes in the Balkans, Rwanda and Syria.
Prior to stepping into her current position at GJHub in April, she served as the Deputy Head of the United Nations International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism for Syria. She also spent 17 years at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
We are not facing a menu of separate problems. They are all fundamentally borne out of a world view that rests on structures of domination and control.
Ms Jarvis reflected on how her chance encounter with the Geneva Conventions while preparing for a moot court competition during university was what initially set her down the path of international criminal law.
“I became absorbed by the idea that there should be humane limits even amidst the cruelty of war and began to contemplate a career path in international law,” she recalled.
Confronting power and discrimination
Ms Jarvis spoke about how her experiences had shown her how abuse of power and discrimination contribute to the crises facing the world, particularly when a lot of today’s debates are being led by Western men.
“We are not facing a menu of separate problems,” she said. “They are all fundamentally borne out of a world view that rests on structures of domination and control.
“Of rich over poor. Of men over women. Of heterosexual, cis-gendered people over people of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities. Of white people over people of colour. Of humans over nature.
“Nowhere do we see the traumatic consequences of these structures of domination and control more dramatically than in war.”
Ms Jarvis also highlighted the gap between international commitments and action. As an example, she pointed to the United Nations’ Women, Peace and Security agenda, under which states have committed to involving women in decisions about international peace and security. Citing figures in her lecture, she said nearly 80% of active peace negotiations in 2025 took place without a woman at the table.
“We all have some hard truths to confront about ourselves. We will not get to systems change without personal inner change first,” she said.
A future of hope
Despite these challenges, Ms Jarvis is optimistic about the future. She said there are three developments in international justice that offer hope.
Nowhere do we see the traumatic consequences of these structures of domination and control more dramatically than in war.
The first is that countries are recognising the importance of prosecuting those committing serious crimes. She said a surge in cases addressing international crimes under the framework of “universal jurisdiction” and ongoing negotiations of a crimes against humanity treaty are examples of this.
“I’ve come to understand from my years of work is that justice, including accountability, is necessary to heal from trauma and to create peaceful foundations for the world,” she said.
“There really is no planetary peace without justice and we all have an interest in this.”
The second development, Ms Jarvis said, is how international justice is beginning to address systems of gender discrimination, domination and control.
“Gender discrimination not only drives harm during conflict; it also operates to block justice for victims and survivors, including the gender discrimination that operates within our justice institutions,” she said.
“We cannot deliver strong gender justice outcomes for victims and survivors, without first confronting the gender bias that infects us all and our institutions.”
The third is the determination of people and institutions to pursue justice. Ms Jarvis pointed to cases like the General Assembly’s decision to create the Syria Mechanism and the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December 2024.
“What I have seen over these many years is that most people are fundamentally good and want to live in a peaceful and flourishing world,” she said.
Established in 2006 by UNSW Law & Justice in honour of founding Dean Emeritus Professor Hal Wootten AC, the Hal Wootten Lecture celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2026. The lecture continues Professor Wootten’s vision that a law school should foster a deep concern for those on whom the law bears harshly and explore the role of law in advancing justice, equity and human wellbeing.
