Associate Professor
Bridget Lewis
Faculty of Business & Law,
School of Law
Biography
Associate Professor Bridget Lewis (School of Law, QUT) is an expert in human rights whose work explores the protection of human rights in various contexts. Bridget is an internationally recognised scholar in the field of environmental human rights, which aims to transform the legal relationship between the environment and human rights. Her work in this area focuses on environmental rights and climate change, with a particular emphasis on protecting the rights of future generations and ensuring intergenerational justice. Bridget’s first book Environmental Human Rights and Climate Change: Current Status and Future Prospects(2018) presented a multidimensional analysis of the concept of a human right to a healthy environment and what it can contribute to a human rights-based approach to climate change. Bridget's research also aims to enhance the human rights of older people, and her second book The Human Rights of Older Persons: A Human Rights-Based Approach to Elder Law (2020, co-authored with Kelly Purser and Kirsty Mackie) used a human rights framework to examine the range of legal issues that comprise the field of elder law. Bridget's work has appeared in journals including Transnational Environmental Law, the Journal of Human Rights and the Environment, the Asia-Pacific Journal of Environmental Law and the Australian Yearbook of International Law. Bridget’s current research explores potential legal protections for the environmental rights of future generations, particularly in the context of climate change, including an examination of climate litigation by children and young people.Personal details
Positions
- Associate Professor
Faculty of Business & Law,
School of Law
Keywords
human rights, environmental law, environmental rights, international law, climate change, ACHLR
Research field
Law
Field of Research code, Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2008
Qualifications
- PhD (Monash University)
- Masters of International Human Rights Law (University of Nottingham)
- Bachelor of Laws (University of Queensland)
- Bachelor of Arts (Ancient History) (University of Queensland)
Professional memberships and associations
- Member, Global Network for the Study of Human Rights and the Environment
- Fellow, Higher Education Academy
- Associate Fellow, Higher Education Academy (Indigenous)
- Member, Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law
- Editorial Board, Asia Pacific Journal of Environmental Law
Teaching
Bridget's teaching has a focus on human rights and social justice, and she is an experienced teacher of public international law. Current units include:
- LLB104: Contemporary Law and Justice
- LLH472: Public International Law
Bridget also contributes to QUT Law School's mooting program. She is the current coach of QUT's teams for the Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students' Moot.
Experience
Bridget currently serves on the Academic Advisory Group for the Queensland Human Rights Commission and is a member of the Expert Panel on Human Rights advising the Queensland Parliament. Bridget is also active in her community, serving on the committees of Birdlife Southern Queensland and Protect the Bush Alliance.
Publications
- Lewis, B., (2018). Environmental human rights and climate change: Current status and future prospects. Springer. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/215433
- Lewis, B., Purser, K. & Mackie, K. (2020). The Human Rights of Older Persons: A Human Rights-Based Approach to Elder Law. Springer. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/203707
- Lewis, B., (2018). The rights of future generations within the post-Paris climate regime. Transnational Environmental Law, 7(1), 69–87. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/223302
- Maguire, R. & Lewis, B. (2018). Women, human rights and the global climate regime. Journal of Human Rights and the Environment, 9(1), 51–67. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/223662
- Lewis, B., (2012). Environmental rights or a right to the environment? Exploring the nexus between human rights and environmental protection. Macquarie Journal of International and Comparative Environmental Law, 8(1), 36–47. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/53993
- Lewis, B. & Maguire, R. (2016). A human rights-based approach to disaster displacement in the Asia-Pacific. Asian Journal of International Law, 6(2), 326–352. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/87018
- Lewis, B., (2016). Human rights duties towards future generations and the potential for achieving climate justice. Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights, 34(3), 206–226. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/98804
- Lewis, B., (2016). Balancing human rights in climate policies. In O. Quirico & M. Boumghar (Eds.), Climate change and human rights: An international and comparative law perspective [Routledge Research in International Environmental Law] (pp. 39–52). Routledge. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/84781
- Lewis, B., (2015). Quality control for new rights in international human rights law: A case study of the right to a good environment. Australian Year Book of International Law, 33, 55–80. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/96918
- Dwyer, A., Lewis, B., McDonald, F. & Burns, M. (2012). It's always a pleasure: exploring productivity and pleasure in a writing group for early career academics. Studies in Continuing Education, 34(2), 129–144. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/52911
QUT ePrints
For more publications by Bridget, explore their research in QUT ePrints (our digital repository).
Supervision
Current supervisions
- Striving for climate justice: The role of the Legal Assistance Sector in responding to climate change-informed civil law needs of vulnerable population groups in Australia
PhD, Associate Supervisor
Other supervisors: Professor Rowena Maguire, Professor Amanda Kennedy - The impact on international law of the 2014 military intervention against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria
PhD, Associate Supervisor
Other supervisors: Mr Andrew Garwood-Gowers, Dr Carmel O'Sullivan
Completed supervisions (Doctorate)
- Framework for Climate Migration Readiness for Fiji for Relocation of Pacific Islanders to Fiji (2020)
- Freedom of Expression and the Criminalisation of Online Glorification of an Offence: A Case Study of Pakistan (2020)
- Limiting Statelessness In Saudi Arabia: A Case Study of the Rohingya People (2019)
- From the Ground Up: An Analysis of the International Regulation of Agriculture Using a Rights-Based Approach to Food Security (2016)