Professor Rosalind Mason, Adjunct Professor at the QUT Faculty of Law, has become the first academic, the first Australian and the first woman to be awarded the prestigious Founder's Award by the International Insolvency Institute (III).
The annual award recognises a member who has made a substantial contribution to further III's goals, mission and work by advancing and promoting insolvency as a respected discipline in the international field.
Professor Mason, an internationally renowned leader in this field, has been described as 'an icon' in the Australian insolvency community.
“Insolvency law is often an area of law that is only considered in time of financial crises. Yet, it allocates the losses where a business fails financially and as such, it underpins an economy's commercial and financial dealings," said Professor Mason.
Through her university and professional leadership roles, Professor Mason has taught specialist insolvency courses, contributed to law reform consultations, including the committee that recommended Australia's adoption of the Model Law on Cross-border Insolvency, served on editorial boards for specialist journals, and presented at conferences of the Federal Court of Australia.
Her professional contributions have included leading a QUT research project on the American Law Institute-III Transnational Insolvency: Global Principles for Cooperation in International Insolvency Cases for the Australian Academy of Law and contributing to the conception of the III joint project with the Asian Business Law Institute on Asian Principles of Business Restructuring. Professor Mason was also an inaugural member of the Academics Steering Committee for INSOL International and succeeded the founding Chair, Professor Ian Fletcher, as head of their Academics Group.
Professor Mason developed the Ian Fletcher International Insolvency Moot with the support of foundation sponsors INSOL International, the III and the QUT Faculty of Law.
“The Moot brings leading judges, practitioners and academics together to share their knowledge and experience with the next generation of law students. The competition was first held in 2017 in Sydney, and subsequently in Vancouver, Canada, and in Singapore, with plans underway for a 2020 competition in Greater London,” she said.
While Professor Mason acknowledges that great strides have been made in recent decades to address the significant issues that arise in an international insolvency, she believes that more work needs to be done, specifically through Australia’s engagement with international initiatives by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law and others.
“Business is increasingly global, and many are dealing with digital disruption, resulting in severe financial stress. It is important that the law keeps pace with such developments and that processes are put in place to encourage cooperation and coordination between jurisdictions that respects differences among national laws,” said Professor Mason.
The Faculty would like to congratulate Professor Mason on her excellent achievements and also on her recent retirement and new role as an Adjunct Professor. The Faculty also thanks Professor Mason for her leadership and multifaceted contributions to the Faculty over the past 12 years.