Home › Research▻People▻Law

Law

Dr Anna Arstein-Kerslake

B.A., J.D., PhD

Contact Details

Lecturer Below The Bar
School of Law
NUI Galway
T: Ext. 4008
E: anna.arsteinkerslake@nuigalway.ie
 
researcher
 

Biography

Dr Anna Arstein-Kerslake is an internationally recognised legal academic in the fields of human rights, disability rights, and gender justice. She has published widely in these areas, including her recent books, Restoring Voice to People (Cambridge University Press 2017) and Legal Capacity and Gender (Springer 2020). She is the Programme Director of the LLM in International Human Rights Law at the Irish Centre for Human Rights at NUIG. She is also the Associate Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at the School of Law and the Vice Dean of Graduate Studies in the College of Business, Public Policy, and Law. 

She has led several large scale research projects as well as law and policy reform initiatives. For example, she was a Chief Investigator on the Unfitness to Plead Project, funded by the Australian Government, which applied a human rights framework to investigate the indefinite detention of people with cognitive disability after being found 'unfit to plead'. She has also received several grants for the development of the international Disability Human Rights Research Network (DHRRN), which she founded in 2015 and spans Europe, India, USA, and Australia. She has been a leader in interdisciplinary and cross-sectorial research development. From 2014-2017, she was the Academic Convenor of the Hallmark Disability Research Initiative (DRI) across all faculties of the University of Melbourne.

Dr Arstein-Kerslake is also committed to bringing research into the classroom and engaging students with community, industry, and government sectors. She developed and led, the Disability Human Rights Clinic (DHRC) and the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and Disability Benefits Clinic at Melbourne Law School.

She has also held various fellowships and visiting scholar posts - including the 
Douglas McK. Brown Chair in Law at Peter A. Allard School of Law, University of British Columbia, and a Marie Curie Research Fellowship at NUIG. Dr Arstein-Kerslake has also participated widely in consultation with governments and other bodies, including: World Health Organisation (WHO), United Kingdom Ministry of Justice, Irish Ministry of Justice, Amnesty Ireland, Interights, and Mental Disability Advocacy Center, among others. Notably, she provided support to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on their general comment on the right to equal recognition before the law.

She holds a PhD in Law from NUIG, a JD from the City University of New York (CUNY) School of Law, and a BA in Sociology from San Diego State University (SDSU).

Research Interests

Human Rights, Disability Rights, Legal Personhood, Legal Capacity Law, Gender Justice, Rape and Sexual Offenses Law, Disability Studies, Minority Group Studies

Research Projects

  Project Start Date End Date
Disability Rights Expanding Accessible Markets (DREAM) Training Network 01-SEP-11 31-AUG-14

Peer Reviewed Journals

  Year Publication
(2014) 'Legislating Personhood: realising the right to support in exercising legal capacity'
Eilionoir Flynn, Anna Arstein-Kerslake (2014) 'Legislating Personhood: realising the right to support in exercising legal capacity'. International Journal Of Law In Context, [Details]
(2014) 'A Call to Action: The Realisation of Equal Recognition Under the Law for People with Disabilities in the EU'
Anna Arstein-Kerslake (2014) 'A Call to Action: The Realisation of Equal Recognition Under the Law for People with Disabilities in the EU'. European Yearbook Of Disability Law, 5 [Details]
(2014) 'The Support Model of Legal Capacity: Fact, Fiction or Fantasy?'
Anna Arstein-Kerslake and Eilionoir Flynn (2014) 'The Support Model of Legal Capacity: Fact, Fiction or Fantasy?'. International Law Journal, [Details]
(2014) 'Legislating Personhood: Realising the Right to Support in Exercising Legal Capacity'
Anna Arstein-Kerslake and Eilionoir Flynn (2014) 'Legislating Personhood: Realising the Right to Support in Exercising Legal Capacity'. International Journal Of Law In Context, 10 (1):81-104 [Details]

Book Chapters

  Year Publication
(2013) 'Restoring the ‘Human’ in ‘Human Rights’ – Personhood and Doctrinal Innovation in the UN Disability Convention'
Gerard Quinn with Anna Arstein-Kerslake (2013) 'Restoring the ‘Human’ in ‘Human Rights’ – Personhood and Doctrinal Innovation in the UN Disability Convention' In: The Cambridge Companion to Human Rights Law. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [Details]

Other Journals

  Year Publication
(2014) 'An empowering dependency: exploring support for the exercise of legal capacity'
Anna Arstein-Kerslake (2014) 'An empowering dependency: exploring support for the exercise of legal capacity' Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research, . [Details]

Conference Contributions

  Year Publication
(2014) Reflections on Articles 12 and 13 UN CRPD: The is and the oughts on legal capacity and access to justice for persons with disabilities,
Anna Arstein-Kerslake (2014) Normative Content of Article 12 CRPD. [Invited Oral Presentation], Reflections on Articles 12 and 13 UN CRPD: The is and the oughts on legal capacity and access to justice for persons with disabilities, Brussels, Belgium , 27-MAR-14 - 27-MAR-14. [Details]
(2013) 5th International Disability Law Summer School, Centre for Disability Law and Policy, National University of Ireland, Galway,
Anna Arstein-Kerslake (2013) Equal Recognition before the Law of People with Disabilities: Reforming Laws and Realizing Rights. [Invited Lecture], 5th International Disability Law Summer School, Centre for Disability Law and Policy, National University of Ireland, Galway, Galway, Ireland , 18-JUN-13 - 19-JUN-13. [Details]
(2013) Prader-Willi Syndrome Association of Ireland Annual Conference 2013,
Anna Arstein-Kerslake (2013) Capacity Law and Supported Decision Making in the Context of Prader-Willi Syndrome. [Invited Oral Presentation], Prader-Willi Syndrome Association of Ireland Annual Conference 2013, Dublin, Ireland , 19-APR-13 - 19-APR-13. [Details]
(2013) Nordic Network on Disability Research Conference,
Anna Arstein-Kerslake (2013) An Empowering Dependence: Exploring the Role of Supported Decision-Maker. [Conference Paper], Nordic Network on Disability Research Conference, Turku, Finland , 30-MAY-13 - 31-MAY-13. [Details]
(2012) Human Development and Capabilities Association Conference,
Anna Arstein-Kerslake (2012) Cognitive Disability and the Capabilities Approach: Exploring a Human Right to Individual Development. [Conference Paper], Human Development and Capabilities Association Conference, Jakarta, Indonesia , 05-SEP-12 - 07-SEP-12. [Details]
(2012) 2nd World Congress on Guardianship,
Anna Arstein-Kerslake and Dr. Eilionoir Flynn (2012) Implementing a Support Model of Legal Capacity: Enabling Conditions and the Continuum of Support. [Oral Presentation], 2nd World Congress on Guardianship, Melbourne, Australia , 15-OCT-12 - 15-OCT-12. [Details]
(2012) Iceland Disability Studies Conference,
Anna Arstein-Kerslake (2012) Restoring Voice to People: The UN CRPD and Good Practice in Supported Decision Making. [Keynote Address], Iceland Disability Studies Conference, Reykjavik, Iceland , 16-NOV-12 - 16-NOV-12. [Details]
(2012) Empowerment: The Masterkey to Success,
Anna Arstein-Kerslake (2012) Respecting Choices: Decision-Making and the Law. [Invited Oral Presentation], Empowerment: The Masterkey to Success, Melbourne, Australia , 11-OCT-12 - 12-OCT-12. [Details]

Honours and Awards

  Year Title Awarding Body
2012 Popper Jones Award CUNY School of Law

Professional Associations

  Association Function From / To
Law and Society Association Co-Chair of Collaborative Research Network (CRN) on Legal Personhood /
International Journal of Disability and Social Justice (IJDSJ) Editorial Board Member /

Employment

  Employer Position From / To
National University of Ireland Galway Lecturer 01-SEP-21 /
National University of Ireland Galway Marie Curie Research Fellow 01-SEP-11 / 31-AUG-14
Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne Senior Lecturer 01-JAN-16 / 31-DEC-19
Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne Lecturer 15-OCT-14 / 31-DEC-15
Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne Associate Professor 01-JAN-20 /

Education

  Year Institution Qualification Subject
2006 San Diego State University Bachelor of Arts Sociology
2015 National University of Ireland Galway PhD Law
2010 City University of New York School of Law SJD Law, Juris Doctorate

Modules Taught

  Term/Year Module Title Module Code Subject / Desc
Semester 1, 2021/2022 International Human Rights Law LW5117