Rate My Professor Carrie McDougall

Associate Professor Carrie McDougall is an expert in international law at Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne. She re-joined the faculty in 2018 following nearly a decade with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). At DFAT, she served as Legal Specialist and Assistant Director of the International Law Section, providing advice on the jus ad bellum, international criminal law, international humanitarian law, the responsibility to protect, and the protection of civilians. This included guidance on Australian military operations in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan, as well as legal issues during Australia’s tenure on the United Nations Security Council. Carrie represented Australia at international meetings, such as the International Criminal Court’s Assembly of States Parties, and played key roles in negotiations concerning the downing of Flight MH17 and the establishment of the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism for Syria. Immediately prior to returning to academia, she was Legal Adviser at Australia’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York, where she acted as Vice-President of the UN General Assembly’s Sixth Committee and led Australia’s efforts on the Responsibility to Protect.

Carrie holds a PhD in international criminal law from Melbourne Law School and graduated as University Medallist with First Class Honours in both Law and Arts from the University of Tasmania. She is admitted as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria and the High Court of Australia. Her primary research interests lie in the jus ad bellum and international criminal law, complemented by work in international humanitarian law. Notable publications include her monograph, The Crime of Aggression under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (Cambridge University Press, 2021), which has garnered over 130 citations; “The Imperative of Prosecuting Crimes of Aggression Committed against Ukraine” (Journal of Conflict and Security Law, 2023); and “Autonomous Weapon Systems and Accountability: Putting the Cart before the Horse” (Melbourne Journal of International Law, 2019). Prior to DFAT, she was a Research Fellow at Melbourne Law School, contributing to guidelines on the protection of civilians for the African Union. She currently teaches Public International Law in the Melbourne JD program and International Criminal Law in the Melbourne Law Masters.