Rate My Professor Rocco Loiacono

Dr. Rocco Loiacono is a Senior Lecturer in the Curtin University Law School, where he teaches Real Property Law and Advanced Legal Research units. He holds an LLB and a Diploma in Modern Languages (First Class Honours) from the University of Western Australia (UWA), along with a PhD awarded by UWA in 2014. His doctoral thesis investigated the complexities of translating bilateral treaties between Italy and English-speaking countries, highlighting the challenges stemming from differences between continental civil law systems and the English common law. Prior to academia, he worked as a lawyer for ten years. Loiacono also lectured in the Master of Translation Studies at UWA. As a NAATI Certified Translator (Italian to English), he served as National President of the Australian Institute of Interpreters and Translators (AUSIT) from 2017 to 2019.

Loiacono's research focuses on legal translation studies, comparative law, and property law. He has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals covering translation, linguistics, and law. Notable publications include 'The complexities of legal translation in the drafting of bilateral treaties between Italy and English-speaking countries' (2018, Perspectives: Studies in Translatology), 'The translator as an expert witness in court' (2022, Translation & Interpreting), 'Retrospective tax law: Has Pandora's Box opened never to be shut again?' (2017, Journal of Australian Taxation), 'Practical aspects of legal translation: the translation of an Italian land sale contract' (2015), 'The translation of proper names in legal translation. A study of the translation of the bilateral agreements between Australia and Italy' (2016), and 'Telling it like it is: oral presentations and peer assessment for business law students' (2016). His scholarship addresses issues such as expert evidence rules for translators, tax legislation interpretation, and landlord-tenant relations under tenancy laws. Loiacono contributes to public discussions on the rule of law and fundamental freedoms through lectures and media.