Melbourne Law School Asian Law Centre

Ms Jemma Parsons

Jemma Parsons joined the Asian Law Centre in 2007 as a Research Assistant for Professor Tim Lindsey's ARC Federation Fellowship, after completing a degree in Asian Studies (Indonesian) at the Australian National University in 2006. She was appointed as a Principal Research Assistant in the Centre in 2007.  Jemma spent more than 2 years living and working in Indonesia while completing her undergraduate degree.  She speaks Bahasa Indonesia. She is currently completing her Masters in Public and International Law at the University of Melbourne. Her current research interests include the regulation of Islamic education in Indonesia, as well as Islamic law and its development in Indonesia.

Ms Helen Pausacker

Helen Pausacker joined the Centre in 1999.  She is an Arts graduate of the University of Melbourne (BA (Hons), BLitt and Graduate Certificate in Gender and Development) and Monash University (MA) and is currently enrolled as a PhD student in the Law Faculty.  Helen works as a Principal Research Assistant with Professor Tim Lindsey's ARC Federation Fellowship.  Helen is involved in editing articles and translating Indonesian legal texts. Her research interests include charges of ‘pornography’ and prosecution of religious sects, both under the current Indonesian Criminal Code. Helen also researches Indonesian (particularly Javanese) culture, has trained as a dalang (shadow puppeteer) and is a member of two gamelan orchestras.

Mr Rival Ahmad

Rival Ahmad joined the Asian Law Centre in 2009 as a Research Assistant. He is currently completing his LL.M in Melbourne Law School funded by Australian Development Scholarship (ADS). He completed his Bachelor of Law degree at Universitas Indonesia. Prior to his study in Melbourne, he joined as a researcher at Pusat Studi Hukum & Kebijakan Indonesia (PSHK) or Indonesian Centre for Law & Policy Studies, a law reform NGO in Jakarta. Since 2002, Rival has been a visiting lecturer on Anthropology of Law as well as Gender, Law and Development at the Faculty of Law Universitas Indonesia. His research interests include law reform movement, legislation making, law in multicultural society and civil society regulation.

Mr Hean Leng Ang

Mr Thomas Bray

Mr Jeremy Breaden

Jeremy Breaden holds honours degrees in Law and Arts from the University of Melbourne and is currently in the final stages of a PhD candidature in the Asia Institute. His PhD research concerns the internationalisation of Japanese higher education. Other research interests include the governance and administration of universities in Asia and the politics of community development in Japan.

Jeremy is also involved in teaching undergraduate subjects in the Faculty of Arts, as well as operating a private Japanese-English translation consultancy with clients in Japan, Australia and the United States.

Ms Faye Chan

Faye Chan joined the Asian Law Centre in 2007 as a research assistant. She is a graduate of the University of Melbourne, with a B.A. (Hons) in Indonesian and Chinese Studies and a M.A. in History. Faye has spent the past 14 years in the Netherlands, where she freelanced as a proofreader of English manuscripts produced by European and Asian students/academics.

Faye is currently undertaking a PhD for the University of Amsterdam, researching three generations of Peranakan Chinese women in Java and the Netherlands, spanning the entire 20th century. Her research interests include comparing gender & Islam issues between Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

Mr Tom Coghlan

Tom Coghlan joined the Asian Law Centre in 2007 as a research assistant. He is currently completing his final year of an arts/law degree at the University of Melbourne. He has spent time in both Indonesia and East Timor, which has included completing a youth exchange program in Indonesia in 2005, and acting as an electoral observer at the 2007 Parliamentary election in East Timor. His research interests include Islamic law, and law and governance issues in Indonesia and East Timor.

Ms Melissa Crouch

Melissa joined the Asian Law Centre in 2005 as a research assistant. She is also a Research Assistant for Professor Tim Lindsey's ARC Federation Fellowship. In 2006, Melissa completed Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws (Hons.) degrees at the University of Melbourne. She has since completed her Articles of Clerkship at Lewis Holdway Lawyers. Melissa has been the Editorial Assistant for the Australian Journal of Asian Law since December 2008.

Melissa's research interests include Indonesian law, the rights of minority groups, inter-religious relations and Islamic law. Melissa has had articles published in the Asian Journal of Comparative Law, the Australian Journal of Asian Law and the Singapore Journal of Legal Studies

Ms Melinda Han

Melinda Han joined the Asian Law Centre in 2008 as a research assistant. She is currently in her fourth year of a Commerce/Law degree with a Diploma in Modern Languages (Japanese) at the University of Melbourne. Fluent in Korean, Melinda has worked as an interpreter and has undertaken legal work experience in South Korea.

Mr Danny Haworth

Mr Jeremy Kingsley

Jeremy Kingsley joined the Asian Law Centre in 2003 as a research assistant to Professor Tim Lindsey and editorial assistant to the Australian Journal of Asian Law. Jeremy is a graduate of Deakin University, having completed a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws in 2001. Jeremy has recently completed the Master of Laws at the University of Melbourne (focusing on Asian Law and Comparative Legal Studies). Prior to this Jeremy practiced as a lawyer at a major city law firm.

Jeremy is currently a PhD Candidate in the Melbourne Law School, under the supervision of Professor Tim Lindsey and Professor Abdullah Saeed. In 2007-2008, he undertook fieldwork in Lombok, Indonesia, as part of his doctoral research. This research is supported by an Endeavour Australia Cheung Kong Award and an ARC Federation Fellowship doctoral scholarship.

Jeremy’s research interests include comparative legal studies, Indonesian law, Islamic jurisprudence and interdisciplinary research. Jeremy has written widely and has had articles published in the Arizona Journal of International and Comparative Law and the European Business Law Review, as a co-author of several chapters in edited collections on Islamic and Indonesian legal issues and writes regular opinion pieces in the Melbourne Herald Sun, the Australian and Straits Times (Singapore). 

Ms Rozanna Latiff

Rozanna Latiff joined the Asian Law Centre in 2007 as a research assistant for Professor Tim Lindsey's ARC Discovery Project "Islamic Law in Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore".  She is predominantly working on Islamic law and administration in Malaysia.

Rozanna was born and raised in Malaysia and Singapore and is fluent in both English and Malay. She is currently in her fourth year of a Law/Arts (Media and Communications) degree at the University of Melbourne. Her research interests include law in Malaysia, Islamic law and comparative media studies.

Ms Monica Lillas

Monica joined the Asian Law Centre in 2008 as a research assistant to Ms. Stacey Steele. She is currently completing a Bachelor of Arts and Law at the University of Melbourne. Monica is particularly interested in Japanese law and culture, and is undertaking a Japanese language major within her Arts degree. In the future she seeks to further her study of foreign legal systems, as she sees this as a useful way of understanding, developing and critiquing Australia’s own legal system.

Ms Maki Nakajima

Ms Maki Nakajima joined the Centre as Research Assistant to the Japanese program in August 2004. Maki is a graduate in law from Seikei Law Faculty in Tokyo, Japan, and worked in the corporate sector in Japan before coming to Melbourne where she completed her LL.M. at the Melbourne Law School in 2003. She is now resident in Tokyo and is assisting Stacey Steele and Malcolm Smith on special projects. Her main research interests are in commercial law, comparative law, and, of course, Japanese Law.

Nic Parsons

 Nic is currently completing a bachelors degree in Laws/Asian Studies
(Indonesia) at the Australian National University.

Nic developed his passion for Indonesian constitutional law, public law, international criminal law and human rights while completing a year-long in-country studies program based at the Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), Jogjakarta. He speaks Bahasa Indonesia with near-native fluency and also studied traditional Sundanese drums at one of Indonesia's most highly regarded arts institutes, STSI-Bandung. His interests include politics, human rights and good governance.

Mr Robin Perry

Robin Perry joined the Asian Law Centre in 2009 as a research assistant and is currently studying for his Masters in Public and International Law at the University of Melbourne. Before coming to Melbourne he worked on a number of overseas rule of law programs, including in Liberia, Yemen and Timor-Leste, and prior to this practised law as a solicitor in Perth for several years.

Robin's current research interests include the relationship between formal and customary systems of law and transitional justice in post-conflict states. He speaks Bahasa Indonesia at an intermediate level.

Mr Simon Pitt

Simon Pitt joined the Asian Law Centre in 2005 as a research assistant to Associate Professor Pip Nicholson. Simon is currently in his third year of a Commerce/Law degree at the University of Melbourne, and is fluent in French. Simon is also undertaking a Diploma of Modern Languages in Chinese (Mandarin), works as a volunteer at the Disability Discrimination Legal Service, and is an Assistant Editor of the Melbourne University Law Review.

Ms Jessica Rae

Jessica Rae joined the Asian Law Centre in 2006 as a research assistant. She is currently in her fifth year of a Commerce/Law degree and Diploma of Modern Languages in Indonesian at The University of Melbourne. Jessica has spent time in Indonesia, and East Timor where she worked on the United Nations Development Programme 'Strengthening the Justice System in Timor-Leste' project. Her research interests include law reform, traditional justice systems and natural resource management in Indonesia and East Timor, and good governance in international territorial administrations.

Mr Nikolas Feith Tan 

Nikolas Feith Tan joined the Asian Law Centre in 2009 and is a 5th year Arts/Law student at the University of Melbourne. He has lived and worked in both Indonesia and Timor Leste as a volunteer teacher, project officer and interpreter, and was a delegate and panelist at the 2009 Australia-Indonesia Conference in Sydney. Nikolas has a strong interest Australian relations with Asia, particularly with Indonesia and Timor Leste, and is also Overseeing Coordinator of the Sudanese Australian Integrated Learning (SAIL) Program

Mr Dylan Tromp

Mr Charles Westh

Charles Westh joined the Asian Law Centre in 2009 as a research assistant to Andrew Godwin. Charles is currently in his fifth year of a Commerce/Law degree and Diploma of Modern Languages in Chinese (Mandarin) at The University of Melbourne. Charles has spent time in Mainland China on an Australia-China Council language study program, as well as a semester at The University of Hong Kong as a Law Faculty exchange student. Charles also recently completed a seasonal clerkship in the Hong Kong office of Mallesons Stephen Jaques. His research interests include cross-border M&A transactions and insolvency, with particular emphasis on China.

Mr Kevin Zhou

Kevin Zhou joined the Asian Law Centre in 2007 as a research assistant. He is currently completing his Juris Doctor at the Faculty of Law, the University of Melbourne. As a native Chinese speaker, Kevin is fluent in Mandarin and English. He received his Bachelor degree from Beijing Normal University. Prior to his study in Melbourne, he worked as a partner’s assistant in a Chinese law firm. His academic interests include comparative law, commercial law and fiscal law. He is also interested in Chinese law reform.  

Ms Sonja Zivak

Sonja Zivak is a student in the Juris Doctor degree at the University of Melbourne. She joined the Asian Law Centre as a research assistant in 2008. Sonja holds a BA in Communication and Cultural Studies from Curtin University (2005) and an Honours degree in English Literature from the University of Melbourne (2007). Her research interests include Public International Law, Employment and Labour Relations Law and Dispute Resolution.