Anthony Connolly

Professor Anthony Connolly is the Dean of the ANU College of Law, Governance and Policy since January 2025 (and previously Dean of the ANU College of Law since December 2022). He specializes in legal philosophy, Indigenous rights law, and public law, with additional interests in legal education and academic governance. His leadership focuses on educational reforms and establishing ANU as a global leader in legal scholarship.

• BA.LLB (Hons) from University of Western Australia
• Ph.D. in Philosophy from Australian National University
• MHEd in Education from Australian National University

Professor Connolly’s research explores legal philosophy through topics like legal regulation of cognition, intercultural recognition, and analytic jurisprudence. His work on Indigenous rights addresses self-determination, cultural heritage, and self-government frameworks. He also examines public law dynamics, including federalism, statutory interpretation, and legal pluralism.

His recent publications focus on legal philosophy and Indigenous rights, with keywords spanning jurisprudence, legal theory, cultural difference, statutory interpretation, and judicial ethics. These works often intersect with public law and legal education reforms.

• Scientific Awards: Australian Learning and Teaching Council Priority Project Grant for curriculum internationalization (2010).

Professor Connolly supervises PhD students James Gaetani (Commonwealth's accommodation of Indigenous decision-making) and Gemmo Fernandez (implementation of collective norms). He has led educational reform initiatives and served as Editor-in-Chief of the Federal Law Review since 2014.