Kerstin Steiner

• LL.B (Germany)
• LL.M (Melbourne)
• PhD (Melbourne)

Dr. Kerstin Steiner commenced her position as Lecturer in the Faculty of Business and Economics, Department of Business Law and Taxation (BLT), at Monash University in 2008.

Prior to joining BLT, Kerstin was a staff member of the Asian Law Centre from 2001 to 2008 working on a variety of projects with different members of the Centre. She has also been a Research Fellow at the Centre for Islamic Law and Society since 2005 and was a lecturer at the National Centre of Excellence for Islamic Studies in 2008, both at The University of Melbourne.

Kerstin holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Bielefeld, Germany and a Master of Laws from the University of Melbourne and completed her doctoral studies at The University of Melbourne in 2007.

Research

Kerstin's research interests include the study of Southeast Asian legal systems, Islamic law in Southeast Asia, comparative law and international law. She has presented her research at conferences and seminars nationally and internationally and published her work in English and German.

Kerstin has been selected as a finalist in an essay competition and as such won a scholarship to present her research paper at an international workshop in Berlin.

Her paper ‘National Identity and Religious Harmony – Secularism the ‘Singaporean Way’: The State and the Muslim Minority in Singapore’ will be presented at the 10th Berlin Roundtables on Transnationality: Urban Governance: Innovation, Insecurity and the Power of Religion, which is organised by the Humboldt University Berlin, the Social Science Research Centre and Irmgard Coninx Foundation

Teaching

Kerstin has taught and guest lectured in her research area at undergraduate and postgraduate level in various subjects prior to commencing her position at the Department of Business Law and Taxation. She is currently teaching Business Law.

Affiliations

• Advisory Board Member, Irmgard Coninx Stiftung, Berlin, Germany (2008 - present)
• Associate, Asian Law Centre, The University of Melbourne (2008 - present)
• Research Fellow (Honorary Appointment), Centre for the Study of Islam and Society, The University of Melbourne (2005 - present)

Publications

• Tim Lindsey and Kerstin Steiner (forthcoming), Islam and Law in Singapore: Laws, Legal Institutions and the Muslim Minority, accepted by I.B.Tauris
• Tim Lindsey and Kerstin Steiner (forthcoming), Islam and Law in Malaysia and Brunei: Laws, Legal Institutions and the Anglo-Malay Maddhab, accepted by I.B.Tauris
• Kerstin Steiner (2008), 'Regionale Ausprägung der Menschenrechte - Asien (Regional Interpretations of Human Rights - Asia)' in Ingo Richter (ed), Transnationale Menschenrechte - Schritte zu einer Weltweiten Menschenrechtsordung (Transnational Human Rights - Steps towards a Worldwide Framework of Human Rights), Barbara Budrich Verlag, Leverkusen, Germany, pp. 299 - 319
• Kerstin Steiner and Nguyen Hung Quang (2005), 'Ideology and Professionalism: The Resurgence of the Vietnamese Bar' in John Gillespie and Pip Nicholson (eds),'Asian Socialism and Legal Change: The Dynamics of Vietnamese and Chinese Reform', Asia Pacific Press, Canberra, pp. 191-211
• Kerstin Steiner (2005) 'Asian Values' and Human Rights - In Search of a New Taxonomy for Analysing Comparative Human Rights Studies in a Highly Diverse Region', Comparative Law Journal (Hikakuho Kenkyu), No. 66, May, pp. 191-207

Refereed Conference Papers

2008

• 'Human Rights Protection at the Crossroad? International Law, Religious Laws and National Laws: Jurisdictional Division and Freedom of Religion in Malaysia', Centre for South East Asian Studies, Seminar Series, Monash University, Australia, 9 October 2008
• 'International Law and Accountability for Human Rights Violations: A Comparison of the Viability of the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation (CVAR) and the Commission of Truth and Friendship (CTF) in East Timor', Workshop: 'Does International Law Matter?: The Role of International Tribunals in Regulating Global Order', BLT, Monash University, Australia, 3 October 2008

2007

• 'A Revival of Islamic Laws? A Case Study of Apostasy in Malaysia', Between Radicalism and Liberalism? Islamic Law in Southeast Asia, Centre for Islamic Law and Society 2007 Colloquium, The University of Melbourne, Australia, 12 November 2007
• 'Protecting Human Rights under Religious Laws, National Laws and International Law: A Case Study of Freedom of Religion in Malaysia', Law and Society Conference, Humboldt University, Germany, 25-28 July 2007
• 'An Uneasy Compromise? A Case Study of Apostasy and Law in Malaysia', Asian Law Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 30 May 2007
• ''Asian Values'- The Dark Side of International Human Rights Talk?', 4th ASLI Conference on "Voices from Asia for a Just and Equitable World", The University of Indonesia, Indonesia, 24 & 25 May 2007
• 'Faces and Phases of 'Asian Values'- The Misconceptions regarding the 'Asian Values' Discourse', Postgraduate Human Rights Roundtable, The University of Melbourne, Australia, 26 February 2007

2006

• 'Are 'Asian Values' 'Universal'? International Discourses on Human Rights Policies', PhD Completion Seminar, Law School, The University of Melbourne, Australia, 25 September 2007
• ''Asian Values' and the War on Terror: The Re-Emergence for a Challenge to International Human Rights', XVth International Congress Law, Power and Culture: Transnational, National and Local Processes in the Context of Legal Pluralism, International Commission on Folk Law and Legal Pluralism, Depok, West Java, Indonesia, 29 June - 2 July 2006
• 'Islam, Secularism and Human Rights: A Case Study of Freedom of Religion in Malaysia', Berlin Roundtables on Transnationality: Reframing Human Rights, International Workshop, Humboldt University Berlin, Social Science Research Centre and Irmgard Coninx Foundation, Germany, 17-18 May 2006

2005

• ''Asian Values' Challenging the Paradigms of International Human Rights', Berlin Roundtables on Transnationality: Reframing Human Rights, International Workshop, Humboldt University Berlin, Social Science Research Centre and Irmgard Coninx Foundation, Germany, 3-6 October 2005
• 'The Ambiguous Nature of 'Asian Values': Regional or Global Response to the increasing International Scrutiny of Domestic Human Rights Policies?', 2nd ASLI Conference, 'The Challenge of Law in Asia: From Globalization to Regionalization', Faculty of Law, Chulalongkorn University of Bangkok, Thailand, 26 & 27 May 2005
• 'The Ambiguous Effects of Globalisation on Human Rights: Viewing 'Asian Values' through Legal Culture', Asian Law Centre Comparative Law Roundtable, 'Legal Culture and Globalisation of Asia', Law School, The University of Melbourne, Australia, 22 March 2005

2004

• 'How Asian are 'Asian Values'? A Global Perspective of the 'Asian Values' Debate -
  Case Study of South Africa's Apartheid Regime', New Researchers, New Research, The University of Adelaide, Australia, 30 September-2 October 2004
• 'Singapore's Role in Developing 'Asian Values' – Role Model for the Region?', Singapore, Central and Singular, 4th EUROSEAS Conference, Paris, France, 1-4 September 2004
• 'Globalisation, Economic Development and Human Rights in Asia', Southeast Asia in the New Global Context, 4th EUROSEAS Conference, Paris, France, 1-4 September 2004
• ''Asian Values' and Comparative Law Methodology - New Directions or Distractions?, Presentation at the National University of Singapore, Singapore, 20 August 2004
• ''Asian Values' and Human Rights - In Search of a New Taxonomy for Analysing Comparative Human Rights Studies in Southeast Asia', Japan Society of Comparative Law Symposium, 'Agenda and Approach for Comparative Law in the 21 Century Asia', Kanazawa University, Japan, 5 June 2004

Panel Organisation

2006

'Human Rights, Conflicts and Law', XVth International Congress Law, Power and Culture: Transnational, National and Local Processes in the Context of Legal Pluralism, International Commission on Folk Law and Legal Pluralism, Depok, West Java, Indonesia, 29 June - 2 July 2006

Session Moderation

2008

Nur Hidayah, 'Progresseive Muslim Gender Discourse and Activism in Contemporary Indonesia: A Case Study of Rahima', CILS (Centre for Islamic Law and Society) Research Seminar Series, The University of Melbourne, 21 May 2008

2007

• 'Islam and Education', CILS Postgraduate Conference, The University of Melbourne, 14 November 2007
• Imran Lum, 'Islamic Banking and the Tensions between Homo Economicus and Homo Islamicus', CILS (Centre for Islamic Law and Society) Research Seminar Series, The University of Melbourne, 24 October 2007
• Anisa Buckley, 'From Prohibiting Levirate to mandating Conditional Talaq: The Interplay of Islamic Laws and Cultural Practices in Marriage and Divorce', CILS (Centre for Islamic Law and Society) Research Seminar Series, The University of Melbourne, 3 October 2007

2006

• Neighbours (John Martinkus, Emha Ainun Nadjib and Ian Betts and their writings on Islam in Indonesia), Melbourne Writers Festival, Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne, Australia, 1 September 2006
• 'Religion and Legal Pluralism', XVth International Congress Law, Power and Culture: Transnational, National and Local Processes in the Context of Legal Pluralism, International Commission on Folk Law and Legal Pluralism, Depok, West Java, Indonesia, 29 June - 2 July 2006
• 'Human Rights, Conflicts and Law', XVth International Congress Law, Power and Culture: Transnational, National and Local Processes in the Context of Legal Pluralism, International Commission on Folk Law and Legal Pluralism, Depok, West Java, Indonesia, 29 June - 2 July 2006