Dr Firew Tiba

Dr Firew Tiba is a Senior Lecturer in International Law in Deakin Law School. Before coming to Deakin, Firew was a lecturer in law at Waikato University in New Zealand. He was formerly a research officer and postdoctoral fellow with the Faculty of Law of the University of Hong Kong where he worked on Hong Kong Bill of Rights Project, The Hong Kong Basic  Law Project and a project on possible uses of technology to offer professional legal education. In 2006, he was a visiting researcher at Max Planck Institute of Comparative and Public International Law in Heidelberg. He was also a recipient of the DAAD Scholarship in 2001, the Monbukagakusho scholarship from the Japanese Government in 2003 and 2004, the University of Hong Kong Studentship in 2004 to 2008, and the University of Hong Kong Foundation Scholarship for Outstanding Overseas Research Students in 2004.

Firew obtained his PhD in International Dispute Resolution from the University of Hong Kong in 2008. His PhD thesis, 'Multiplicity of International Courts and Tribunals: Implications for Coherent Application of Public International Law', was nominated by the Faculty of Law for the University’s best thesis award. He has a master of laws degrees in international economic and business law from Kyushu University in 2004, and Human Rights Law from the University of Pretoria in South Africa in 2001. Firew also finished his Bachelor of Laws degree with distinction from Addis Ababa University in 1999. He holds a number of short-term certificates in his field from the University of Pretoria in South Africa, Leiden University and Utrecht University in the Netherlands, and Xiamen Academy of International Law in China.  

Firew’s research interests are in cross-cutting issues in international dispute resolution, cross-border business transactions and international criminal law.  He has published in reputable journals such as the International Journal of Criminal Justice, Chicago Journal of International Law, Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution, European Journal of Law and Technology Willamette Journal of Dispute Resolution, and Gonzaga Journal of International Law. Firew's book chapters are published by publishers such as Oxford University Press, Intersentia, Sweet and Maxwell of Thomson Reuters; Pretoria University Law Press. 

Firew has presented several papers at international and national academic conferences. He welcomes PhD supervision queries in his area of research and interests. Firew has experience in coaching and advising student teams seeking to participate in international and national moot court competitions and is keen to assist teams seeking his input.

His teaching and unit chair roles at Deakin include the units of Business Law, Contract Law, Introduction to Commercial Law, International Commercial Law, and Corporate Law.