Women Leaders in Law Fellowship for Anna Marie Brennan
Borrin Foundation Women Leaders in Law Fellowship
Anna Marie’s plan
Anna Marie will use the fellowship to examine how Aotearoa New Zealand regulates its space industry and whether there is a case for reform. In particular, she will consider the regulation of the space industry from the perspective of participation, partnership and protection as the core principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. A study of this kind has never been undertaken and it will examine whether the government’s engagement with Māori on the development of New Zealand’s space strategy and legislation has been properly informed by the concept of kaitiakitanga (guardianship) as a guiding framework to ensure that space, and its benefits, remain accessible for all.
About Anna Marie
Dr Anna Marie Brennan is a senior lecturer in Te Piringa Faculty of Law at the University of Waikato where she served as Acting Dean in 2023. Currently, she serves as the New Zealand Chair of the AI and Space Law Society and in 2019, she was awarded the Thomson Reuters Prize for Research Excellence. Previously, Anna Marie has held lectureships at the University of Liverpool in the United Kingdom and University College Cork in Ireland. She researches in the areas of international criminal law, international humanitarian law and outer space law. Her first book, Transnational Terrorist Groups and International Criminal Law, was published by Routledge in 2019. An edited monograph, The Future of Outer Space Law, will be published by Routledge in 2024. A sole-authored monograph, Aotearoa New Zealand and Outer Space: Law, Policy and Sustainable Development, will be published by LexisNexis in 2025. An edited monograph titled, A Research Agenda for International Criminal Law, which is generously supported by a Travel and Learning Grant from the Borrin Foundation, will be published by Edward Elgar in mid-2026. In the past, Anna Marie has held visiting positions at Harvard Law School, the University of Cambridge, the International Criminal Court, the TMC Asser Institute for International Law and the Graduate Institute for International and Development Studies.
Grant Amount
$19,500 in 2024-2025
“I am immensely humbled to be considered worthy of this prestigious fellowship. It will provide crucial support to develop momentum as a female scholar in the field of outer space law. Over the past six years, I have been proud to call Aotearoa New Zealand my home and this fellowship will enable me to give back to the community and contribute to the legacy of Judge Ian Borrin and his family. I am very grateful to the Borrin Foundation for their continued support to carry out my research.“