Dr Regina Jefferies wins 2026 ANZSIL Early Career Prize

Dr Regina Jefferies, a Laureate Postdoctoral Fellow with the Kaldor Centre’s Evacuations Research Hub, has been awarded the 2026 Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law (ANZSIL) Early Career Researcher Article & Book Chapter Prize for her chapter, ‘Transnational Legal Process, Cognition, and Context'.

The prestigious annual prize recognises outstanding scholarship by early career researchers across Australia and New Zealand. Dr Jefferies’s work was selected by the ANZSIL Publication Prizes Committee as a ‘commanding account’ of how insights from cognitive behavioural science, such as risk perception, framing and social proof, can deepen understanding of how international legal norms are interpreted and internalised by State actors.

In the chapter, Dr Jefferies draws on transnational legal process (TLP) theory to examine how international law operates not just through formal rules, but through the behaviour and decision-making of individuals within institutions, such as government officials, courts and civil society.

By integrating insights from cognitive psychology and sociology, the chapter highlights how factors like risk perception, social identity and framing influence the way officials understand and act on legal obligations. For example, it shows how the way a situation is framed – such as viewing a person as a ‘security risk’ rather than someone seeking protection – can affect how international refugee law is applied in practice.

The research also underscores how patterns of behaviour across States can reinforce or erode international legal norms over time. Drawing on examples from refugee law, Dr Jefferies demonstrates how cognitive processes at the individual level can shape broader developments in international law, including how norms evolve or are contested across jurisdictions.

‘This research highlights the importance of looking beyond formal rules to the people and processes that shape how international law operates in practice,’ said Dr Jefferies.

‘By bringing insights from behavioural science into legal analysis, we can better understand how and why people who engage in the everyday practice of international law both influence and are influenced by legal norms and rules.’

Reviewers noted that the chapter makes a significant contribution to TLP scholarship, enriching key concepts such as internalisation while also offering an accessible and insightful overview for a broader audience.

Dr Jefferies formally received the award at the ANZSIL Conference Dinner on 2 July 2026.

This recognition highlights the strength of research at the Kaldor Centre and its contribution to advancing understanding of how international law functions in real-world contexts.

To learn more, visit the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law.