Helen Irving

Helen Irving (born April 8, 1954) is Professor Emerita at Sydney Law School, University of Sydney, Australia. Irving's research is in constitutional law, employing an historical perspective of the political and social context of Australian constitutional law and citizenship. Research interests include: Australian and comparative constitutional law, gender and constitutionalism, constitutional history and theory, constitutional citizenship.

Between 1997 and 2013, Irving served as a member of the Advisory Council of the National Archives of Australia.

Irving was awarded the Commonwealth of Australia Centenary medal for services to the Centenary of Federation celebrations in 2001 and was a finalist for the NSW Premier's Centenary History Award.

Irving has held international visiting positions in Hong Kong (2004), London (2009), the Fernaund Braudel Senior Fellowship at the European University Institute (2015) and Harvard Chair of Australian Studies at Harvard Law School (2005-2006).

In 2012 Irving received a Faculty of Law Award for Excellence in Teaching. An expert witness on various Commonwealth Parliament committees.

Most recently completing an ARC Discovery Grant project on constitutional citizenship and allegiance. Irving retired in 2020 after 19 years in the Sydney Law School

Irving currently resides in Sydney Australia with her husband, philosopher Stephen Gaukroger.

At the end of 2020, Irving retired from the University of Sydney after 19 years of service. She has been an expert witness for various Commonwealth Parliament committees, and recently became a Member on the Advisory Council, Museum of Democracy, “Democracy DNA” exhibition.

Education
Irving was awarded a Bachelor of Arts from Melbourne, a Bachelor of Law (Honours) and PhD from University of Sydney. In the interim, Irving completed a Masters of Philosophy at University of Cambridge, England.

Contributions outside academia
By invitation of United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Irving co-authored a report (alongside Professor Vivien Hart) on gender equality and constitution-making for Iraq in 2003. She contributed by invitation to UN Women workshops on women and constitutional design in New York (2015) and Santiago (2016), the latter as a joint UN Women and Chilean government initiative on Chilean constitutional reform. She has also advised international organisations on constitutional design and gender equality, including on the development of a practical guide to constitution-making for women in countries embarking on constitutional reform.

Irving has written over 50 opinion pieces for newspapers and journals on constitutional history and citizenship, in particular during the years leading to the centenary of federation, the republic debate, and the debate on the proposed adoption of a national Human Rights Act, and most recently on citizenship.

Awards
Source:


 * 1995, Women and Politics essay prize, Australian Association of Political Science.
 * 1996, Manning Clark essay prize, Evatt Foundation
 * 1998, Honourable mention, Centre for Australian Cultural Studies Book Award, for To Constitute a Nation (CUP 1997)
 * 2001, Finalist, NSW Premier's Centenary History Award, for Irving (ed), The Centenary Companion to Australian Federation (CUP 1999)
 * 1995, Australian Political Science Association, Women and Politics essay prize
 * 2003, Centenary Medal
 * 2005–2006, Harvard Chair of Australian Studies
 * 2012 University of Sydney, Law School Award for Excellence in Teaching
 * 2015 Fernand Braudel Visiting Fellow, the European University Institute

Honours

 * 2008, Delegate, Prime Minister's 2020 Summit
 * 2013 Elected Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia
 * 2014 Elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law
 * 2015 Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales

External sources

 * Speech by Helen Irving- Launch of the Henry Parkes Foundation, NSW Parliament House, 4 June 1999
 * Speech by Federal Arts Minister, Peter Mcgaruan - Launch Irving's The Centenary Companion to Australian Federation, 1 November 1999
 * Helen Irving on Mary Wollstonecraft and the Enlightenment via YouTube