PhD (ANU)

Bachelor of Jurisprudence (Hons) UWA
Bachelor of Laws (UWA)
GCERT (Arts) UWA
Admitted in WA, Victoria and New York State.

Dr Jacinta Dharmananda is a nationally recognised scholar on the law governing statutory interpretation, and also researches on legislative drafting and the legislative process. She is the co-author of the recently published book Modern Statutory Interpretation: Framework, Principles and Practice (Cambridge UP, 2023), has published widely in scholarly and practitioner publications, and made submissions on legislative design and scrutiny of legislation to parliamentary committees and the Australian Law Reform Commission. Jacinta completed her PhD at the Australian National University under the supervision of Professor Peter Cane. Her PhD topic was on the relationship between the legislative process and statutory interpretation. In 2017, Jacinta was awarded a Parliamentary Library Summer Research Scholarship to undertake research on the parliamentary process at the Australian Parliamentary Library in Canberra.

Jacinta teaches core and elective subjects on statutory interpretation, the legislative process, mining and energy law and legal ethics. She is available to supervise HDR and other postgraduate students in these areas.

Prior to joining the Law School, Jacinta worked as a lawyer in private practice and in-house positions in the areas of oil and gas, finance and corporate/commercial for more than 12 years. She worked as a lawyer in Australia and overseas including in Singapore, Tokyo, New York, Melbourne and Perth. Admitted in Western Australia, Victoria and New York State, USA.

UWA

• Legal Interpretation (core JD unit) - Unit Coordinator, lecturer and tutor
• Professional and Ethical Practice (core JD unit) - lecturer and tutor
• Mining and Energy Law (JD elective) - Unit Coordinator and tutor
• Member, Law School Research Committee
• Law School Representative, UWA Early Mid-Career Research Network Advisory Group
• Law School Representative, UWA Employability and Careers Development Committee (Academic Board sub-committee)
• Deputy Head of School (Community & Engagement) 2021 - 2023

External

• Associate Member, Commonwealth Association of Legislative Counsel
• Member, Australasian Study of Parliament Group (WA Chapter)
• Member, Society of Legal Scholars
• Member, International Parliament Engagement Network (IPEN)
• Member, Energy & Resources Law Association
• Member,  The International Society of Public Law
• Member, The Law Society of Western Australia
• Member, Advisory Board of LaTrobe Centre for Legislation, Its Interpretation and Drafting-March 2016 to 2023

2023, ARF/LIEF, Digitizing the Drafting of the Australian Constitution

Honorarium for successful completion of 2017 Parliamentary Library Summer Research Scholarship

2016 Law School Research Grant (Conference/travel) as contribution towards attendance at the Society of Legal Scholars Annual Conference in the UK, September 2016 (Theme: Legislation and the Judiciary)

2013 Recipient of UWA Improving Student Learning Grant: ‘The Making of Legislation: An Inside View for Students’ Interview Series

Corporate Associate, Milbank, Singapore and then Tokyo, Japan

Corporate Associate, Covington & Burling, New York City, USA

Senior Counsel, Petroleum Division, BHP Billiton, Melbourne, Australia

Solicitor then Senior Associate, Herbert Smith Freehills (then Freehills), Perth, Australia

Legal Counsel, Nisseki Mitsubishi (then Mitsubishi Oil Company), Tokyo, Japan

See 'Roles and Responsibilities' above.

Statutory interpretation, including delegated legislation

Legislative process

Legislative drafting

Parliament

See Engagement tab