Lecturer
Overview
Dr Kate Falconer is a Lecturer at the TC Beirne School of Law. Her research interests lie in the law of the dead and bodily disposal, and the ways in which the private law interacts with death, the dead, and dead bodies. She is particularly interested in the impacts and implications of new death technologies both for private law and society more broadly. Kate is the Secretary of the Australian Death Studies Society.
Kate has presented papers at conferences both in Australia and internationally, and has held visiting research positions at Queens University Belfast and the Hastings Center in New York. Her PhD, which focused on possessory rights and interests in the deceased human body and the implications of these interests for property theory, was awarded by the Australian National University in 2020. Kate also holds an LLM in US Law from Washington University in St Louis, as well as an LLB with Honours and an undergraduate degree in archaeology from the University of Queensland. She currently teaches Trusts and Equity.
Research Interests
- Law, Death, and the Dead
- Private, Commercial and Corporate Law
- Property Law Theory
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy, Australian National University
- Master in US Law, Washington University in StLouis
- Bachelor of Laws (Honours), The University of Queensland
Publications
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Journal Article: Cryopreservation and the death of legal personhood
Falconer, Kate (2023). Cryopreservation and the death of legal personhood. Mortality, 1-16. doi: 10.1080/13576275.2023.2230906
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Journal Article: Australian Burial Law 25 Years on from Smith v Tamworth City Council
Falconer, Kate (2022). Australian Burial Law 25 Years on from Smith v Tamworth City Council. Australian Law Journal, 96 (8), 581-594.
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Journal Article: The right to possession of the body of the deceased: a history
Falconer, Kate (2021). The right to possession of the body of the deceased: a history. Law and History, 8 (1), 1-25.
Publications
Journal Article
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Cryopreservation and the death of legal personhood
Falconer, Kate (2023). Cryopreservation and the death of legal personhood. Mortality, 1-16. doi: 10.1080/13576275.2023.2230906
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Australian Burial Law 25 Years on from Smith v Tamworth City Council
Falconer, Kate (2022). Australian Burial Law 25 Years on from Smith v Tamworth City Council. Australian Law Journal, 96 (8), 581-594.
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The right to possession of the body of the deceased: a history
Falconer, Kate (2021). The right to possession of the body of the deceased: a history. Law and History, 8 (1), 1-25.
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Falconer, Kate (2021). Trusts over cremated ashes. Journal of Equity, 15, 283-305.
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Reconceptualising the law of the dead by expanding the interests of the living
Falconer, Kate (2020). Reconceptualising the law of the dead by expanding the interests of the living. Monash University. Law Review, 45 (3), 757-784.
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Falconer, Kate (2019). Dismantling Doodeward: guided discretion as the superior basis for property rights in human biological material. University of New South Wales Law Journal, 42 (3), 899-927.
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An illogical distinction continued: Re Cresswell and property rights in human biological material
Falconer, Kate (2019). An illogical distinction continued: Re Cresswell and property rights in human biological material. University of New South Wales Law Journal Forum
