Professor Pauline Ridge

BA LLB (ANU)(Hons), BCL (Oxon.), Barrister & Solicitor Supreme Court ACT
Professor
ANU College of Law
T: 6125 4126

Areas of expertise

  • Access To Justice 180102
  • Corporations And Associations Law 180109
  • History And Philosophy Of Law And Justice 220204
  • Equity And Trusts Law 180112
  • Religion And Society 220405
  • Law 1801

Research interests

Current research interests concern the equitable doctrine of unconscionable dealing; law and the financing of religion; third party liability for breach of trust; and the liability relationship of third parties and trustees/fiduciaries.

 

Biography

Professor Pauline Ridge is a private law scholar and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.  
Her articles and book chapters concerning equity, restitution, property and contract law have been cited by judges and commentators across the common law world. She co-edited Fault Lines in Equity (Hart Publishing, 2012) and is co-author, with Professor Joachim Dietrich, of Accessories in Private Law (Cambridge University Press, 2015). The book provides an analytical framework and doctrinal exposition of accessory liability, referring to all common law jurisdictions, with an Anglo-Australian focus. Her doctrinal and historical research into the legal regulation of religious financing is also highly regarded.This work has led Pauline into human rights law, particularly the right to freedom of religion, which she is now exploring in the context of private law.
Pauline has given interviews, written opinion pieces and made government submissions on a range of religion and law topics, including the reform of religious charity law and the implications of mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse for the confessional seal. She is a former Director for the Centre for Commercial Law at the ANU College of Law and member of the Charity Law Association, Australia and New Zealand. In 2013 she was a Visiting Fellow, Asian Law Institute, National University of Singapore. Most recently, she was a visitor at Oxford Brooke University's Centre for Commercial Religion (February, 2019) and the Centre for Studies in Religion and Society, University of Victoria, Canada.
Pauline studied at the Australian National University (where she received a University Medal) and the University of Oxford (BCL).

She convenes  Equity and Trusts; Modern Equity; and Restitution.

Publications

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Updated:  29 March 2024 / Responsible Officer:  Director (Research Services Division) / Page Contact:  Researchers