Dr Lowell Bautista is Associate Professor of Law, Program Lead – Accreditation, and Research Cluster Lead for International Law, Global Governance and Human Rights at Western Sydney University School of Law. He is an internationally recognised expert in public international law and the law of the sea, particularly in the areas of territorial and maritime disputes in the Asia-Pacific and the South China Sea. His research also spans maritime security, ocean governance, international humanitarian law, climate change, and international environmental law.

Dr Bautista has an established international research profile, with publications in leading journals and academic presses, including Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, Routledge, and Brill. He actively collaborates with governments, universities, and research institutions across the Asia-Pacific and globally. In recognition of his scholarly contributions, he was recently awarded the prestigious American Society of International Law Lieber Prize for outstanding scholarship in the law of armed conflict.

Before entering academia, Dr Bautista practised law in the Philippines and worked extensively in legal and policy research, litigation, and consultancy. He has provided expert advice and contributed to research projects, policy reports, and legal submissions for government agencies and international organisations in Australia and the Philippines, particularly on matters relating to the law of the sea, maritime boundary delimitation, offshore resources, and the South China Sea.

Dr Bautista holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science (cum laude) and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of the Philippines, a Master of Laws in Marine and Environmental Law from Dalhousie University, and a PhD in Law from University of Wollongong.