Geoff Nicoll

Biography

My research interests lie in four main areas. These reflect firstly, my core academic expertise in corporations and related law and secondly, my interests in three further areas in which this law has been applied: Core legal and academic expertise: Corporations Law and Corporate Governance, Markets and Securities Law, Pension Fund and Investment Law, and Financial Systems and Institutions Law. Public Sector Governance: (See generally Link to Book (1) below) Australia-China Investment Law and Policy: (See generally Link to Book (2) below) Pension Funds in Developing Countries (Focus on Bangladesh): My research outputs are reflected in cited publications, Category 1 Competitive Research Grants and HDR supervisions. My research is recognised at senior Government and professional levels in various 'esteem' measures such as my appointments to the Commonwealth ministerial advisory committee, CAMAC (the Corporations and Markets Advisory Committee, 2008-14), and to the National Executive of the Business Law Section of the Law Council of Australia (2002-13). I currently sit on the Business Law Section's Foreign Investment Law Committee which is preparing a submission to the Minister in respect of the re-write of the Foreign Investments Acquisitions and Takeovers Act (FATA). I have also held a number of related academic and administrative positions at UC, which have included: Acting Head of the Law School (2005), Academic Director, National Institute for Governance (2003-6) and Director, Governance Area of Research Strength (2004-6).

Research Interest

Areas of Research Interest Core legal and academic areas: Corporations Law and Corporate Governance, Markets and Securities Law, Pension Fund and Investment, and Financial Systems and Institutions Law Public Sector Governance Australia-China Investment Law and Policy Pension Funds in Developing Countries (esp. Bangladesh) Research Theories / Models of Interest Essentially I am both a positivist and an empiricist. Particular experience in Empirical research in various projects. In my broader fields of interest, in corporate law, markets and securities law, various theories of law and economics (Coffee, Pound, Posner and Manne) and have often provided the foundations for my research. More particularly, in considering corporate law, I have been interested in political and economic models of the corporation (Pound and Posner). Placing my research in corporate law within the wider framework of the sociology of justice, I have found the concepts of 'social harmony in the Gemeinschaft' and 'conflict resolution in the Gesellschaft' to be very useful starting points. Research Methods of Interest Traditional legal research resources, and Empirical Research