Bruce Oswald is a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Law at the University of Melbourne, and an Associate Director of the Asia Pacific Centre for Military Law (APCML. He holds a Bachelor of Business (Local Government) from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Master of Arts (Public Policy) and Bachelor of Laws at the Australian National University and Master of Laws from the University of London. Bruce is currently studying for his PhD at the University of Melbourne and his area of research is the legal regime applicable to Australian civilian police serving on peace operations.

Bruce served for 15 years in the Regular Australian Army as a legal officer before moving to the Melbourne Law School. He has remained in the Australian Army Reserve and currently holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel holding an appointment as Chief Legal Officer ( Tasmania). He has seen operational service in Rwanda, the Former Yugoslavia, East Timor and Iraq (May to November 2005). He has provided legal advice and held staff appointments as a legal officer at tactical, operational and strategic levels. During his service in Australia he provided legal advice to the Deployable Joint Force Headquarters, Headquarters Australian Theatre, Strategic Command and Directorate of Operations and International Law. For his service as the Legal Officer for the Australian Service Contingent serving in Rwanda, Bruce was awarded the Conspicuous Service Cross (CSC) in 1996. In 1997 Bruce worked with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) as a Delegate to the Armed Security Forces in the Former Yugoslavia. His primary duties with the ICRC involved developing contacts with the military command structures of the former warring parties and conducting international humanitarian law training with the officers of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatian Defence Force, and the Army of the Republika Srpska.

In recent years Bruce has taught Criminal Law in the undergraduate program at the Melbourne Law School, and International Humanitarian Law, Law of Peace Operations, Military Discipline Law and International Peace and Security Law in the graduate program. He also coordinates and/or teaches on APCML courses for regional military officers such as Civil - Military Cooperation and Operations Law for Commanders and Planning Staff. He is currently developing a Law of Peace Operations course to be taught in India in 2007 and an Operations Law for Legal Advisors course to be taught in Bangkok, also in 2007.

Bruce has provided research and advice for a number of international bodies. He is an occasional consultant to the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights, the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees and has completed research projects for the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations. He has also published numerous academic articles on peacekeeping, international use of force, and the rule of law. Bruce is a Member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the Melbourne Journal of International Law, and a Board Member of the Institute of Comparative and International Law in the Melbourne Law School. He has membership with the American Society of International Law, the Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law, and the International Law Association. Since May 2006 he has been a member of the Board of Directors of the International Society for Military Law and The Law of War.

Publications

Books Edited:
 Howard, Jessica and Oswald CSC, Bruce (eds) The Rule of Law on Peace Operations: A ‘Challenges of Peace Operations’ Project Conference , Asia Pacific Centre for Military Law: Melbourne (2002);

Articles in Refereed Journals:
Oswald CSC, B. and Finnin, S., ' Combating the Trafficking of Persons on Peace Operations ', in International Peacekeeping: The Yearbook of International Peace Operations, Volume 10, (2006) 1-32

Oswald CSC, Bruce, ‘Model Codes for Criminal Justice and Peace Operations: Some Legal Issues’ (2004) 9(2) Journal of Conflict and Security Law;

Oswald CSC, Bruce, ‘The Creation and Control of Places of Protection During UN Peace Operations’ (2001) 83 International Review of the Red Cross 1013;

Kelly, M., McCormack, T., Muggleton, P., and Oswald, B., ‘Legal Aspects of Australia’s Involvement in the International Force in East Timor’ (2001) 83 International Review of the Red Cross 101;

Oswald CSC, Bruce, ‘INTERFET Detainee Management Unit in East Timor’ (2000) 3 Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law;

Oswald CSC, Bruce, ‘Peacekeeping and Legal Immunities’ (1997) 126 Australian Defence Force Journal 19;

Oswald CSC, Bruce, ‘Peacekeeping in Rwanda – A Lawyer’s Experience’ (1996) 70 Australian Law Journal 69;

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