As explained in the Series Editors' Preface, this series is a result of workshops bringing together public and international lawyers. At the time of determining the first topic, significant attention was being paid to the question of sanctions in the UN framework and how they were being played out in the domestic context.

This first workshop's working title was: ‘Untangling the National from the International and the Public from the Private: The Complexities of Accountability and Governance in a Globalised World’. In particular, coinciding with the release of the final report of the Inquiry into certain Australian companies in relation to the UN Oil-For-Food Programme, the workshop explored governance and accountability issues through the specific example of the Iraqi sanctions regime and the subsequent findings of illicit ‘kickback’ payments. The report, both in what it said and did not say, provided a valuable reference point for engaging with these issues.

This workshop was held on 2–4 July 2007 at The Australian National University. The sixteen paper presenters and a further four participants, who had read all the papers, enjoyed vigorous discussion, engaging fully with each other and the material. We thank Professor Simon Bronitt, Director of ANU's National Europe Centre, for providing us with a dynamic venue. We thank those further participants, Ernst Willheim, Gabriele Porretto, Peter Scott and Trevor Moses, for their valuable contributions to the workshop and for providing feedback on the papers.