Siena Anstis

Books

Larissa van den Herik and Siena Anstis, Transnational repression and international law: the targeted killing of dissidents abroad (Hans Kelsen Memorial Lectures on International Peace and Security Law, 2025).

Articles & Book Chapters

• Anstis, Siena, “Digital exhaustion and human rights defenders” in Digital Exhaustion: Burnout, Fatigue, and Overload in the Age of Constant Connectivity (Intellect Discover, August 2026).
• Anstis, Siena and Dr. Marcus Michaelsen, “How to combat transnational repression” (July 2026) 37:3 Journal of Democracy 82.
• Anstis, Siena and Jillian Sprenger, “Civil society and access to justice: challenges of seeking remedy in the global fight against spyware” (January 2026) The International Journal of Human Rights 1.
• Anstis, Siena, Noura Aljizawi and Gozde Bocu, “Targeted across borders: Digital transnational repression, gender dimensions, and the role of host states” (July 2025) 26 Georgetown Journal of International Affairs 1.
• Anstis, Siena and Dr. Marcus Michaelsen, “Gender-based digital transnational repression and the authoritarian targeting of women in the diaspora” (March 2025) Democratization.
• Anstis, Siena and Émilie LaFlèche, “Gender-Based Digital Transnational Repression as a Global Authoritarian Practice” (September 2024) Globalizations.
• Anstis, Siena, Dr. Ron Deibert and Jakub Dalek, “The Ethical and Legal Dilemmas of Digital Accountability Research and the Utility of International Norm-Setting” (February 2024) AJIL Unbound.
• Anstis, Siena. “Regulating Transnational Dissident Cyber Espionage: An International Treaty?” (December 2023) International & Comparative Law Quarterly.
• Anstis, Siena, Noura Al-Jizawi, and Dr. Ron Deibert. “Transnational Repression and the Different Faces of Sovereignty” (Summer 2023) Temple Law Review.
• Anstis, Siena, Niamh Leonard, and Dr. Jonathon W. Penney. “Moving from Secrecy to Transparency in the Offensive Cyber Capabilities Sector: The Case of Dual-Use Technologies Exports” (2023) Computer Law & Security Review 1.
• Anstis, Siena, Sophie Barnett, Sharly Chan, and Dr. Ron Deibert. “The Negative Externalities of Cyberspace Instability for Global Civil Society.” In Cyberspace and Instability, edited by Robert Chesney, James Shires and Max Smeets, Edinburgh University Press, 2022, pp. 246-284.
• Anstis, Siena and Sophie Barnett. “Digital Transnational Repression and Host States’ Obligation to Protect Against Human Rights Abuses” (2022) Oxford Journal of Human Rights Practice 1.
• Anstis, Siena and RJ Reid. “The Adverse Human Rights Impacts of Canadian Technology Companies: Reforming Export Control with the Introduction of Mandatory Human Rights Due Diligence” (2021) Canadian Journal of Law and Technology 1.
• Anstis, Siena. “Government Procurement Law and Hacking Technology: The Role of Public Contracting in Regulating an Invisible Market” (2021) 41 Computer Law & Security Review 1.
• Anstis, Siena and Molly Joeck. “Detaining the Uncooperative Migrant” (2020) 33 Osgoode Hall Journal of Law and Social Policy 38.
• Anstis, Siena, Joshua Blum, and Jared Will. “Separate but Unequal: Immigration Detention in Canada and the Great Writ of Liberty” (2018) 63:2 McGill Law Journal 1.
• Anstis, Siena, Thomas Touchie and The Honourable Justice Thomas A. Cromwell. “Revisiting the Role of Presumptions of Legislative Intent in Statutory Interpretation” (2017) 95:2 Canadian Bar Review 297.
• Anstis, Siena and the The Honourable Justice Thomas A. Cromwell. “The Legal Services Gap: Access to Justice as a Regulatory Issue” (2017) 42:1 Queen’s Law Journal 1.
• Anstis, Siena and Dr. Fabien Gélinas, Clément Camion, Catherine Piché, Mariko Khan and Karine Bates. Foundations of Civil Justice: Towards a Value-Based Framework for Civil Reform (Springer: New York, 2015).
• Anstis, Siena and Frédéric Mégret. “The Taylor Case: Aiding and Abetting, Specific Direction and the Possibility of Strict Liability for Remote Offenders” in Collection of Essays in Honour of Justice Hassan Bubacar Jallow (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2015). 
• Anstis, Siena and Dr. Nandini Ramanujam. “Legal Empowerment, Social Movements and Fostering Equitable Economic Development in Cambodia” (2013) 2:1 Canadian Journal of Poverty Law.
• Anstis, Siena. “Using Law to Impair the Rights and Freedoms of Human Rights Defenders: A Case Study of Cambodia” (2012) 4:3 Oxford Journal of Human Rights Practice.

Research Reports

• Co-authored with Saipiria Furstenberg and Marcus Michaelsen, “Transnational Repression of Human Rights Defenders: The Impacts on Civic Space and The Responsibility of Host States” (2025) Study for the European Parliament’s DROI Committee.
• Co-authored with Noura Al-Jizawi, Marcus Michaelsen et. al., “No Escape: The Weaponization of Gender for the Purposes of Digital Transnational Repression” (2024) Citizen Lab Research Report No. 180, University of Toronto (a lead author).
• Co-authored with Noura Al-Jizawi, Sophie Barnett, Sharly Chan, Niamh Leonard, Adam Senft, and Ron Deibert, “Psychological and Emotional War: Digital Transnational Repression in Canada” (2022) Citizen Lab Research Report No. 151, University of Toronto (a lead author).
• Co-authored with Siena, Irene Poetranto and Sharly Chan. On/Offline: Multidimensional Threats Faced by Environmental Human Rights Defenders in Southeast Asia 2020. Global Information Society Watch (a lead author).

Submissions to Government/International Organizations

• Anstis, Siena, Tristan Surman, Noura Al-Jizawi and Dr. Marcus Michaelsen, “Submission of the Citizen Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto, to the Committee on Enforced Disappearances and the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances.” (2025). The Citizen Lab.
• Anstis, Siena, Noura Al-Jizawi, Gözde Böcü, Nicola Lawford and Dr. Marcus Michaelsen. “Submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders on the Challenges Faced by Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs) Working in Conflict, Post-conflict or Crisis-Affected Settings.” (2023). The Citizen Lab.
• Anstis, Siena, Dr. Ron Deibert, Émilie LaFlèche, and Jon Penney. Submission to the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (2022).
• Anstis, Siena, Sophie Barnett, Dr. Ron Deibert, Lex Gill, Jon Penney, RJ Reid and Adam Senft. Submission to the Government of Canada on the Renewal of the Responsible Business Conduct Strategy (2020).
• Anstis, Siena, Dr. Ronald J. Deibert and Jon Penney. Submission of the Citizen Lab (Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, University of Toronto) to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression on the Surveillance Industry and Human Rights 2019.