Preventive Detention of High Risk Offenders: The Search for Effective and Legitimate Parameters. This Project will provide Australian policymakers with proposals for the management and treatment of high risk offenders that adopt international best practice standards and which are constitutionally valid and consistent with Australia's international legal obligations. It seeks to help safeguard the community from offenders considered at high risk of causing harm.
Non-Discrimination Laws and Religious Freedom: Current Conflicts and Future Directions. Achieving the right balance between adequately protecting religious freedom while staying true to principles of non-discrimination is far from easy. This project will advance understanding and analysis of religious freedom and equal treatment in Australia, in principle, in law and empirically. In the context of community tensions along ethno-religious lines, it will benefit Australia to have the issues at st ....Non-Discrimination Laws and Religious Freedom: Current Conflicts and Future Directions. Achieving the right balance between adequately protecting religious freedom while staying true to principles of non-discrimination is far from easy. This project will advance understanding and analysis of religious freedom and equal treatment in Australia, in principle, in law and empirically. In the context of community tensions along ethno-religious lines, it will benefit Australia to have the issues at stake described and clarified. The project will identify the relevant interests at stake and develop policy recommendations for their protection. The aim is to contribute to inter-religious (and inter-cultural) harmony, as an element of safeguarding Australia.Read moreRead less
International Criminal Justice: Law, Policy and its Relevance to Australia's security. International Criminal Justice (ICJ) is a discipline of increasing importance in global and national responses to atrocity and violence, in particular war crimes and terrorism. Australia's security, as well as its standing in the international community is directly affected by the way it understands and applies ICJ. This project will benefit the Australian community by analysing and developing an understanding ....International Criminal Justice: Law, Policy and its Relevance to Australia's security. International Criminal Justice (ICJ) is a discipline of increasing importance in global and national responses to atrocity and violence, in particular war crimes and terrorism. Australia's security, as well as its standing in the international community is directly affected by the way it understands and applies ICJ. This project will benefit the Australian community by analysing and developing an understanding of the law and policy issues affecting how we treat war crimes and terrorism and by engaging not just with the academic and practitioner community in Australia and internationally, but with government representatives from the Attorney-General's, Foreign Affairs and Defence Departments.Read moreRead less
Defining and Attempting Reconciliation: A Critical Analysis of the Pursuit of Reconciliation in South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission. This project challenges existing accounts of South Africa's confrontation of its apartheid past, by establishing the conceptual significance of 'reconciliation' in its Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Using a perspective informed by the international context of transitional justice, and by comparison with other postcolonial racially-divided soci ....Defining and Attempting Reconciliation: A Critical Analysis of the Pursuit of Reconciliation in South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission. This project challenges existing accounts of South Africa's confrontation of its apartheid past, by establishing the conceptual significance of 'reconciliation' in its Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Using a perspective informed by the international context of transitional justice, and by comparison with other postcolonial racially-divided societies, it tests the hypothesis that restorative justice is more effective than retributive justice. Publication of the findings in a book and articles will illuminate the significance of 'reconciliation' for South Africa's recent political, legal and social history, and for its immediate future. In a larger thematic context, it also offers important applications for Australia.Read moreRead less
Law, Governance and Regulation of Intra-regional Labour Migration in South East Asia: An Agenda for Protection and Development. Safe and effective labour migration in the South East Asian region contributes to the prosperity, security and stability of the region and of Australia's trading partners. This project will contribute to safeguarding Australia by improving our legal and policy responses to people movement and by tackling the problem of transnational crime associated with irregular migra ....Law, Governance and Regulation of Intra-regional Labour Migration in South East Asia: An Agenda for Protection and Development. Safe and effective labour migration in the South East Asian region contributes to the prosperity, security and stability of the region and of Australia's trading partners. This project will contribute to safeguarding Australia by improving our legal and policy responses to people movement and by tackling the problem of transnational crime associated with irregular migration (smuggling) and trafficking. The project will enhance Australia's reputation, leadership and influence in the South East Asian region and will lead to economic and social benefits for Australia through strengthening co-operative relationships and improved prosperity in the region. Read moreRead less
Caring for Asylum Seekers in Australia: Bioethics and Human Rights. Australia's policy of mandatory detention has been criticised at home and abroad. This research will bring together both empirical and reflective material about that policy by those who have seen its effects first hand, which will make an important contribution to national self-definition. The research process itself will bring together practitioners who have worked in the field, many of whom have expressed the need for recordin ....Caring for Asylum Seekers in Australia: Bioethics and Human Rights. Australia's policy of mandatory detention has been criticised at home and abroad. This research will bring together both empirical and reflective material about that policy by those who have seen its effects first hand, which will make an important contribution to national self-definition. The research process itself will bring together practitioners who have worked in the field, many of whom have expressed the need for recording their experiences, and guidelines as to how to practice in the future when human rights issues form a part of clinical practice. As such, the project will contribute to other areas of healthcare where such issues are present, such as indigenous health, mental health, and the care of other vulnerable populations. Read moreRead less
Australian Parliaments and the Protection of Human Rights. Those involved in human rights debates have paid too much attention to the role of courts in protecting human rights and too little attention to legislatures - the most important democratic institutions in States (Waldron 1993, 1999). This project will help to redress this imbalance by providing the first detailed analysis of the way in which human rights are taken into account at each stage of the parliamentary process at both Commonwea ....Australian Parliaments and the Protection of Human Rights. Those involved in human rights debates have paid too much attention to the role of courts in protecting human rights and too little attention to legislatures - the most important democratic institutions in States (Waldron 1993, 1999). This project will help to redress this imbalance by providing the first detailed analysis of the way in which human rights are taken into account at each stage of the parliamentary process at both Commonwealth and State levels. It will provide the basis for a more informed debate in this important area and will assess the need for reform of the current system.Read moreRead less
The law of refugee status: a theoretical and comparative analysis. This Project will make a significant contribution to international refugee law scholarship, thus consolidating Australia's place as a centre for excellence in international refugee law. In addition, the Project will have immediate practical relevance for individual refugee status determination in all states parties to the Convention, especially Australia, in its utility for practitioners, advocates and decision-makers. It will al ....The law of refugee status: a theoretical and comparative analysis. This Project will make a significant contribution to international refugee law scholarship, thus consolidating Australia's place as a centre for excellence in international refugee law. In addition, the Project will have immediate practical relevance for individual refugee status determination in all states parties to the Convention, especially Australia, in its utility for practitioners, advocates and decision-makers. It will also provide a principled basis for future policy development in Australia and abroad. It will therefore make a significant contribution to an area of law that is vital to Australia's future and to the international community as a whole.Read moreRead less
After the Violence: Truth, Reconciliation and National Integration in Timor-Leste. In the aftermath of the Australian military-led intervention in 1999 and through the transition to nationhood in 2002, the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor (CAVR) has represented one of the key institutional attempts at ensuring a stable transition to a peaceful society in Timor-Leste. The internal security of Timor-Leste is of significant interest for Australia, and this project wo ....After the Violence: Truth, Reconciliation and National Integration in Timor-Leste. In the aftermath of the Australian military-led intervention in 1999 and through the transition to nationhood in 2002, the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor (CAVR) has represented one of the key institutional attempts at ensuring a stable transition to a peaceful society in Timor-Leste. The internal security of Timor-Leste is of significant interest for Australia, and this project would seek to understand if and how CAVR has succeeded in producing sustainable forms of social cohesion and integration. The project would also provide an understanding of truth and reconciliation processes that could be of value for application in future post-conflict societies.Read moreRead less
Fair Procedures for Refugee Status Determinations. Australia, and other Western countries are experiencing an upsurge in the number of persons seeking refugee status. This project will answer the call of a recent Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee for an urgent independent review to determine which procedures will best achieve accurate outcomes for refugee (asylum) applicants. The study will compare procedures and standards in Australia, Canada, the UK, USA, Germany and France a ....Fair Procedures for Refugee Status Determinations. Australia, and other Western countries are experiencing an upsurge in the number of persons seeking refugee status. This project will answer the call of a recent Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee for an urgent independent review to determine which procedures will best achieve accurate outcomes for refugee (asylum) applicants. The study will compare procedures and standards in Australia, Canada, the UK, USA, Germany and France and propose acceptable benchmarks and standards for cost effective and socially cohesive procedures within Australia and internationally. As a result of this research Australia is anticipated to play a leading role in the implementation of global solutions to this issue.Read moreRead less