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
Islamic Law in Contemporary Indonesia. Law is at the heart of Islam and the absence of a distinction between religion and law creates inherent tension between Islamic law (syariah) and the modern nation state. As the Indonesian state struggles to redefine itself post-Soeharto, syariah's role has again become contested. Modern scholarship has, however, ignored contemporary Indonesian Islamic law. Working with leading Indonesian Muslim scholars this project will investigate Islamic legal institu ....Islamic Law in Contemporary Indonesia. Law is at the heart of Islam and the absence of a distinction between religion and law creates inherent tension between Islamic law (syariah) and the modern nation state. As the Indonesian state struggles to redefine itself post-Soeharto, syariah's role has again become contested. Modern scholarship has, however, ignored contemporary Indonesian Islamic law. Working with leading Indonesian Muslim scholars this project will investigate Islamic legal institutions, substantive law and jurisdiction, surveying lawyers, judges and litigants. It will build bridges between Western, Indonesian and Middle-Eastern Islamic jurisprudence to expand Australian understandings of Indonesian Islam at a critical moment in bilateral relations.Read moreRead less
Islam and Modernity: Syari'ah, Terrorism and Governance in South-East Asia. Our region faces major political and legal challenges in the post-Cold War era, one of the most important of which is militant Islam. Australia has historically paid little attention to the implications of its location immediately to the south of the world's largest Muslim populations but 9/11 and Islamic terrorism in SE Asia have shown that regional Islam is of direct strategic and security importance for our welfare. T ....Islam and Modernity: Syari'ah, Terrorism and Governance in South-East Asia. Our region faces major political and legal challenges in the post-Cold War era, one of the most important of which is militant Islam. Australia has historically paid little attention to the implications of its location immediately to the south of the world's largest Muslim populations but 9/11 and Islamic terrorism in SE Asia have shown that regional Islam is of direct strategic and security importance for our welfare. There is, however, a significant gap in Australian understandings of Islam and Islamic law (syari'ah) and their implications for regional governance. This program addresses this gap, updates scholarship on SE Asian syari'ah, informs Australian foreign policy and builds bridges with SE Asian Muslim scholars and lawyers.Read moreRead less
Islamic Law in Contemporary Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei: The Anglo-Malay Madhhab. Islam is a fundamentally legalistic religion: law and religion are largely inseparable. In the last decade radical Islamic interpretations of sharîah (Islamic law) in SE Asia have led to increasingly militant responses to modernity and the secular state, that have come to threaten Australians. Through a detailed examination of legal theory, current intellectual debates, legal institutions and substantive law in ....Islamic Law in Contemporary Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei: The Anglo-Malay Madhhab. Islam is a fundamentally legalistic religion: law and religion are largely inseparable. In the last decade radical Islamic interpretations of sharîah (Islamic law) in SE Asia have led to increasingly militant responses to modernity and the secular state, that have come to threaten Australians. Through a detailed examination of legal theory, current intellectual debates, legal institutions and substantive law in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, the project offers a more complete understanding of Islam and law in the archipelago to Australia's North. It will update current knowledge but will also build bridges with Muslim scholars and lawyers in the regionRead 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
The prospects for justice in the legal reform of police administrative detention powers in China. Australia's security and economic well-being is becoming increasingly closely tied to China. Australia has a strong interest in China's continued economic well-being, as well as promoting the rule of law and valuing the protection of human rights. The effective legal protection of human rights is of vital concern to our relationship, to China's long term stability and to China's increasing participa ....The prospects for justice in the legal reform of police administrative detention powers in China. Australia's security and economic well-being is becoming increasingly closely tied to China. Australia has a strong interest in China's continued economic well-being, as well as promoting the rule of law and valuing the protection of human rights. The effective legal protection of human rights is of vital concern to our relationship, to China's long term stability and to China's increasing participation in international human rights fora. This project will enhance our understanding of struggles to effect legal reform of contentious police powers and to improve protection of citizens' rights through reforming law enforcement practices. It will contribute to ongoing Sino-Australian cooperation to promote human rights protection.Read moreRead less
Testing Court Reform Projects in Cambodia and Vietnam. Financial assistance for court reform projects in ASEAN countries is among Australia's foreign aid priorities, consuming highly sought-after aid dollars. This research will make recommendations aimed at increasing the efficacy of aid-assisted court reform projects. By paying particular attention to indigenous perspectives of successes and failures of such projects, the research will contribute to Australia's understanding of the legal and ju ....Testing Court Reform Projects in Cambodia and Vietnam. Financial assistance for court reform projects in ASEAN countries is among Australia's foreign aid priorities, consuming highly sought-after aid dollars. This research will make recommendations aimed at increasing the efficacy of aid-assisted court reform projects. By paying particular attention to indigenous perspectives of successes and failures of such projects, the research will contribute to Australia's understanding of the legal and judicial contexts in two of its Southeast Asian neighbours. The research will inform Australia's aid investments in Cambodia and Vietnam, the region and internationally. It will enhance Australia's ability to achieve more effective design, implementation and evaluation of court-related aid interventions. Read moreRead less
Controversies of legal interpretation: a philosophical investigation of reasoning and adjudication in some recent contentious cases. A series of High Court decisions in Australia since the 1980's generated a public controversy about the role of moral and political values in adjudication. It has been charged that judges are engaged, not in an exercise of technical legal interpretation, but rather in illegitimate and politically partisan ?judicial activism.? The project investigates the theoretica ....Controversies of legal interpretation: a philosophical investigation of reasoning and adjudication in some recent contentious cases. A series of High Court decisions in Australia since the 1980's generated a public controversy about the role of moral and political values in adjudication. It has been charged that judges are engaged, not in an exercise of technical legal interpretation, but rather in illegitimate and politically partisan ?judicial activism.? The project investigates the theoretical and applied questions of legal interpretation implicit in this argument. It rejects the charge of judicial activism. It proposes a ?value-maximizing? theory of reasoning and interpretation that characterizes adjudication in contentious cases as precisely a process of theorizing about relevant moral and political values.Read moreRead less
The Asylum Seeker in the Legal System: A Comparative and Theoretical Study. Issues about asylum seekers and the legal system in Australia will be brought more prominently before an international audience of lawyers and political scientists. This should generate further collaborative work between scholars in Australia and overseas. The nation will benefit from the publication of a more fully developed theory about the 'rule of law' which tackles fundamental questions of political morality, and ....The Asylum Seeker in the Legal System: A Comparative and Theoretical Study. Issues about asylum seekers and the legal system in Australia will be brought more prominently before an international audience of lawyers and political scientists. This should generate further collaborative work between scholars in Australia and overseas. The nation will benefit from the publication of a more fully developed theory about the 'rule of law' which tackles fundamental questions of political morality, and the importance of judicial decision-making. It will clarify the important issues, and stimulate discussion of further and better solutions to the issue.Read moreRead less
The Media and ASEAN Transitions: Defamation Law, Journalism and Public Debate in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. This project will examine defamation law, journalism and public debate in three core members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations: Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. It will focus on a legal issue, defamation, which is central to the Australian and regional media's potential for improving public and private sector governance, and promoting domestic and regional understandi ....The Media and ASEAN Transitions: Defamation Law, Journalism and Public Debate in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. This project will examine defamation law, journalism and public debate in three core members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations: Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. It will focus on a legal issue, defamation, which is central to the Australian and regional media's potential for improving public and private sector governance, and promoting domestic and regional understanding, at a time when independent media speech has great value in relation to trade, security and development. When risks of transnational defamation liability are increasing, it will assist the Australian media's coverage of three pivotal countries in the region and substantially develop the academic understanding of defamation law's effects on media content.Read moreRead less