Indigenous Justice Reports: new narratives and practices in sentencing. This project engages a participatory action research model to assess the impact of Indigenous Justice Reports in criminal sentencing on sentence practices and outcomes for Indigenous women. It introduces Indigenous Reports for Indigenous women in Victorian Koori Courts and expands their availability in Queensland Murri Courts. Its comparative research approach identifies how place-based factors influence the process and impa ....Indigenous Justice Reports: new narratives and practices in sentencing. This project engages a participatory action research model to assess the impact of Indigenous Justice Reports in criminal sentencing on sentence practices and outcomes for Indigenous women. It introduces Indigenous Reports for Indigenous women in Victorian Koori Courts and expands their availability in Queensland Murri Courts. Its comparative research approach identifies how place-based factors influence the process and impact of Indigenous Reports on sentencing. This project seeks to improve sentencing processes and outcomes for Indigenous defendants by providing courts with reports that address personal and community circumstances of Indigenous women, provide relevant sentencing options and are accompanied with appropriate supports.Read moreRead less
The effects of female genital mutilation laws in Australia. This project aims to produce new knowledge about laws that have criminalised female genital mutilation (FGM) in Australia since 1994. FGM laws are now subject to robust international criticism, as well as increased concerns among the affected communities. Through the use of innovative primary data collection strategies with law and policy makers, justice system officials and with affected communities in Australia and the UK, the proje ....The effects of female genital mutilation laws in Australia. This project aims to produce new knowledge about laws that have criminalised female genital mutilation (FGM) in Australia since 1994. FGM laws are now subject to robust international criticism, as well as increased concerns among the affected communities. Through the use of innovative primary data collection strategies with law and policy makers, justice system officials and with affected communities in Australia and the UK, the project seeks to produce robust evidence and original insights into the effects of these laws and the potential impacts of proposed legal initiatives. Expected benefits include enhanced legal and policy approaches to FGM that will assist with safeguarding the wellbeing of women and children.Read moreRead less
Parole in crisis? Public opinion on the use of parole. Serious crimes committed by parolees in Australia have brought parole into the public eye. Without concrete evidence, governments often act on the assumption that the public holds punitive attitudes. This project is expected to develop an evidence base to inform policy on parole at a crucial time when governments are under pressure to restrict its use. Three mixed-method studies aim to assess: what public views on parole are; why the public ....Parole in crisis? Public opinion on the use of parole. Serious crimes committed by parolees in Australia have brought parole into the public eye. Without concrete evidence, governments often act on the assumption that the public holds punitive attitudes. This project is expected to develop an evidence base to inform policy on parole at a crucial time when governments are under pressure to restrict its use. Three mixed-method studies aim to assess: what public views on parole are; why the public holds these views; and what influence these views have on policy and practice. The project is expected to make contributions to: creating information strategies that properly inform the public; supporting prisoner reintegration strategies; and shaping criminal justice policies based on informed community feedback.Read moreRead less
Reform of the Personal Liability of Directors for Unpaid Employee Entitlements. The financing of business and the provision of labour services to the corporate sector are central to the nation's economic health. Loss of employment, employee entitlements and the fallout of business collapse impact on every aspect of social and economic life. The ability of employees to recover lost entitlements has emerged as an issue critical to a sustainable, efficient and equitable economy. Presently, the burd ....Reform of the Personal Liability of Directors for Unpaid Employee Entitlements. The financing of business and the provision of labour services to the corporate sector are central to the nation's economic health. Loss of employment, employee entitlements and the fallout of business collapse impact on every aspect of social and economic life. The ability of employees to recover lost entitlements has emerged as an issue critical to a sustainable, efficient and equitable economy. Presently, the burden of compensating unpaid employee entitlements is carried by the taxpayer through the General Employment Entitlements and Redundancy Scheme. Director liability provisions which make placing failing companies into voluntary administration an attractive option could relieve that burden. Read moreRead less
Venture capital (VC) and tax expenditure programs - an international comparative analysis of legal structures and benefits. VC investment is an important catalyst for economic growth. Many governments, including the Australian government, have designed schemes to encourage VC investment. This project compares VC schemes that exist in OECD and ASEAN countries. It will focus on "tax expenditure programs" and will analyse their legal structures and benefits. The results will be used to benchmark Au ....Venture capital (VC) and tax expenditure programs - an international comparative analysis of legal structures and benefits. VC investment is an important catalyst for economic growth. Many governments, including the Australian government, have designed schemes to encourage VC investment. This project compares VC schemes that exist in OECD and ASEAN countries. It will focus on "tax expenditure programs" and will analyse their legal structures and benefits. The results will be used to benchmark Australia's main VC schemes - the "PDF program" and "VCLP scheme". The research is designed to discover insights into alternative ways of stimulating VC investment as well as suggest areas for potential law reform and structural change. Findings will be published in refereed journal articles and an independent report provided to the Australian Government.Read moreRead less
A Principled Theory of Legal Interpretation. Law's practical operation depends upon the meanings of statements of law: judges, lawyers and parliamentarians all must frequently grapple with issues of legal interpretation. The development of a principled theory of legal interpretation - which will be the result of this project - is therefore crucial to the practice of law-makers and legal officials. It is also important to the broader community, whose interests are often affected by interpretive d ....A Principled Theory of Legal Interpretation. Law's practical operation depends upon the meanings of statements of law: judges, lawyers and parliamentarians all must frequently grapple with issues of legal interpretation. The development of a principled theory of legal interpretation - which will be the result of this project - is therefore crucial to the practice of law-makers and legal officials. It is also important to the broader community, whose interests are often affected by interpretive decisions made by legal officials. By bringing together a team of Australian and New Zealander philosophers of law with a leading international philosopher of language, this interdisciplinary project will also raise the international profile of Australian legal philosophy.Read moreRead less
Rebuilding fiscal federalism in Australia: reforming the financial relationship between the Commonwealth and the States. The finances of the Australian States in the modern day face serious structural challenges. The aim of this project is to analyse and develop appropriate alternatives for reform of fiscal federalism in Australia, which would allow the States to gain access to income tax revenue as a secure source of funding in the future.
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
A Conceptual History of War Crimes Trials. Promoting justice around the globe is an end in itself as well as a means of avoiding the sort of mass social disruption that threatens the global commonwealth (and, therefore, Australia). It is imperative that this system be exposed to a critical historical analysis. The project will clarify precisely what is at stake in Australia's long commitment to war crimes law and establish Australia as a global centre for international criminal justice at a tran ....A Conceptual History of War Crimes Trials. Promoting justice around the globe is an end in itself as well as a means of avoiding the sort of mass social disruption that threatens the global commonwealth (and, therefore, Australia). It is imperative that this system be exposed to a critical historical analysis. The project will clarify precisely what is at stake in Australia's long commitment to war crimes law and establish Australia as a global centre for international criminal justice at a transformative moment in the history of the international legal order. The specific aim is to write an intellectual history of international law's encounter with the problem of evil and the possibility of rehabilitation and redemption through criminal trial. Read moreRead less
Lawyers, Civil Society and the State in Post-colonial Malaysia. This study investigates how Malaysian lawyers have mobilized to defend core legal values in response to key political events in Malaysian history. It will contribute to Australian understanding of civil society and the rule of law in our regional neighbour and build bridges between Malaysian and Australian lawyers and scholars. The development of deeper respect for the rule of law in this region plays an important role in increasing ....Lawyers, Civil Society and the State in Post-colonial Malaysia. This study investigates how Malaysian lawyers have mobilized to defend core legal values in response to key political events in Malaysian history. It will contribute to Australian understanding of civil society and the rule of law in our regional neighbour and build bridges between Malaysian and Australian lawyers and scholars. The development of deeper respect for the rule of law in this region plays an important role in increasing regional stability and creating a safe and more predictable environment. Understanding the role that lawyers play in this process is a vital component of regional security.Read moreRead less