Has Feminism Failed the Family? A History of Equality, Law and Reform. The research will examine the history of legal reform since the introduction of the Family Law Act. As such, it will provide a broader perspective to feminist and conservative criticisms of gender bias and legal unfairness in the operation of a family law system understood to be based on equality principles. The project's outcomes will be of immediate significance therefore to policy makers, as well as to the divergent groups ....Has Feminism Failed the Family? A History of Equality, Law and Reform. The research will examine the history of legal reform since the introduction of the Family Law Act. As such, it will provide a broader perspective to feminist and conservative criticisms of gender bias and legal unfairness in the operation of a family law system understood to be based on equality principles. The project's outcomes will be of immediate significance therefore to policy makers, as well as to the divergent groups who currently research legal and government regulation of families and family breakdown. Further, the project will enhance national knowledge by contributing to the historical understanding of Australia's immediate past.
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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
Crime, governance and the colonial state: a study of the Criminal Tribes Act 1871. Today as in the nineteenth century governments struggle with the challenges posed by communities marginalised from mainstream social and economic life. In Australia Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island communities have been subject to such marginalisation and to the problems this brings, including crime. Through an analysis of British responses to native crime in India, this study will develop an analysis of strate ....Crime, governance and the colonial state: a study of the Criminal Tribes Act 1871. Today as in the nineteenth century governments struggle with the challenges posed by communities marginalised from mainstream social and economic life. In Australia Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island communities have been subject to such marginalisation and to the problems this brings, including crime. Through an analysis of British responses to native crime in India, this study will develop an analysis of strategies of governance directed or developed in response to the effects of social and economic marginalisation. The study will thus help to inform national debate on the apparent intransigence of crime in indigenous communities as well as raising questions about what are 'appropriate' and 'natural' responses to criminal conduct.Read moreRead less
Australia's Post World War II War Crimes Trials of Japanese Defendants. Contemporary war crimes trials regularly refer to historical precedent - particularly post-WWII war crimes trials. One virtually unknown group of trials were those conducted by Australian Military Tribunals - the primary sources for which are readily available (Australian War Memorial and National Archives) but under-studied. Australian Tribunals sat in judgment over 814 Japanese Defendants in 296 separate trials and yet th ....Australia's Post World War II War Crimes Trials of Japanese Defendants. Contemporary war crimes trials regularly refer to historical precedent - particularly post-WWII war crimes trials. One virtually unknown group of trials were those conducted by Australian Military Tribunals - the primary sources for which are readily available (Australian War Memorial and National Archives) but under-studied. Australian Tribunals sat in judgment over 814 Japanese Defendants in 296 separate trials and yet there has never been a systematic study of this chapter of Australian Legal and Military History. This project is intended to provide the first study of the trials and will also "unlock" the under-utilised but vast documentary resource for future researchers.Read moreRead less
Allegiance and citizenship in Australian law and history. This project aims to identify a coherent and stable concept of allegiance in Australian law. Allegiance lies at the heart of Australia’s citizenship law, but Australia does not have a clear legal definition of allegiance. It is the historical key to holding or losing citizenship, and the constitutional criterion for distinguishing between citizens and aliens. Conceptions of allegiance can affect individuals, conceptions of the national co ....Allegiance and citizenship in Australian law and history. This project aims to identify a coherent and stable concept of allegiance in Australian law. Allegiance lies at the heart of Australia’s citizenship law, but Australia does not have a clear legal definition of allegiance. It is the historical key to holding or losing citizenship, and the constitutional criterion for distinguishing between citizens and aliens. Conceptions of allegiance can affect individuals, conceptions of the national community, and policies of multiculturalism and minority rights. This project will trace and interpret references to allegiance and citizenship in Australian jurisprudence, case law, legislation, executive decisions and policy. The project aims to help the public understand the rules governing membership of the Australian community.Read moreRead less
Economic Sanctions after the Cold War. This project investigates the post-Cold War proliferation of economic sanctions. Advocates of sanctions see them as peaceful alternatives to armed conflict that uphold international norms without resort to force. Yet sanctions have significant and unpredictable effects and their use remains deeply contested. This project draws on detailed archival research to understand how liberal polities have come to view economic sanctions as non-violent tools of diplo ....Economic Sanctions after the Cold War. This project investigates the post-Cold War proliferation of economic sanctions. Advocates of sanctions see them as peaceful alternatives to armed conflict that uphold international norms without resort to force. Yet sanctions have significant and unpredictable effects and their use remains deeply contested. This project draws on detailed archival research to understand how liberal polities have come to view economic sanctions as non-violent tools of diplomacy and how this view has been contested by those subjected to them. By analysing the moral, political and economic theories that inform the imposition of sanctions, the research will throw new light on a crucial dimension of international politics. Read moreRead less
The last outlaw: Making a nation from the crimes of Jimmy Governor. This project aims to produce a legal history of the murderer Jimmy Governor to discover the extent to which law-making was generated by acts of law-breaking. The Australian Federation laid the foundations for the nation’s legal institutions under the rule of law. The Aboriginal serial killer, Jimmy Governor, was outlawed and convicted on the threshold of Federation, in 1900. Through Governor’s legal history, the project will pro ....The last outlaw: Making a nation from the crimes of Jimmy Governor. This project aims to produce a legal history of the murderer Jimmy Governor to discover the extent to which law-making was generated by acts of law-breaking. The Australian Federation laid the foundations for the nation’s legal institutions under the rule of law. The Aboriginal serial killer, Jimmy Governor, was outlawed and convicted on the threshold of Federation, in 1900. Through Governor’s legal history, the project will produce an account of the law and its outsiders at an important historical moment. This project expects to provide knowledge about punishment, surveillance and imprisonment in the emerging nation, and a history of the rules of evidence and criminal procedure.Read moreRead less
The foundations of civil justice in Australia. This project aims to provide an in-depth historical account of the origins of our civil justice system in Australia. Judicial institutions and their practices were key to the founding of civil society in the Australian colonies. This project will produce new knowledge about the origins of our civil justice system. The project will trace legal reformist ideas in England, their dissemination across Britain's Empire and the impact these had on how judg ....The foundations of civil justice in Australia. This project aims to provide an in-depth historical account of the origins of our civil justice system in Australia. Judicial institutions and their practices were key to the founding of civil society in the Australian colonies. This project will produce new knowledge about the origins of our civil justice system. The project will trace legal reformist ideas in England, their dissemination across Britain's Empire and the impact these had on how judges and administrators in the Australian colonies crafted their judicial practices to provide speedy and effective access to civil justice. As well as scholarly writing, this project will provide a podcast and multi-media website that explains how civil trials worked in the mid-nineteenth century.Read moreRead less
A comparative constitutional history of citizenship Law and gender. Australia has been a historical leader both in progressive citizenship laws for women, and in democratic constitution-making. This history is relatively well-known, but little attention has been paid to the constitutional dimension of citizenship law, and even less with respect to its impact on gender equality. As constitution-making and modernisation increase around the world, along with growing strains on domestic regulation o ....A comparative constitutional history of citizenship Law and gender. Australia has been a historical leader both in progressive citizenship laws for women, and in democratic constitution-making. This history is relatively well-known, but little attention has been paid to the constitutional dimension of citizenship law, and even less with respect to its impact on gender equality. As constitution-making and modernisation increase around the world, along with growing strains on domestic regulation of citizenship in all modern countries, the place of gender equality in these processes is a central issue. This project will engage Australian scholarship in, and enhance Australia's contribution to, an important and growing field, from a comparative and trans-national perspective.Read moreRead less
Who is Law For? An Analysis of the Nature of the Legal Being. The project will provide the first contemporary comprehensive scholarly treatise on "the legal person" as this legal concept applies to natural beings and objects: from rational humans, to human foetuses to animals to trees. It will have a direct bearing on legal decision-making in some of the most sensitive and controversial areas of law and therefore will have a highly practical legal application. For example, the project critically ....Who is Law For? An Analysis of the Nature of the Legal Being. The project will provide the first contemporary comprehensive scholarly treatise on "the legal person" as this legal concept applies to natural beings and objects: from rational humans, to human foetuses to animals to trees. It will have a direct bearing on legal decision-making in some of the most sensitive and controversial areas of law and therefore will have a highly practical legal application. For example, the project critically evaluates the legal status of the embryo and so will be of immediate interest to national and international law reformers considering the legality of the new reproductive technologies, cloning and embryonic stem cell research.Read moreRead less