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
Food security and the governance of local knowledge in India and Indonesia. This project aims to discover how local farming communities’ practical knowledge can improve food security. 795 million undernourished people rely on small farmers for food. To protect these farmers from multinational agribusiness and climate change, this project will examine how small farmers turn useful plant material into cultivated crops through plant selection and breeding under conditions of climate change; identif ....Food security and the governance of local knowledge in India and Indonesia. This project aims to discover how local farming communities’ practical knowledge can improve food security. 795 million undernourished people rely on small farmers for food. To protect these farmers from multinational agribusiness and climate change, this project will examine how small farmers turn useful plant material into cultivated crops through plant selection and breeding under conditions of climate change; identify how regulatory structures in India and Indonesia help or hinder this process; and identify opportunities to apply local knowledge and its regulatory framework in Australia. Better understanding local conditions should benefit regulators, NGOs, businesses and aid agencies.Read moreRead less
Seeking Asylum Alone: The Treatment of Separated and Trafficked Children in Need of Refugee Protection in Australia. Forced migration is a critical human rights issue. Although increasing in number, children traveling on their own to seek protection abroad have received scant scholarly attention. No systematic research exists on the efficacy of asylum as a mechanism for protecting separated children smuggled or trafficked into Australia. Claims and experiences of such children will be catalog ....Seeking Asylum Alone: The Treatment of Separated and Trafficked Children in Need of Refugee Protection in Australia. Forced migration is a critical human rights issue. Although increasing in number, children traveling on their own to seek protection abroad have received scant scholarly attention. No systematic research exists on the efficacy of asylum as a mechanism for protecting separated children smuggled or trafficked into Australia. Claims and experiences of such children will be catalogued and studied to determine the extent and nature of the disadvantage they face within Australia's refugee system. The findings will contribute to an international project aimed articulating best practice guidelines for the legal treatment of separated children in refugee determination systems around the world.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR200201046
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$267,833.00
Summary
An Intergenerational Oral History of the Koori Courts. This intergenerational oral history project aims to capture the creation of the Koori Courts in Victoria: an innovative culturally appropriate response to the overrepresentation of Indigenous people in prisons. The project will capture this significant story while the key players are still with us. Outcomes include: building the capacity of Indigenous researchers, identifying insights into institutional change and creating a touring exhibit .... An Intergenerational Oral History of the Koori Courts. This intergenerational oral history project aims to capture the creation of the Koori Courts in Victoria: an innovative culturally appropriate response to the overrepresentation of Indigenous people in prisons. The project will capture this significant story while the key players are still with us. Outcomes include: building the capacity of Indigenous researchers, identifying insights into institutional change and creating a touring exhibition providing an accessible record of a turning point in Indigenous, legal and Australian history. Benefits for Indigenous communities and the wider Australian public include showcasing of an inclusive justice system, thereby supporting confidence in the rule of law.
Read moreRead less
What is a Document? Evidentiary Challenges in the Digital Age. This project plans to investigate the changing nature and role of documentary evidence in modern Australian litigation. The transformation driven by digital technologies presents challenges to traditional distinctions in the law of evidence. Using case studies, interviews with court officials and legal professionals and observational fieldwork, the project plans to explore methods developed in the fields of information science and th ....What is a Document? Evidentiary Challenges in the Digital Age. This project plans to investigate the changing nature and role of documentary evidence in modern Australian litigation. The transformation driven by digital technologies presents challenges to traditional distinctions in the law of evidence. Using case studies, interviews with court officials and legal professionals and observational fieldwork, the project plans to explore methods developed in the fields of information science and the humanities, where understandings of material cultural in the digital age have advanced rapidly, to examine their potential for law. The project is expected to inform policy development in evidence law so that it remains relevant in the information and cultural economies of the digital age.Read moreRead less
Urban images and the appearance of city spaces. This project will constitute the first study of street art as a new genre of cultural practice in city spaces. Street art is becoming an increasingly important issue for social policy and for youth culture. With many advocating a punitive approach to street art, the stakes for young people are high, risking criminalization in carrying out their art practices. The project will examine the emergence of street art and has significant strategic value i ....Urban images and the appearance of city spaces. This project will constitute the first study of street art as a new genre of cultural practice in city spaces. Street art is becoming an increasingly important issue for social policy and for youth culture. With many advocating a punitive approach to street art, the stakes for young people are high, risking criminalization in carrying out their art practices. The project will examine the emergence of street art and has significant strategic value in its capacity to inform balanced policy development and to improve understanding of the effects of and motivations behind street art.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
Constitutional resilience in South Asian democracies. This project aims to find out whether constitutional design could, and should, be used to make constitutional democracies more resilient. Democratic constitutionalism is facing serious challenges, not only in new fragile democracies, but also older established ones. The project will investigate the role that the constitutional accommodation of salient ethnocultural and ideological groups, the autonomy of non-partisan constitutional watchdog i ....Constitutional resilience in South Asian democracies. This project aims to find out whether constitutional design could, and should, be used to make constitutional democracies more resilient. Democratic constitutionalism is facing serious challenges, not only in new fragile democracies, but also older established ones. The project will investigate the role that the constitutional accommodation of salient ethnocultural and ideological groups, the autonomy of non-partisan constitutional watchdog institutions, and the adaptability of the constitution to changing circumstances could play in securing its resilience against serious threats. Relying on conceptual and empirical methods, using case studies from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka, to answer these questions, the project will produce a better understanding of constitutional resilience, and the features that promote it to allow constitution makers and reformers to better protect democracy, human rights and the rule of law. This will provide significant national benefit for Australia as it deepens its engagement with South Asia, and the world more generally.Read moreRead less
Tenants of the soil: adapting agricultural land ownership in Australia. Resolving the problem of environmental degradation on agricultural land, which is 60% of Australia’s land surface, is a major challenge. By engaging with farmers whose innovative practices have generated environmental and productivity benefits, this project aims to investigate the co-constructive relationship between land ownership, land use decision making and geography. The project tackles conventional accounts treating pr ....Tenants of the soil: adapting agricultural land ownership in Australia. Resolving the problem of environmental degradation on agricultural land, which is 60% of Australia’s land surface, is a major challenge. By engaging with farmers whose innovative practices have generated environmental and productivity benefits, this project aims to investigate the co-constructive relationship between land ownership, land use decision making and geography. The project tackles conventional accounts treating private property rights in agricultural land as unavoidably opposed to environmental goals. A key projected outcome is a set of rich case studies showing how geography shapes land use decision-making. This new approach provides much-needed evidence to inform law reform that transcends the public law/private rights impasse.Read moreRead less
Indigenous knowledge, law, society and the state. Law reform initiatives seek to foster ways of including Indigenous knowledge to resolve matters that come before the law more effectively, as well as redress social disadvantage. This project assesses existing programs in the courts and builds institutional capacity providing for more positive engagement with Indigenous knowledges on law and society.