Australia Again Misses Deadline on OPCAT, the UN Rights Treaty to Protect Detainees
Australia has again missed its deadline for implementing an international anti-torture protocol that the nation agreed to comply with in December 2017. The deadline, last Friday, 20 January 2023, was actually the third such deadline the country has missed in...
The History of Murder: The Most Serious Offence in Criminal Law
Since the beginning of recorded law, the offence of murder has been seen as the most serious of crimes, with the intentional taking of another’s life considered at least as heinous than any other human act. Despite how seriously it...
Father of Two Shot Dead by NSW Police Officer
An internal investigation is underway into the actions of police officers stationed at the small town of Tenterfield in Northern New South Wales, after a man was shot dead there earlier this week. The State Crime Command (SCC) will conduct...
Australian Police Continue to Apply Prone Restraint Despite Multiple Deaths
The prone position involves a person lying face down on the ground. Police and corrections officers the world over apply the prone restraint when they’re trying to subdue an individual. And the use of this position during such episodes, does result...
Pokies Out of NSW Pubs and Clubs, Says Greens MLC Faehrmann, as Labor Trial Set to Fail
NSW Greens MLC Cate Faehrmann launched her party’s plan to phase out pokies from pubs and clubs on 5 December. And when the Greens gambling harm reduction spokesperson did, she made the announcement from the Petersham Bowling Club, which ditched...
No Crime, No Time: ISJA’s Dave Pollock on Reforming Victoria’s Harsh Bail Regime
The impacts of harsh bail laws have been increasingly raised over recent years, as state governments have tightened them. Indeed, last year saw NSW impose an unworkable prohibition on granting bail to those convicted, prior to their “likely” sentencing, unless exceptional circumstances...
Pell’s Passing Marks Justice Unserved and Exposes the Power of a Corrupt Church
The 10 January death of George Pell left many with a bad taste in their mouths. A former archbishop of both the Melbourne and Sydney archdioceses, Pell represented to many, the corrupting effect of power and the ability it gives...
Australia Continues to Stall on Human Rights, Finds Annual HRW Report
Former Australian PM Scott Morrison was still in office last January, which saw him, in conjunction with recently dethroned US president Donald Trump and then Brazilian head of state Javier Bolsonaro, considered to be amongst the world’s top three climate policy criminals....
Robot Lawyer Set to Argue First Case
Welcome to 2023, a time when advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) have come so far that a robot lawyer is ready to argue its first cases in a real courtroom. Artificial intelligence developed by startup company DoNotPay, will defend two...
Which Groups Does Australia List as ‘Terrorist Organisations’?
The Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth) prescribes a range of offences relating to terrorists acts and associated conduct. A number of those offences relate to groups that are classified as ‘terrorist organisations’. Offences relating to terrorist organisations Offences that relate...
