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
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160100314
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$337,000.00
Summary
International Law and the Legacies of Fascist Internationalism. The project has three aims: to uncover and elaborate the fascist approach to international law that developed in inter-war Italy; to generate new comparative and interdisciplinary analyses of fascist internationalism; and to use this archival and comparative research to shed light on the contemporary global order and in particular its logic of violence, hierarchy and expansion. The project aims to improve our understanding of three ....International Law and the Legacies of Fascist Internationalism. The project has three aims: to uncover and elaborate the fascist approach to international law that developed in inter-war Italy; to generate new comparative and interdisciplinary analyses of fascist internationalism; and to use this archival and comparative research to shed light on the contemporary global order and in particular its logic of violence, hierarchy and expansion. The project aims to improve our understanding of three interrelated phenomena of concern to Australia and globally: intensifying migration flows, increasing economic uncertainty, and the resurgent far right. It may provide a historical and legal framework for national and international responses to these phenomena and clarify the long-term structural consequences of military and financial interventions in the developing world.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
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
Legal and ethical issues in the inheritable genetic modification of humans. This project aims to investigate the legal and ethical implications of technologies that allow inheritable modifications of the human genome. The use of these technologies in human embryos is fast becoming an international reality, and this project aims to examine the implications for Australia. The project will clarify the legal status of inheritable genetic modification technologies in Australia, analyse the ethics of ....Legal and ethical issues in the inheritable genetic modification of humans. This project aims to investigate the legal and ethical implications of technologies that allow inheritable modifications of the human genome. The use of these technologies in human embryos is fast becoming an international reality, and this project aims to examine the implications for Australia. The project will clarify the legal status of inheritable genetic modification technologies in Australia, analyse the ethics of these new technologies, and, building on this, recommend regulatory reforms to guide Australia’s response to international scientific and legal developments. These reforms could improve the governance of these new technologies and guide their clinical adoption.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE140100283
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$356,247.00
Summary
From War Crimes Investigator to War Crimes Jurist: Sir William Flood Webb KBE and his impact on international criminal law in the twentieth century. Sir William Flood Webb KBE (1887-1972) is little known but was Australia's most prominent jurist on war crimes in the mid-twentieth century. This project is a legal-historical study that investigates and examines Webb's extraordinary impact on the development and transformation of international criminal law through his roles as a war crimes investig ....From War Crimes Investigator to War Crimes Jurist: Sir William Flood Webb KBE and his impact on international criminal law in the twentieth century. Sir William Flood Webb KBE (1887-1972) is little known but was Australia's most prominent jurist on war crimes in the mid-twentieth century. This project is a legal-historical study that investigates and examines Webb's extraordinary impact on the development and transformation of international criminal law through his roles as a war crimes investigator, consultant and jurist and, in particular, as President of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East. The project will shed light on historical views of war crimes, the legal actions taken and institutions created in response and the judicial and procedural precedents that were established, not only within Australia but internationally.Read moreRead less
Sharing the Wealth: Tax and Justice in The Slow Growth Era. This project aims to address fundamental problems of injustice in taxation emerging in the transition to a slow growth economy in Australia and globally. The project applies interdisciplinary approaches to generate new knowledge that aims to update frameworks for justice in taxation, refreshing out-dated 20th century ethical and legal approaches. Collaborative legal and philosophy analysis by leading scholars in Australia and the United ....Sharing the Wealth: Tax and Justice in The Slow Growth Era. This project aims to address fundamental problems of injustice in taxation emerging in the transition to a slow growth economy in Australia and globally. The project applies interdisciplinary approaches to generate new knowledge that aims to update frameworks for justice in taxation, refreshing out-dated 20th century ethical and legal approaches. Collaborative legal and philosophy analysis by leading scholars in Australia and the United States will respond to contemporary conditions of slow growth, wage stagnation, wealth inequality, population aging and longevity. Project outcomes will include tax reform proposals to benefit policy makers and enrich public debate on tax justice for 21st century economic and fiscal conditions.Read moreRead less
Cosmopolitanism and the Future of International Law. Questions about the theoretical foundation and practical effect of international law are extremely timely and of direct interest to Australia. Dominant conceptions of law have proved inadequate for understanding the capacity of international law to respond to the threats and challenges of our time. This project will assist Australians to participate more actively in generating new institutions, concepts and frameworks which will shape the futu ....Cosmopolitanism and the Future of International Law. Questions about the theoretical foundation and practical effect of international law are extremely timely and of direct interest to Australia. Dominant conceptions of law have proved inadequate for understanding the capacity of international law to respond to the threats and challenges of our time. This project will assist Australians to participate more actively in generating new institutions, concepts and frameworks which will shape the future of international law. It will ensure that international law and institutions can better respond to the questions raised and the demands made on Australia by humanitarian crises, economic globalization and the movement of peoples.Read moreRead less
Optimising access to the Law Reports Series of Australia's war crimes trials, 1945-51. The forthcoming Law Reports Series on Australia’s war crimes trials held in 1945-51 will be, in effect, the official history of the trials. It is vital, therefore, that all users, particularly the Australian public, are provided with the necessary tools to optimally access the Series and thus obtain a comprehensive understanding of the trials.