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
New Concepts in Legal Pluralism: A Theoretical and Practical Analysis. The central objective of this project is to make a substantial and original contribution to legal knowledge by developing a new concept of legal pluralism, and demonstrating its practical significance in the modern legal context. The traditional centralist model of law fails to recognise the co-existance of law with "quasi-legal" and informal normative systems, it deals inadequately with social and cultural difference, and it ....New Concepts in Legal Pluralism: A Theoretical and Practical Analysis. The central objective of this project is to make a substantial and original contribution to legal knowledge by developing a new concept of legal pluralism, and demonstrating its practical significance in the modern legal context. The traditional centralist model of law fails to recognise the co-existance of law with "quasi-legal" and informal normative systems, it deals inadequately with social and cultural difference, and it fails to recognise that state-based law is neither closed nor autonomous. This project will develop an innovative approach to legal pluralism, and strengthen pluralist thought within Australian law.Read moreRead less
Re-envisioning sovereignty and nationhood in the contemporary international context. There are few issues more important to any nation than the nature of its nationhood. States have been the principal actors in international relations. But traditional notions of state sovereignty are under challenge by human rights and refugee issues and from the controls needed to manage communicable diseases, environmental degradation, terrorism, and international crime. Australia actively participates in inte ....Re-envisioning sovereignty and nationhood in the contemporary international context. There are few issues more important to any nation than the nature of its nationhood. States have been the principal actors in international relations. But traditional notions of state sovereignty are under challenge by human rights and refugee issues and from the controls needed to manage communicable diseases, environmental degradation, terrorism, and international crime. Australia actively participates in interventions, alliances and treaty making that sometimes support and sometimes undermine sovereignty. This project will assist Australia in its dealings with the world by building a new interdisciplinary model of sovereignty that resolves conceptual confusions and assists us in dealing with the international problems that we face.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
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
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
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
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR200200550
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$113,075.00
Summary
Citizenship and Claims of Belonging in Australian Law and History. What does it mean legally to ‘be’ an Australian? What role does the law play in shaping theories of belonging to Australia, and concepts of citizenship and Australian nationhood? The Project will address these questions, exploring key constitutional cases in which individual claims to ‘belong’ were the central issue. It will address fundamental issues about the relationship between citizenship and membership of the Australian com ....Citizenship and Claims of Belonging in Australian Law and History. What does it mean legally to ‘be’ an Australian? What role does the law play in shaping theories of belonging to Australia, and concepts of citizenship and Australian nationhood? The Project will address these questions, exploring key constitutional cases in which individual claims to ‘belong’ were the central issue. It will address fundamental issues about the relationship between citizenship and membership of the Australian community, contextualizing these in the social and political culture of their time. Outcomes include a historically grounded understanding of what makes Australian society cohere, and the challenges created at key points in time by shifting and sometimes conflicting legal and social visions of Australian citizenship. Read moreRead less
Journeys and Legacies of European Émigré Lawyers in Australia. This project investigates the reception and contribution of legally-qualified European émigrés to Australian law, institutions and society. Examining the cohort who arrived in Australia before, during and immediately after the Second World War, we focus on three sites: the legal academy, the legal profession, and the role of international institutions and agencies. Using archival research, oral history, personal papers and case law, ....Journeys and Legacies of European Émigré Lawyers in Australia. This project investigates the reception and contribution of legally-qualified European émigrés to Australian law, institutions and society. Examining the cohort who arrived in Australia before, during and immediately after the Second World War, we focus on three sites: the legal academy, the legal profession, and the role of international institutions and agencies. Using archival research, oral history, personal papers and case law, the project makes an Australian contribution to international research into the journeys and legacies of European émigré lawyers. The project provides important new knowledge about the role of migration in shaping Australian legal institutions. Read moreRead less