Constitutional change in authoritarian regimes: the case of Myanmar. This project aims to understand how and why constitutions change in authoritarian regimes. After decades of authoritarian rule, there is lively public debate about formal amendment of the Myanmar constitution. Based on rigorous qualitative methods including archival research and in-depth interviews, this project expects to investigate why Myanmar's Constitution is both a constraint and an enabler of democratic reform. This time ....Constitutional change in authoritarian regimes: the case of Myanmar. This project aims to understand how and why constitutions change in authoritarian regimes. After decades of authoritarian rule, there is lively public debate about formal amendment of the Myanmar constitution. Based on rigorous qualitative methods including archival research and in-depth interviews, this project expects to investigate why Myanmar's Constitution is both a constraint and an enabler of democratic reform. This timely socio-legal project seeks to inform Australia’s political, economic and cultural engagement with Myanmar as a strategic neighbour in south-east Asia and a new market for foreign investment.Read moreRead less
Judges' work, place and psychological health - a national view. This project aims to address the human, juridical and financial costs of judicial officers’ work-related psychological harm. This harm is implicated in early retirement, sick leave and suicide. It threatens appropriate courtroom conduct, procedural fairness and impartial adjudication. The project seeks to generate new knowledge of the stress judicial officers experience and the individual and institutional mechanisms for managing st ....Judges' work, place and psychological health - a national view. This project aims to address the human, juridical and financial costs of judicial officers’ work-related psychological harm. This harm is implicated in early retirement, sick leave and suicide. It threatens appropriate courtroom conduct, procedural fairness and impartial adjudication. The project seeks to generate new knowledge of the stress judicial officers experience and the individual and institutional mechanisms for managing stressors, combining socio-legal and psychological approaches. Expected outcomes include evidence-based understandings to inform recruitment and retention strategies specific to this highly specialized workforce. This should provide significant benefits for judges’ work capacities and courts' delivery of justice.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210101183
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$426,530.00
Summary
Artificial Intelligence Decision-Making, Privacy and Discrimination Laws. This project aims to expand knowledge of the effectiveness of Australia’s discrimination and data privacy laws by drawing on empirical mixed methods and comparative US and EU experiences, to provide a new understanding for tackling novel emerging forms of data and artificial intelligence (AI) -driven discrimination and extending Australia's legal capacity in empirical mixed methods research. Intended outcomes include a com ....Artificial Intelligence Decision-Making, Privacy and Discrimination Laws. This project aims to expand knowledge of the effectiveness of Australia’s discrimination and data privacy laws by drawing on empirical mixed methods and comparative US and EU experiences, to provide a new understanding for tackling novel emerging forms of data and artificial intelligence (AI) -driven discrimination and extending Australia's legal capacity in empirical mixed methods research. Intended outcomes include a comprehensive empirical dataset and a normative model for legal reform to address AI and data-driven discriminatory practices in the digital age, thereby contributing to Australia’s AI and machine learning capability, increasing equality, offering reduced risk and long-term economic and social benefits.Read moreRead less
Threshold Decisions in Determining Whether to Prosecute Child Sexual Abuse. The objective of this project is new knowledge about the way police and prosecutors make decisions about the prosecution of child sexual assault that could be used to influence policy and practice. Few cases of child sexual abuse reported to the police ever go to court but recent research in New South Wales for the Royal Commission indicates that the proportion has declined sharply over the last decade or so. This projec ....Threshold Decisions in Determining Whether to Prosecute Child Sexual Abuse. The objective of this project is new knowledge about the way police and prosecutors make decisions about the prosecution of child sexual assault that could be used to influence policy and practice. Few cases of child sexual abuse reported to the police ever go to court but recent research in New South Wales for the Royal Commission indicates that the proportion has declined sharply over the last decade or so. This project aims to examine how police and prosecutors decide which cases proceed and why, and how they confer with each other as well as when and how they consult with complainants and their families. This project plans to also develop and test practice tools and principles for police and prosecutors with expected benefits for both them and the families involved.Read moreRead less
Small States' use of law of the sea litigation against greater powers. This project will investigate how small States are using law of the sea dispute settlement mechanisms to gain political advantages in conflicts with greater powers, including Security Council permanent members. It is important to understand how the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea can be leveraged to defend coastal State rights in strategic disputes concerning sovereign rights, unresolved boundaries, and military affairs. ....Small States' use of law of the sea litigation against greater powers. This project will investigate how small States are using law of the sea dispute settlement mechanisms to gain political advantages in conflicts with greater powers, including Security Council permanent members. It is important to understand how the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea can be leveraged to defend coastal State rights in strategic disputes concerning sovereign rights, unresolved boundaries, and military affairs. This research will better equip lawyers and policy makers to understand how such strategic litigation strengthens or undermines the rules based order at sea. The project will assist Australia to maintain its leading role in defending that maritime order and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea as its cornerstone.Read moreRead less
Bringing Indigenous voices into judicial decision-making. This project aims to show how judgments can be written so as to be inclusive of Indigenous people's voices and histories. This project will extend methodologies created by international scholars for correcting the absence of women’s voices, and produce the missing Indigenous judgment in twenty decisions of Australian superior courts. The gulf between judge-made law and the lived experience of Indigenous litigants will also be explored thr ....Bringing Indigenous voices into judicial decision-making. This project aims to show how judgments can be written so as to be inclusive of Indigenous people's voices and histories. This project will extend methodologies created by international scholars for correcting the absence of women’s voices, and produce the missing Indigenous judgment in twenty decisions of Australian superior courts. The gulf between judge-made law and the lived experience of Indigenous litigants will also be explored through an in-depth examination of four test case exemplars. This project’s benefits include building a new relationship between Australian judges and Indigenous people and contributing to Australia's jurisprudence on Indigenous people and the law.Read moreRead less
Australian human rights complaints: Litigation, mediation or conciliation. This project will assess the effectiveness of the mechanisms used to resolve human rights complaints in Australia – conciliation, mediation and litigation. It will be the first project to evaluate the effectiveness of these mechanisms in a human rights context. Working with industry partners from the legal sector and four human rights commissions, this project will generate new knowledge on human rights complaints and on ....Australian human rights complaints: Litigation, mediation or conciliation. This project will assess the effectiveness of the mechanisms used to resolve human rights complaints in Australia – conciliation, mediation and litigation. It will be the first project to evaluate the effectiveness of these mechanisms in a human rights context. Working with industry partners from the legal sector and four human rights commissions, this project will generate new knowledge on human rights complaints and on the views of key stakeholders about the effectiveness of the mechanisms used to resolve human rights complaints. This new information will inform legal and policy reform throughout Australia. The expected outcomes include developing a robust evidence-based model for human rights dispute resolution in the Australian context.Read moreRead less
Intoxication Evidence in Rape Trials: A Double-Edged Sword? There is strong evidence that intoxication by alcohol and other drugs is frequently associated with sexual violence. Criminal law reforms in Australia have attempted to break the ‘rape myth’ nexus between intoxication and assumed consent. This project will subject the operation of relevant rules to systematic analysis. Focusing on intoxication evidence in rape trials, this project will undertake qualitative analysis of appellate judgmen ....Intoxication Evidence in Rape Trials: A Double-Edged Sword? There is strong evidence that intoxication by alcohol and other drugs is frequently associated with sexual violence. Criminal law reforms in Australia have attempted to break the ‘rape myth’ nexus between intoxication and assumed consent. This project will subject the operation of relevant rules to systematic analysis. Focusing on intoxication evidence in rape trials, this project will undertake qualitative analysis of appellate judgments, court transcripts and interviews with prosecutors and defence lawyers, in three Australian jurisdictions. It should produce significant new knowledge about whether existing laws and court room practices are optimally adapted to achieving the important objective of justice for sexual violence victims.
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Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220101189
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$444,851.00
Summary
Fast-track Asylum Procedures: Balancing Fairness and Efficiency. Governments around the world are implementing measures to fast-track the processing of asylum claims. This project aims to identify if this can be done in a way that is both fair and efficient. It will use an innovative interdisciplinary approach, which combines doctrinal and empirical methods, to compare and evaluate current laws in Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom and Switzerland. Project outcomes will include evi ....Fast-track Asylum Procedures: Balancing Fairness and Efficiency. Governments around the world are implementing measures to fast-track the processing of asylum claims. This project aims to identify if this can be done in a way that is both fair and efficient. It will use an innovative interdisciplinary approach, which combines doctrinal and empirical methods, to compare and evaluate current laws in Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom and Switzerland. Project outcomes will include evidence-based law reform and policy recommendations to improve the efficiency and quality of Australia’s asylum process. A fair and more efficient asylum process will secure the integrity of Australia's borders and save the government money while ensuring refugees can access protection promptly.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