Law, state sovereignty and religious terror: renewing the relevance of early modern political jurisprudence. Modern political thought has lost touch with early modern political jurisprudence. Premised on this hypothesis, the project reconstructs the historical role of political jurisprudence as the discipline that conferred legitimacy on the sovereign state under the rule of law, the great invention to end religious war. As a vital instrument of peaceful coexistence among Europe's warring faiths ....Law, state sovereignty and religious terror: renewing the relevance of early modern political jurisprudence. Modern political thought has lost touch with early modern political jurisprudence. Premised on this hypothesis, the project reconstructs the historical role of political jurisprudence as the discipline that conferred legitimacy on the sovereign state under the rule of law, the great invention to end religious war. As a vital instrument of peaceful coexistence among Europe's warring faiths, this early modern discipline is directly relevant to today's renewed concerns with public security against religious terror. The project will both recover the relevance of political jurisprudence, and provide a major historical corrective to anti-juridical and anti-statist research agendas.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
Constituent power in federal constitutions. The concept of constituent power is fundamental to public law. This project aims to provide the first systematic and theoretical examination of the concept as it manifests in federations. The idea of constituent power was first developed in unitary states. Consequently, its role in federations has rarely been explored. Expected outcomes include a systematic comparative analysis of constituent power in federations and the development of a theory of plur ....Constituent power in federal constitutions. The concept of constituent power is fundamental to public law. This project aims to provide the first systematic and theoretical examination of the concept as it manifests in federations. The idea of constituent power was first developed in unitary states. Consequently, its role in federations has rarely been explored. Expected outcomes include a systematic comparative analysis of constituent power in federations and the development of a theory of pluralised constituent power. Expected benefits include the generation of insights into the constitutional foundations of federal systems (including Australia), new approaches to the interpretation of federal constitutions and mapping of pathways for legitimate constitutional reform.Read moreRead less
A study of law reform and its responses to rapid social and community change. This research is designed to assist law reform agencies and other bodies charged with ensuring that the law responds to rapid social change to design and implement best practice modes of responding most effectively both to the changing nature of the legal problems that arise in the 21st century and to the changing constituencies that are affected by them. Through three cases studies: family law reform, laws governing ....A study of law reform and its responses to rapid social and community change. This research is designed to assist law reform agencies and other bodies charged with ensuring that the law responds to rapid social change to design and implement best practice modes of responding most effectively both to the changing nature of the legal problems that arise in the 21st century and to the changing constituencies that are affected by them. Through three cases studies: family law reform, laws governing defences to domestic homicide and tort law reform the project will assess the extent to which they are responsive to the concerns of those traditionally excluded from the legal mainstream.Read moreRead less
Executive Power under the Australian Constitution: definition, delimitation and accountability. The executive branch of government is the central actor in protecting Australia from terrorism and crime, as it is in other countries. The executive is also central to defence, immigration control as well as critical domestic policy domains. Understanding the nature and scope of executive power, and how it is regulated and rendered accountable, is therefore vital to good governance and successful prot ....Executive Power under the Australian Constitution: definition, delimitation and accountability. The executive branch of government is the central actor in protecting Australia from terrorism and crime, as it is in other countries. The executive is also central to defence, immigration control as well as critical domestic policy domains. Understanding the nature and scope of executive power, and how it is regulated and rendered accountable, is therefore vital to good governance and successful protection of Australian interests. This project will provide the first integrated, broadly-based and comparatively-informed analysis of executive government under the Constitution since the emergence of Australian constitutional nationalism in the High Court in the 1990s and since the executive assumed expanded powers in the post 9/11 world.Read moreRead less
Contemporary populism and constitutional democracy. This project aims to explain and evaluate constitutional populism, or regimes that have come to power in a global wave of ‘populist’ parties challenging traditional ones. The project will identify, reconstruct, and evaluate legal and constitutional aims of, and institutional solutions adopted by, such regimes. It will examine whether they respect the forms of democracy, or just pay lip service to, for example, principles of the rule of law and ....Contemporary populism and constitutional democracy. This project aims to explain and evaluate constitutional populism, or regimes that have come to power in a global wave of ‘populist’ parties challenging traditional ones. The project will identify, reconstruct, and evaluate legal and constitutional aims of, and institutional solutions adopted by, such regimes. It will examine whether they respect the forms of democracy, or just pay lip service to, for example, principles of the rule of law and constitutionalism, while working to subvert such principles. The project will focus on what ‘new populists’ do with power once they have it, what the consequences are for a global view of democracy, and on informing Australia’s geopolitical engagement with such regimes.Read moreRead less
International Tax in the Digital Age: A Blueprint for Allocating Profits. This project aims to investigate tax avoidance by multinational enterprises in the age of the digital economy. It addresses the difficult problem of determining the location in which profits are made. The project expects to generate new knowledge in international tax by developing a blueprint for allocating profits of multinational enterprises between jurisdictions that aligns with profit making activity and reduces intern ....International Tax in the Digital Age: A Blueprint for Allocating Profits. This project aims to investigate tax avoidance by multinational enterprises in the age of the digital economy. It addresses the difficult problem of determining the location in which profits are made. The project expects to generate new knowledge in international tax by developing a blueprint for allocating profits of multinational enterprises between jurisdictions that aligns with profit making activity and reduces international tax avoidance. A systematic structure for allocating profits of multinational enterprises will address the important problem of tax base erosion caused by profit shifting. This will provide the significant benefit of developing a major tool in securing Australia’s revenue base in the digital age.Read moreRead less
Evaluating redress mechanisms governing the human rights practices of transnational business: lessons for institutional design and operation. Australian and United Kingdom researchers will collaborate with leading development and human rights organisations to design regulatory systems that promote sustained business compliance with human rights norms, and enable workers and communities to defend their human rights when these are infringed by businesses from Australia and other OECD countries.
International challenges to the Australian legal system: trade and human rights. The traditional notion of the Australian legal system as self-contained can no longer be sustained. Australia's legal structure operates within an international framework in which norms permeate national boundaries and influence local debates. This project will examine how Australian law and parliamentary and judicial institutions have reacted to this challenge, using the areas of trade and human rights as case s ....International challenges to the Australian legal system: trade and human rights. The traditional notion of the Australian legal system as self-contained can no longer be sustained. Australia's legal structure operates within an international framework in which norms permeate national boundaries and influence local debates. This project will examine how Australian law and parliamentary and judicial institutions have reacted to this challenge, using the areas of trade and human rights as case studies. It will contribute to a new theoretical understanding of the Australian legal system as well as providing practical guidance for policy makers.Read moreRead less
Establishing an optimal legal framework for online privacy. Consumer confidence in the security of personal information is essential for the growth of electronic commerce. To compete internationally, Australia must establish a world-class legal framework for the protection of online privacy. New technologies for collecting and processing personal information pose threats to individual privacy. Other technologies may protect privacy. Increasingly, effective protection of privacy depends upon ....Establishing an optimal legal framework for online privacy. Consumer confidence in the security of personal information is essential for the growth of electronic commerce. To compete internationally, Australia must establish a world-class legal framework for the protection of online privacy. New technologies for collecting and processing personal information pose threats to individual privacy. Other technologies may protect privacy. Increasingly, effective protection of privacy depends upon the coordination of legal rules and technological measures. This project will be the first study to investigate the optimal mix of regulatory tools for the protection of online privacy in Australia. Recommendations will be made to improve Australian privacy laws and policies.Read moreRead less