The law of deliberative democracy: theory and reform. Deliberation is essential to the health of electoral and representative democracy. This project will evaluate and recommend the reform of the law underpinning democratic politics in Australia, to enhance its deliberative quality.
Reconceiving Australian federalism: fundamental values, comparative models and constitutional interpretation. Through systematic comparison with other federal systems, this project identifies the range of fundamental principles and values that could underlie the Australian system of government, explores their application to the interpretation of the Australian Constitution and scrutinises proposed reforms to the Australian system on the basis of that analysis.
Freedom of speech in the post 9/11 era. This project will assess the place of freedom of speech in political attitudes in a post 9/11 world. It will show that, and how, liberal democracies both undermine and simultaneously assert the importance of the fundamental human rights that are the very basis for their perceived vulnerability to terrorists.
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
The Impact of Hate Speech Laws on Public Discourse in Australia. 2009 will mark the 20th anniversary of the enactment of the first Australian laws (NSW) directed at the regulation of hate speech. Although hate speech laws are now firmly embedded in Australia's legal landscape, and have been extended in some jurisdictions to vilification based on religious and sexual orientation, they remain a controversial instrument for supporting Australia's policies on multiculturalism, religious tolerance an ....The Impact of Hate Speech Laws on Public Discourse in Australia. 2009 will mark the 20th anniversary of the enactment of the first Australian laws (NSW) directed at the regulation of hate speech. Although hate speech laws are now firmly embedded in Australia's legal landscape, and have been extended in some jurisdictions to vilification based on religious and sexual orientation, they remain a controversial instrument for supporting Australia's policies on multiculturalism, religious tolerance and respect for difference. An examination of the effects of hate speech laws on public discourse - both intended and unintended - will offer valuable insights about the capacity of law to deliver social cohesion in 21st century Australia.Read moreRead less
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
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
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
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200100881
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$420,040.00
Summary
New Approaches to Corporate Legality: Beyond Neoliberal Governance. This project aims to rethink the modern corporation, going beyond existing tendencies to focus on the efficient production of profits and financial value above all other interests. This project expects to generate new knowledge in relation to the functioning of corporations as forms of authority that are related to, but separate from, state regulation. Expected outcomes of this include new approaches to conceptualising and struc ....New Approaches to Corporate Legality: Beyond Neoliberal Governance. This project aims to rethink the modern corporation, going beyond existing tendencies to focus on the efficient production of profits and financial value above all other interests. This project expects to generate new knowledge in relation to the functioning of corporations as forms of authority that are related to, but separate from, state regulation. Expected outcomes of this include new approaches to conceptualising and structuring legal regulation to encourage alternative forms of corporate authority and economic cooperation. This should provide significant benefits in terms of enhancing productive capacity and the public good instead of purely financial value.Read moreRead less
Sentencing and public confidence: public perceptions and the role of the public in sentencing practice and policy. Public confidence is critical to the effective operation of the criminal justice system. This project will generate much needed current national data on public attitudes about sentencing. It examines avenues for the incorporation of public opinion into sentencing policy and processes, and provides accurate measures of the factors involved. The results will enable governments to res ....Sentencing and public confidence: public perceptions and the role of the public in sentencing practice and policy. Public confidence is critical to the effective operation of the criminal justice system. This project will generate much needed current national data on public attitudes about sentencing. It examines avenues for the incorporation of public opinion into sentencing policy and processes, and provides accurate measures of the factors involved. The results will enable governments to respond to periodic crises in public confidence in constructive and informed ways, rather than act in response to law and order rhetoric, linked with harsh sentencing regimes, and costly and potentially unnecessary increases in incarceration rates.Read moreRead less