Law Report

Justice Sarah Darrington, President of the Australian Law Reform Commission, and Michael Douglas, a defamation law expert, engage in a thought-provoking discussion. They explore the challenging ethical dilemmas courts face when parents and doctors disagree on withdrawing life support for children, highlighting recent cases. The conversation also covers the proposal for a judicial commission to enhance accountability and tackle bias in the judiciary. In a dramatic legal twist, they dissect the defamation battle between Clive Palmer and Mark McGowan, revealing the complexities and frustrations within the judicial process.

Should researchers collect and publish statistics which reveal how judges and tribunal members decide refugee cases? Is this a way of understanding legal decision making or does it risk undermining confidence in the justice system? 

Electric scooters are becoming an increasingly popular form of transport, but there is a confusing mosaic of laws that regulate their use across Australia. So, when accidents happen – who should be held legally liable?

Queensland has introduced laws to crack down on 'claim farming', a practice where members of the public are contacted and encouraged to make compensation claims. And a new study has found 'inconsistencies' in the way courts consider the possible impact of media coverage on sentencing decisions.

The small Pacific island nation of Vanuatu is behind a campaign to raise the issue of climate change before the International Court of Justice. And how should culturally sensitive historical photographs be handled? A leading US university is sued for allegedly causing emotional distress.

An in-depth look at Victoria's law to ban the public display of the Nazi swastika amid calls for the Federal Government to legislate a national ban on the symbol. And the case of a West Australian man who spent more than a decade in prison for a crime he didn't commit has led to new legal avenues for appeal for others who may have been wrongfully convicted.

Reforming the Public Interest Disclosure Act "is a significant matter because it is linked to the national anti-corruption commission that we hope to legislate this year," the federal Attorney General Mark Dreyfus has told the Law Report. In a wide-ranging interview, Mr Dreyfus outlines his legislative priorities, including reforming the Privacy Act, media freedoms, and a review of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

Should we grant patents to Artificial Intelligence algorithms? Should machines have copyright over the art works they generate? What about animals?

The High Court has ruled that a decision by the former Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews to rescind the citizenship of an Australian man suspected of joining the Islamic State group was unconstitutional. And, for the first time, unpaid workers can pursue the director of a collapsed company in the small claims tribunal of the Federal Circuit and Family Court.

Why did actor Johnny Depp's defamation case against his former wife Amber Heard succeed in the US after failing at a similar trial in the UK? And a man ordered to face trial before a judge alone under the ACT’s pandemic emergency law says he was denied the right for his case to be heard by a jury. But does such a legal right exist in Australia?