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The latest issue of the Australian Law Journal (Volume 96 Part 4) contains the following material:

CURRENT ISSUES – Editor: Justice François Kunc

  • Briefly Noted
  • Guest Contributions
  • Bullying: In the Courtroom, In the Playground
  • Social Media (Anti-trolling) Bill 2022
  • The Curated Page

Click here to access on New Westlaw

CONVEYANCING AND PROPERTY – Editors: Robert Angyal SC and Brendan Edgeworth

  • Tenant’s Fixtures: SPIC Pacific Hydro Pty Ltd v Chief Commissioner of State Revenue

Click here to access on New Westlaw

AROUND THE NATION: AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY – Editor: Justice David Mossop

  • Changing of the Guard at the Australian Capital Territory Supreme Court

Click here to access on New Westlaw

FROM THE LAW SCHOOLS – Editor: Emeritus Professor David Barker

  • Introducing a New Phase for Australian Legal Education

Click here to access on New Westlaw

Articles

A Rational Approach to Victim Vulnerability in Sentencing – Mirko Bagaric

Committing an offence against a vulnerable victim is an aggravating factor. It is intuitively appealing to increase penalty severity when a crime is committed against a victim who is classified as “vulnerable”. However, jurisprudentially this approach is questionable. The category of people who have been characterised as vulnerable is so large to make it nearly boundless. Moreover, the victim vulnerability aggravating factor is logically largely subsumed by another aggravating factor: significant harm caused by an offence. This article argues there is a need to provide definitional clarity to this consideration. The soundest approach is to significantly curtail the scope of the victim vulnerability sentencing consideration, such that it only applies in circumstances when there is no possible overlap with the significant harm aggravating factor.

Click here to access article on New Westlaw

A Critical Review of Australian Law Reform Architecture for Developing National Uniform Legislation: Reinvent, Create, or Strengthen? – Guzyal Hill and John Garrick

This article critically examines the institutional architecture for developing national uniform legislation with a focus on the functioning of National Cabinet, the Australian Law Reform Commission, and the Australasian Parliamentary Counsel’s Committee. Federalism, which grounds our entire system of government has, for the past century, seen the Commonwealth as the ascendant power. We examine how the COVID-era has, to an extent, interrupted that trajectory. This research finds that Australia’s nine jurisdictions would benefit from stronger national approaches, with ad-hoc responses occasionally suiting local vested political interests. Our findings show that the federation’s architecture for national uniform legislation can be improved. Further, the significant roles played by the States and Territories during the pandemic should be acknowledged in planning new law reform architecture and in future assessments of when uniform action is required. Not surprisingly, resourcing and co-ordination are highlighted as keys.

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Recurring Issues in Civil Appeals – Part 2 – Thomas Prince

This is the second part of a two-part article considering some of the most commonly recurring issues in modern civil appeals. The first part addressed the historical development of the civil appeal and the standard of appellate review. This part considers when an appellate court is justified in interfering with findings of fact made by a trial judge and when a new point can be raised on appeal.

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BOOK REVIEW – Editor: Angelina Gomez

  • Pandemics, Public Health Emergencies and Government Powers: Perspectives on Australian Law, edited by Belinda Bennett and Ian Freckelton

Click here to access on New Westlaw

For the PDF version of the table of contents, click here: Westlaw AU – ALJ Vol 96 No 4 Contents or here: New Westlaw Australia – ALJ Vol 96 No 4 Contents.

Click here to access this Part on Westlaw AU

Click here to access this Part on New Westlaw AU

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