Impartiality from both sides of the Bench

On Monday 19 July 2021, the Australian Law Reform Commission co-hosted a seminar with Wolters Kluwer to explore different viewpoints on judicial impartiality.

Attendees were treated to an impressive panel including:

• The Honourable Justice John Middleton, Federal Court of Australia and ALRC Part-Time Commissioner (Chair)
• The Honourable Chief Justice William Alstergren, Chief Justice, Family Court of Australia and Chief Judge, Federal Circuit Court of Australia
• Professor Matthew Groves, Deakin University
• George Selvanera, Acting Chief Executive Officer, Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service
• Minal Vohra SC, Barrister

Devilish Detail of Financial Services Laws: ALRC launches journal issue

On Tuesday 20 July 2021, the Australian Law Reform Commission, in partnership with Melbourne Law School, hosted a webinar to launch the Company and Securities Law Journal Special Issue: Financial Services Laws – Understanding the Devil in the Detail.

Associate Professor Rosemary Langford delivered a short address sharing her expert opinion on the state of Australian corporations law, which was followed by a Q&A session with contributors to the CSLJ Special Issue.
Q&A Panellists: 

• Cindy Davies, ALRC
• Associate Professor Scott Donald, UNSW Law
• Dr Andrew Godwin, ALRC
• Professor Gail Pearson, The University of Sydney Business School
• Phoebe Tapley, ALRC
• Samuel Walpole, Barrister

Aurora placement cements Native Title pursuits

Aurora Intern Casey Wooderson, a Dunghutti woman, joined the ALRC for a four week placement earlier this year.

Casey is currently studying a Bachelor of Laws/Bachelor of Business at the University of the Sunshine Coast, majoring in Tourism, Leisure and Event Management, having completed the first semester of her third year. To expand her knowledge of the ‘legal-life’, Casey committed to a placement with the ALRC during her mid-semester break.

Judicial Impartiality: View Submissions Made

The Judicial Impartiality Inquiry received 48 formal submissions in response to the ALRC Consultation Paper proposals and questions.

Read the publicly available submissions to understand the views of other stakeholders.

Judicial Impartiality Survey Data

As part of the Judicial Impartiality Inquiry, the ALRC is carrying out a number of surveys to better understand the views of members of the public, the judiciary, the legal profession, and court users, on issues raised by the Inquiry.

As we analyse the results of the surveys, a preliminary snapshot of some key data will be available on the Inquiry’s webpage for interested stakeholders.
Last week initial analysis of an ALRC-conducted survey of judges of the Commonwealth courts, excluding the High Court of Australia, was added.

The webpage will continue to be updated periodically as survey results are received and analysis is carried out, but is not intended to provide a complete picture of the surveys. Full data, more detailed analysis, and explanation of methodology will be provided in the ALRC’s Final Report.

Financial Services Legislation

Looking for a comprehensive analysis of the ‘twin peaks’ model of financial regulation across multiple jurisdictions?

The Cambridge Handbook of Twin Peaks Financial Regulation edited by ALRC Financial Services Legislation Team Leader and Special Counsel Dr Andrew Godwin, along with Dr Andrew Schmulow from the University of Wollongong, is now available online (paywall applies) and in print.

Stakeholder Consensus of Emerging Themes

What consensus is emerging from stakeholders relating to simplification of the legislative framework for corporations & financial services?

Read the first background paper for the Financial Services Regulation Inquiry which summaries views expressed on the simplification of the legislative framework.

The ALRC will release a series of background papers as part of its Review of the Legislative Framework for Corporations and Financial Services Regulation. These background papers are intended to provide a high-level overview of topics of relevance to the Inquiry.

Further background papers will be released throughout the duration of the Inquiry, addressing key principles and areas of research that underpin the development of recommendations.