Cross border civil remedies
This reference began on 19 July 1995, arising out of concerns about the effectiveness of the legal remedies available when commercial transactions cross international borders. In particular, insolvencies relating to Australian corporate identities Alan Bond and the late Christopher Skase, and the late British media magnate Robert Maxwell, had highlighted problems. Disputes that involve the …
Inquiries
Read moreBeyond the Doorkeeper – Standing to Sue for Public Remedies (ALRC Report 78)
ALRC Report 78 reviewed the recommendations made in the earlier report in light of subsequent developments in law and practice and recent and proposed reforms to court rules and procedures. It provides that under the current Australian law, standing is not open to all members of the public to commence litigation to sue for public …
Publications
Read moreStanding in public interest litigation
In 1985 the Australian Law Reform Commission reported on the law of standing – the set of rules that determine whether a person is entitled to commence proceedings. ALRC Report 27 includes discussions on issues of standing in civil proceedings involving both the common law and statutes and discussions on the rules governing private prosecution. ALRC …
Inquiries
Read moreCosts Shifting – Who Pays for Litigation (ALRC Report 75)
ALRC Report 75 (tabled October 1995) arose from a recommendation in the Access to Justice Advisory Committee 1995 report Access to Justice: An Action Plan. The report reviews the impact on the litigation system of the costs allocation rules. ALRC 75 found that the costs allocation rules sometimes operate unfairly and can deny access to …
Publications
Read morePersonal property securities
This inquiry begain in June 1990, when the method of dealing with personal property securities was both complex and inefficient. A complicated and often overlapping range of laws applied depending on the nature of the security, the type of property the security was taken out over and the class of debtor.These laws were a mixture …
Inquiries
Read moreCustoms and excise
In November 1987 the ALRC was asked to review the Customs Act 1901 and the Excise Act 1901. Both Acts were outdated. Approximately 68 Acts amending the two pieces of legislation had been passed between 1901 and 1989, causing uncertainty as to the state of the law.The final report (ALRC Report 60) aimed to simplify …
Inquiries
Read moreProduct liability
The terms of reference required the Commission to focus on a particular area of product liability: situations in which the product itself played a crucial role in causing the injury or loss to the consumer or a member of the community. The reference considered only the liability of manufacturers and suppliers for the quality of …
Inquiries
Read moreMatrimonial property
The ALRC received Terms of Reference to review laws relating to matrimonial property on 16 June 1983. The final report (ALRC Report 39) examined Australian community attitudes to questions of matrimonial property law. The emphasis was on assessing the contributions of the spouses to property and welfare of the family, which was impractical and inappropriate, …
Inquiries
Read moreService and Execution of Process
In November 1982 the Commission was directed to review the process by which documents involved in legal proceedings are formally given to another person. Where people involved in legal proceedings are from different States or Territories, it can be difficult to perform tasks that are essential to the case, such as ensuring that all parties …
Inquiries
Read moreSpent convictions
The inquiry on spent convictions examined the question of whether criminal records should be deleted after specified time periods had elapsed. The Commission identified three related problems that affected former offenders: the extent to which members of the community could access information about criminal records; the extent to which access was being granted to that …
Inquiries
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