09.12.1989
Guardianship and management of property
The ALRC was required to inquire into the desirability of new laws and procedures in the ACT to provide for the guardianship and management of property of persons unable, wholly or in part, to manage their affairs or property. A Discussion Paper Guardianship and Management of Property (ALRC DP 39) was released in 1989. The …
Read more09.11.1989
Informed decisions in medical procedures
The report was commissioned in response to the growing trend of patients assuming greater involvement in decisions regarding their treatment. If patients’ expectations that they will be adequately informed are not met, legal action against medical practitioners may result. The report concentrated on three main areas: The legal principles determining liability of doctors for failure …
Read more09.08.1989
Product 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 …
Read more09.04.1989
Enduring Powers of Attorney
The final report for this inquiry, Enduring Powers of Attorney (ALRC Report 47), was tabled on 6 April 1989. It outlines powers of attorney in the context of the management of an infirm person’s property. The report found that the existing law in the Australian Capital Territory was inadequate as a power of attorney lapsed …
Read more09.12.1988
Grouped proceedings in the Federal Court
In February 1977 the Attorney-General referred to the ALRC matters relating to the access of citizens to courts. The final report, Grouped Proceedings in the Federal Court (ALRC Report 46), was tabled in federal Parliament in December 1988. ALRC Report 46 reported that the high cost of legal proceedings effectively prevented individuals and businesses who …
Read more09.03.1988
Sentencing of federal offenders (1978-88)
In August 1978, the Attorney-General asked the ALRC to inquire into the ‘laws of the Commonwealth and the Australian Capital Territory relating to the imposition of punishment for offences and any related activity’. In 1979, a series of Research Papers was published as well as a Discussion Paper Sentencing: Reform Options (ALRC DP 10). In …
Read more15.12.1987
Matrimonial 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, …
Read more12.12.1987
Service 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 …
Read more09.07.1987
Insolvency and debt recovery
In May 1976 the ALRC received terms of reference requiring it to report upon whether the Bankruptcy Act 1966 (Cth), as it applied to small debtors, made adequate provision for the compromise or discharge of their debts from present or future assets and earnings. The Commission also was required to consider what measures, if any, could be …
Read more20.06.1987
Spent 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 …
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