03.12.2019
Where next for law reform? Final Report Launch
On Monday 2 December 2019, the ALRC launched the final report of the Future of Law Reform project at a well-attended and high-spirited event in the Commonwealth Law Courts building in Brisbane. President of the ALRC, Justice Sarah Derrington, outlined the origins and purposes of the project, reflecting on the ALRC’s longstanding commitment to public …
Read more02.12.2019
Report Launch – The Future of Law Reform
The Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) is today releasing a report suggesting an ambitious agenda for law reform over the next five years. The report will be launched by the current ALRC President, the Hon Justice Sarah Derrington, and the inaugural ALRC Chairman, Hon Michael Kirby AC CMG, in the Commonwealth Law Courts Building in …
Read more15.11.2019
ALRC Corporate Crime – Discussion Paper
The Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) today released a Discussion Paper, Corporate Criminal Responsibility (DP 87). Building on the work of the Hayne Royal Commission, the ALRC has found that Commonwealth criminal law as it applies to corporations is impenetrably complex and in need of significant reform. There is an overregulation by the criminal law …
Read more14.10.2019
Sydney Seminar: Interrogating the English approach to prosecuting economic crime
Places are limited! To confirm your attendance please register here:
Read more04.09.2019
Of Shields and Swords – let the jousting begin!
Justice Derrington, President of the ALRC, presented at the Freedom19 Conference in Sydney. “On Thursday of last week, the Attorney-General released an exposure draft of religious freedoms reforms, which he intends to present to Parliament in final form in October. The exposure draft traverses many of the issues that were within the ALRC’s original terms …
Read more29.01.2019
Law Reform – Future Directions
When I was invited (almost 12 months ago now) to speak at this conference and on this topic, I felt relatively confident that after a year in the role as President of the ALRC, I might have some useful thoughts to share with you about future directions in law reform. That confidence evaporated rapidly when I began preparing theses remarks.
I have identified two main reasons for that loss of confidence (in addition to the obvious point that it is not a topic that lends itself naturally to humour). The first, and most important, reason has been the realisation of just how little influence the ALRC itself has in the topics that will be selected for future law reform references and the degree of political expediency involved the topics that are referred to the Commission. The second reason is the great uncertainty that surrounds the funding of the ALRC and the obvious challenge such uncertainty presents for ensuring that the ALRC can attract and retain a legal team of the highest quality.
04.10.2018
Litigation Funding: Access and Ethics
Speaking at the Australian Academy of Law lecture in Brisbane, 4 Oct 2018, the Hon Justice S C Derrington, President of the ALRC, provided some background to Litigation Funding and Class Actions in Australia, and around the world. “Against this background, I turn to consider the overarching principles by which the ALRC has been guided …
Read more31.05.2018
Access to justice in modern legal practice – what does it mean?
But what does access to justice mean? Is there a difference between a justice system and a
legal system? Does a legal system pre-suppose that justice is the end goal? And what, in any
event, is encompassed by notions of justice?