Faith, hope , and charity – religion as a public benefit in modern Australia
Justice SC Derrington, President of the ALRC, presented at the Charity Law Association of Australia and New Zealand (CLAANZ) Annual Public Lecture 2019 at the University of Melbourne on 29 November 2019.
Read moreEvolving families and the continuing justification for rules particular to the regulation of families
Justice SC Derrington, President of the ALRC, presented at the Family and Relationship Services Australia (FRSA) National Conference 2019 on 21 November 2019.
Read moreALRC 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 moreSydney Seminar: Interrogating the English approach to prosecuting economic crime
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Read moreOf Shields and Swords – let the jousting begin!
Justice SC Derrington, President of the ALRC, presented at the Freedom19 Conference in Sydney.
Read moreResults in Brief: Seminar on the Future of Public Law Reform
On 29 May 2019, the Australian Law Reform Commission and the University of NSW hosted a conversation on the future of law and constitutional reform in Australia. To find out more about the discussion a short summary is available here.
Read moreLaw 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.
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 morePerspectives on Elder Abuse
On Elder Abuse Awareness Day 15 June 2018, Senior Right Service NSW published a video discussion between the ALRC Presdent, Justice Sarah Derrington, Principal Legal Officer, Matt Corrigan and Ellen Fanning. In the video the way in which law reform can support efforts to address elder abuse is discussed.
Read moreAccess 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?