Publications

ALRC submission to Senate inquiry regarding the Domestic and Family Violence Protection and Another Act Amendment Bill 2015

Committee ChairMs Leanne Donaldson MPCommunities, Disability Services and Domestic and Family Violence Prevention CommitteeParliament HouseGeorge StreetBrisbane Qld  40006 November 2015Dear Ms Donaldson,Domestic and Family Violence Protection and Another Act Amendment Bill  2015The Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) welcomes the opportunity to make a submission to the Communities, Disability Services and Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Committee …

Annual Report 2014-2015 (ALRC Report 128)

Annual Report 2014-2015 (ALRC Report 128)

ALRC submission to VLRC inquiry into the Role of Victims of Crime in the Criminal Trial Process

The Hon P D Cummins AMChairVictorian Law Reform CommissionGPO Box 4637Melbourne, Victoria 300114 August 2015Dear Chair,ALRC Submission: The Role of Victims of Crime in the Criminal Trial ProcessI refer to your invitation for submissions on the Victorian Law Reform Commission’s consultation paper The Role of Victims of Crime in the Criminal Trial Process (the VLRC …

Submission to Senate Inquiry into Remedies for the Serious Invasion of Privacy in NSW

Committee ChairThe Hon Natasha Maclaren-Jones MLCNSW Legislative Council Standing Committee on Law and JusticeParliament HouseMacquarie Street12 August 2015Dear Ms Maclaren-Jones,Submission to Inquiry into Remedies for the Serious Invasion of Privacy in New South WalesThe Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) welcomes the opportunity to make a submission to this Inquiry into remedies for the serious invasion …

Traditional Rights and Freedoms—Encroachments by Commonwealth Laws (ALRC Interim Report 127)

This is the 2nd consultation document for the ‘Freedoms’ Inquiry. The Terms of Reference list 19 rights, freedoms and privileges to consider.

The common law and private property

7.1          The common law has long regarded a person’s property rights as fundamental. William Blackstone said in 1773: ‘There is nothing which so generally strikes the imagination, and engages the affections of mankind, as the right of property’.[1] In the national consultation on ‘Rights and Responsibilities’, conducted by the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) in …

Definitions of property

What is ‘property’?7.11       The idea of property is multi-faceted. The term ‘property’ is used in common and some legal parlance to describe types of property that is both real and personal. ‘Real’ property encompasses interests in land and fixtures or structures upon the land. ‘Personal’ property encompasses tangible or ‘corporeal’ things—chattels or goods. It also …

Protections from statutory encroachment

7.31       Property rights find protection in the Australian Constitution, through the principle of legality at common law, and, to some extent, in international law.Australian Constitution 7.32       The Constitution protects property from one type of interference: acquisitions by the Commonwealth other than ‘on just terms’. Section 51(xxxi) of the Constitution provides that the Commonwealth Parliament may …

Relevant statutory provisions

7.58       A wide range of Commonwealth laws may be seen as interfering with property rights. Some apply to personal property, some to real property, and some to both. Grouped into areas, provisions affecting personal property will be considered under the following headings: banking laws;taxation;personal property securities;intellectual property laws;criminal laws.7.59       These laws are summarised below. Some …