Countering the Australian 'ndrangheta: The criminalisation of mafia behaviour in Australia between national and comparative criminal law

Mafia-type criminal groups belonging to, or originated from, the Calabrian ‘ndrangheta from Southern Italy, have been object of recent academic research and media attention in Australia. The Australian ‘ndrangheta, as qualified form of organised crime, poses new challenges for law enforcement in the country. This paper briefly looks at the strategies to fight organised crime in Australia, with specific focus on anti-association laws. By using a comparative approach, the paper will look at the criminalisation of mafias as qualified forms of organised crime in other two jurisdictions, Italy and the USA, to advocate for an effective mafia criminalisation in Australia. In conclusion, this paper will argue that, in order to also fight mafia phenomena, criminal law in Australia should focus on behaviours of organised crime groups rather than only on the criminalisation of proscribed associations and their illegal activities

Rhetoric, reason, and the rule of law in early colonial New South Wales

Ian Holloway, Simon Bronitt and John William

EU joint investigation teams: Political ambitions and police practices

Since 1997 there exists strong political will in the European Union (EU) to use Joint Investigation Teams (JITs) to foster police cooperation in criminal investigations. For most Member States the legal basis to establish JITs became available in 2004. However, as yet, only around 40 JITs have been established. This chapter investigates the gap between political ambition and police practice as regards to JITs. It explores the origins and practicalities of JITs; it questions their feasibility in the context of European policing and ex¬amines the perceived added value of JITs over ‘traditional’ methods of police cooperation. It argues that the JIT concept was copied from its original use on a domestic level in one of the Member States with little (if any) consideration of the practicalities of police cooperation on EU level. The chapter draws on original research undertaken using EU policy documents, field interviews and literature reviews

Regulating 'Fake' Assistance Animals - A Comparative Review of Disability Law in Australia and the United States

The current regulatory framework surrounding assistance animals is inadequate in both American and Australian law. The uncertainty it creates raises practical barriers to access for disabled people who rely on service animals. This article compares the respective shortcomings of each systems' controls for service animals and recommends a direct system of regulation for the certification of service animals