122 research outputs found
Book Review: Public International Law: An Australian Perspective
This article is a book review of Sam Blay, Ryszard Piotrowicz and Martin Tsamenyi (eds) Public International Law: An Australian Perspective, (2 ed, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 2005) (424 + xl pages) NZ$95. The book explains and illuminates the complexities of international law in the contemporary world from an Australian perspective. MacDonald praises the authors for acknowledging the geopolitical context in which conventions were agreed, and in which contemporary decisions are made by governments. Given the broad interest in international law and actions taken in its name, and given the misreporting and misuse of legal arguments in modern political discourse and public commentary, MacDonald recommends the book to students of all disciplines, journalists, commentators and politicians alike. 
Beyond Australia and the Pacific Rim: Challenges for the Internationalization of Australian Legal Education
Beyond Australia and the Pacific Rim: Challenges for the Internationalization of Australian Legal Education
The normative basis for combating human trafficking : a victim centred framework
University of Technology, Sydney. Faculty of Law.Human trafficking is the movement of a person from one place to another through the
use of force, fraud or coercion for the purpose of exploitation. It is thought to be one of
the fastest growing international crimes generating profits only second to arms trading.
It is also the largest manifestation of contemporary slavery. In an effort to suppress
trafficking, the international community came together in 2000 to draft international law
to combat the problem. Unfortunately, these efforts have had little impact on reducing
trafficking. It is the position of this thesis that one of the reasons for this failure is that
there was little normative legal theory underpinning the provisions in the instruments
adopted to deal with trafficking. The articulation of a clear normative premise for
action by states in combating trafficking is essential because without it the objectives
for international action become ambiguous leaving room for varying interpretations for
state action.
Essentially, the existing international legal framework as reflected in the international
instruments is a product of infused criminal law and migration concerns neither of
which has been adequate in dealing with the problem of trafficking. Indeed, many of
the responses by state parties mirror historical attempts to deal with trafficking from the
early 1900s. What is missing however is a proper victim centred approach which would
work to reduce trafficking, protect victims and even address state concerns by
enhancing criminal law efforts.
The search for an appropriate normative theoretical framework necessarily requires an
analysis of the role played by migration, gender, consent, human rights and slavery in
trafficking. Indeed, all of these factors provide valuable insights into trafficking while
also illustrating the motivation behind different views concerning trafficking. For
example, migration concerns and crime control lie at the heart of state interests whereas
many feminist groups perceive trafficking to be a gender issue.
After a detailed analysis of the various issues underpinning trafficking, appropriate law
reforms can be formulated that are informed by ideologies set in values, attitudes and
beliefs that are fundamentally victim - centred. When the well being of the victim is
prioritised, the response that flows will have the effect of also providing tools for
dealing with irregular migration, crime control, gender and labour issues. However, this
can only result from a shift in focus to the exploitation of the victim and a re-evaluation
of the definition and treatment of slavery. The current perception of slavery as a
practice steeped in proprietary rights akin to chattel slavery is antiquated and provides
little insight into modem practices. However this perception can be corrected with a redefinition
of slavery as an infringement of personal autonomy. This would result in a
clearer understanding and treatment of modem day slavery. This also leads to the
conclusion that trafficking should be considered a sub category of slavery and that
efforts to eradicate trafficking should also be matched by efforts to eradicate slavery in
general
Interception and Offshore Processing of Asylum Seekers: The International Law Dimensions
For decades the international community has conducted a delicate and politically charged balancing act trying to reconcile the inexorable increase in refugees-and the need to find permanent homes for them with the fundamental right of all countries to have secure frontiers. While the notion of non-refoulement remains fundamental to the treatment of asylum seekers, their rights vis A vis the states in which they seek asylum are significantly circumscribed by their alien status. States have a right to control entry to their territories. In the development of asylum law and policy, the central difficulty for states, and indeed the international community, is how to construct an appropriate balance between the urgent humanitarian demands to protect those who are genuinely in need of asylum, and the exclusion of those who do not qualify for humanitarian protection
An Undemocratic Guardian of Democracy - International Human Rights Complaint Procedures
This paper discusses the individual complaints procedures established pursuant to international human rights treaties such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It discusses the bases on which these systems have been criticised as undemocratic. After considering how these democratic failings could be ameliorated through greater involvement of domestic parliaments, it questions this narrow view of democracy that looks only to parliamentary involvement, suggesting instead that apparently undemocratic individual complaints procedures can actually have a beneficial "democratising" effect
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