The Independence of the Judiciary as the Base of Business and Economic Development

The rapid nature of information exchange, the increasingly porous nature of international boundaries through electronic communications and the movement of capital and labour have presented a range of new issues in the administration of justice. These have major implications for the Courts and the role of the Courts, particularly in newly liberalised economies. International trade has raised issues concerning both substantive law and procedure. Foreign investment in the Asia Pacific region and the increasing affluence of particular socio-economic groups in countries throughout Asia and the Pacific has seen increasing demands for the reform of the law and the methods of its enforcement in order to provide consistency and coherency in commercial relationships

At the Cutting Edge: Therapeutic Jurisprudence

In the last decade or so, a series of specialised or problem-solving Courts or court processes have evolved in Australia. These courts are based upon the principles of therapeutic jurisprudence which regard the law, court procedures and rules, as a social force whose goal is to produce therapeutic consequences to the participants in the legal proceedings and to society at large. Taking a holistic approach to an offender and the offenders problematic history is not an altogether new concept, as this is usually taken into account during sentencing. The ideal of tailoring sentences and having options available for treatment of an underlying problem however is one which marks a departure from simply imposing a sanction by way of sentence. This can only improve the state of our criminal justice system. In my experience, one can often feel hamstrung when dealing with offenders whose life has been ravaged by drug abuse, but will appear before the Court as an accused, most often on charges of assault, burglary or in some cases what might be an armed robbery on the lower end of the scale. If we as a community wait to provide assistance to individuals until they offend and are imprisoned, I would suggest, it is frequently too late for both the community and the offender

The Independence of the Judiciary in the Asia-Pacific Region

It is almost universally acknowledged that one of the hallmarks of a democracy is the independence of the Judiciary. A Judiciary which exists merely to do a Government\u27s bidding or to implement Government policy provides no guarantee of liberty. What do we mean by independence of the Judiciary? The former Chief Justice of Tasmania, Sir Guy Green has defined it as the capacity of the courts to perform their constitutional function free from actual or apparent interference by, and to the extent that it is constitutionally possible, free from actual or apparent dependence upon, any persons or institutions, including, in particular, the executive arm of government, over which they do not exercise direct control. The maintenance of public confidence in the impartiality of Judges is essential to public acceptance of the law and the legal system. A loss of that public confidence can lead to instability and even a threat to the very existence of society. In the late seventeenth century in England, the politicisation of the Judiciary and its subservience to the Crown was a material factor in the Revolution of 1688. One of the complaints against George III recited in the American Declaration of Independence was that, He has made Judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries

The globalisation of human rights law

Australia has ratified multiple international human rights instruments. However, in comparison to other common law jurisdictions, Australia is \u27behind the times\u27. The fact is that Australia has not adopted a Bill of Rights and its human rights legislation is ad hoc The legal protection that different human rights receive in Australia is contradictory. The question of whether Australia should adopt a Bill of Rights and, if so, in what form and with what content is essentially political. Nonetheless, the answer to the question needs to be informed by a greater awareness of the role and function of human rights in Australia