Author: unsw_admin

The University of New South Wales is excited to announce the launch of Issue 46(1) on 18 April 2023.

We are delighted to welcome Rachel Davis, Vice-President and Co-Founder of Shift, to deliver the keynote address on the Issue 46(1) launch topic: ‘Human Rights, Corporations and Communities’. Shift is a non-profit organisation regarded as the leading centre of expertise on the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Over the last decade, Rachel has led work at Shift on standard-setting, human rights and sports, financial institutions, conflict and international law. Rachel is a graduate of Harvard University and the University of New South Wales, and a former Issue Editor of the University of New South Wales Law Journal.

The theme of the launch is inspired by several articles exploring rights protections for a wide range of communities – most particularly, Alan Zheng and Beth Goldblatt’s respective articles discussing state-inflicted violence on Palm Island, Queensland, and links between climate and racial harms in Moree, New South Wales. A second set of articles discusses subjects such as corporate social licence, crowd-sourced equity funding, and philanthropy’s relationship with justice. The launch topic seeks to put human rights protections in touch with concerns about corporate wealth, economic inequity and distributive justice.

The other articles in Issue 46(1) address a variety of relevant legal topics, including: emissions reduction, religious and testamentary freedoms, planning and development, intelligence law, and family violence.

The launch event for Issue 46(1) will take place at 6pm on Tuesday 18 April 2023 at the Sydney Office of Premier Sponsor Allens.

Please RSVP by 12pm on Tuesday 11 April 2023 via this link: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/unsw-law-journal-issue-461-launch-tickets-596473687857

Guests will receive name tags upon arrival, so please register each attendee’s details individually.

‘Power, Workers and the Law’

The UNSW Law Journal is currently welcoming submissions for the thematic component of Issue 46(4), which is ‘Power, Workers and the Law’.

Australian workers’ collective power has dwindled over the past few decades. Union density in Australia decreased from 40% of employees to 14% from 1992 to 2020, despite workers facing increasing precarity due to factors including stagnating wages, job instability in casualised work, and the gig economy’s expansion. Workers and unions are regulated by an industrial relations legal regime which has been criticised by the International Labour Organization for falling short of international labour rights standards.

However, union activity has recently attracted media attention. Internationally, unionisation efforts at Amazon warehouses and Starbucks workplaces have been successful; while in New South Wales, public sector unions like the Rail, Tram and Bus Union, the Nurses and Midwives Association, and the Teachers Federation have taken disruptive industrial action in 2022. Furthermore, the Albanese Labor Government announced ‘immediate’ reforms to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (‘FW Act’)at its Jobs and Skills Summit in September 2022, including the introduction of multi-employer agreements and the modification of the Better Off Overall Test during enterprise bargaining.

In light of the recent surge of union activity and federal proposals to reform the FW Act, Issue 46(4) intends to publish submissions demonstrating a substantial connection to Australian labour, employment, and industrial relations law. While the Journal particularly encourages submissions examining collective labour law (eg, concerning trade unions, collective bargaining, industrial action), it also invites contributions which generally examine the law’s influence upon workers’ collective and individual power, agency, and vulnerability, as well as the future of work in Australia in light of increasing automation and gigification.

In writing submissions, authors may wish to explore the following issues. However, authors are not limited to these areas of law and are encouraged to draw upon their own areas of expertise.

Industrial Relations Law

• The Albanese Labor Government’s proposed reforms to the FW Act, and their likely impact upon enterprise bargaining.
• Provisions in the FW Act which regulate industrial action (eg, pre-strike ballots, good faith bargaining requirements).
• The extent to which legislative reform can strengthen bargaining power, considering the overall decline in union membership density.
• Legislative reform proposals which confer or strengthen collective bargaining rights for vulnerable workers, including independent contractors, gig workers, temporary migrant workers etc.

Trade Union Regulation

• Long-term impacts of the 2015 Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption.
• The Albanese Labor Government’s plans to shut the Australian Building and Construction Commission, and the appropriateness of the Fair Work Ombudsman to take over its role.

Legal Profession and Industry

• Comparative studies between unionisation in Australian legal workplaces, and international legal workplaces. For example, the Aotearoa Legal Workers’ Union formed in New Zealand in February 2019, and legal aid criminal barristers in England and Wales voted to escalate industrial action to an indefinite strike in August 2022.
• Barriers or enablers to unionisation in Australian legal workplaces.
• The effectiveness of professional associations (eg, NSW Law Society) in addressing lawyers’ working conditions.

Criminalisation

• Sex worker agency between jurisdictions which criminalise sex work (Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia), license sex work (Queensland, Tasmania, Australian Capital Territory), decriminalise sex work (New South Wales and Northern Territory), or decriminalised work and introduced anti-discrimination protections to protect people from discrimination on the basis of their profession (Victoria).
• Criminalisation of wage theft, and the efficacy of such laws.

Contract Law

• The use of strict contractual interpretation to determine employment status, as adopted by the High Court in Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union v Personnel Contracting Pty Ltd (‘CFMEU’) and ZG Operations Australia Pty Ltd v Jamsek (‘Jamsek’), and how an employment relationship may be correctly interpreted where the contract is unclear.
• The impact of CFMEU and Jamsek upon the power dynamic between employers and employees, particularly vulnerable workers like gig workers.

Social Theory

• The role of unions as an exemplar of social movements, and the position of social movements and civil society actors in our legal system.

The submission deadline for the thematic Issue 46(4) is 31 March 2023, with publication set for late November 2023. Any changes to these deadlines will be updated on the Journal’s website.

Submissions should be between 7,000 and 13,000 words in length, excluding footnotes. The style guide for the Journal is the fourth edition of the Australian Guide to Legal Citation, as supplemented by the latest edition of the Journal’s ‘Additions’, which is available on our website.

The Journal is an independent, peer-reviewed publication. While publication is subject to peer review, publication decisions remain at the Editor’s discretion, in counsel with the Executive Committee of the Journal. The Journal does not publish articles that have been, or will be, published elsewhere, either in identical or substantially similar form. Please contact the Journal at law.journal@unsw.edu.au if you are interested or have queries about submitting for Issue 46(4).

If you intend to submit an article, it would be greatly appreciated if you could please provide some early indication of your proposed topic or area of research. We strongly encourage you to pass this call for submissions to any colleagues, research networks or organisations who may be interested in making a submission.

Yours sincerely,

Anna Ho
Editor, Issue 46(4)

Second 2022 Thematic: ‘Law and Economics’

The UNSW Law Journal is currently welcoming submissions for Issue 45(3). The Issue will comprise of both a thematic component and a general component. The topic for the thematic component is ‘Law and Economics’.

Despite being lauded by Professor Bruce Ackerman of the Yale Law School as ‘the most important development in legal scholarship of the twentieth century’,[1] the law and economics movement in Australia has not flourished beyond the traditionally accepted fields of antitrust, corporate, and taxation law. This is regrettable given that the impact of an economic analysis of law extends beyond academia to the practice of law and implementation of public policy. The fact that law and economics provided the intellectual foundations to the deregulation movements in the 1970s and reforms to criminal sentencing in the United States federal courts attests to the significance of this methodological paradigm.

The value an economic analysis offers is to provide a scientific theory that can predict the effects of legal sanctions on behaviour.[2] To achieve this, economists have developed empirically sound methodologies (statistics and econometrics) and mathematically precise theories (price theory and game theory) to provide a  quantitative assessment.[3] Recent advances in behavioural economics and cognitive sciences have also offered a theory as to how people respond to changes in law. Importantly, economics specifies a normative standard for evaluating law and policy: efficiency. Research into fields like nudge theory and search heuristics can provide insights to policymakers about how to encourage and discourage a range of behaviours to achieve economically efficient outcomes. Quantitative reasoning and empirical research are the bread and butter of an economist and tools which lawyers can learn from to enrich their understandings of the behavioural consequences of the law. Issue 45(3) thus aims to enliven discussions in the Australian legal landscape about the value of law and economics.

The submission deadline for the thematic Issue 45(3) is 4 February 2022, with publication of Issue 45(3) set for late September 2022. Articles must be between 7,000 and 13,000 words in length (excluding footnotes). The style guide for the Journal is the current edition of the Australian Guide to Legal Citation, as supplemented by the latest edition of the Journal’s ‘Additions’. Please visit our submissions page here for further submissions guidelines and to submit.

If you have any queries about submitting for Issue 45(3), please contact the Journal at law.journal@unsw.edu.au.

 

[1] Thomas Ulen and Robert Cooter, Law and Economics (Addison-Wesley, 3^rd ed, 2000) 2.

[2] Ibid 3.

[3] Ibid.

The University of New South Wales is excited to announce the launch of Issue 44(3) on 28 October 2021.

We are delighted to welcome Mr Rod Sims, the Chair of the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC), to deliver the keynote address on Issue 44(3)’s thematic topic, ‘Big Technology and the Law’. Mr Sims is the longest serving Chair of the ACCC and is the Vice Chair Digital Co-ordination and Asia-Pacific Liaison of the International Competition Network. Prior to his appointment to the ACCC, he was the Chairman of the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal of New South Wales (IPART), Commissioner on the National Competition Council, Chairman of InfraCo Asia, and a member of the Research and Policy Council of the Committee for Economic Development of Australia.

We are also pleased to be welcoming some of the authors of the articles published in Issue 44(3) to participate in a ‘Q&A’ session.

Issue 44(3) is comprised of six articles which expand on the Issue’s theme, ‘Big Technology and the Law’, and six articles which cover an array of independent topics. The thematic articles explore a diverse range of issues related to the regulation of digital platforms and technology in commercial and political contexts, including: the inadequacy of existing merger law in addressing nascent digital competition concerns; the protection of children’s best interests in the context of adtech; disseminative competition as a key functional dimension of copyright markets; the capacity of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods to regulate international trade in non-software data; the regulation of contemporary digital politics; and the challenges of and potential reforms for regulating disinformation and deepfakes. All twelve articles and Mr Sims’ foreword can be found here.

The launch will take place on 28 October 2021 via online live stream from the Journal’s Youtube channel, at 6:30pm. A link will be emailed to registered attendees closer to the date.

To register your attendance, please RSVP by 12:00pm on Wednesday 27 October 2021: https://unswlj44-3.eventbrite.com.au/

Unfortunately, due to the recent COVID-19 outbreak and associated restrictions, we have made the difficult decision to postpone the launch event for Issue 44(2). This will not impact the publication date of the articles in Issue 44(2), which will still be published online and in print on 29 June 2021.

We are hoping to be able to hold an in-person launch event at HSF Sydney in late July, on a date to be confirmed, and will provide you with further details once we have finalised those plans.

We apologise for any inconvenience that this has caused and we hope to celebrate with you all in person soon.

The University of New South Wales Law Journal is excited to announce the launch of Issue 44(2) on 29 June 2021. Issue 44(2) is a General Issue, which features 12 articles across a range of topics.

The theme of the launch, ‘Reconsidering Australian Intellectual Property Law’ has been inspired by the lead article of Issue 44(2), ‘Trade Mark Law’s Identity Crisis’ by Professor Michael Handler. This two-part article, the second of which is published in Issue 44(2) examines and critiques the developing application of the Federal Court’s recent move away from a strict approach to, and embrace of an expansive test of, substantial identity in Australian trade mark law.

The other articles in Issue 44(2) address a diverse set of legal questions, including the introduction of a common law tort of interference with privacy, mandatory helmet laws in New South Wales and the early release of superannuation to fund assisted reproductive technology. Advance Access versions of the articles can be found here.

We are delighted to welcome the Hon Justice Steven Rares of the Federal Court of Australia to deliver the keynote address. Justice Rares has been a member of the Federal Court since 2006 and is also an additional judge of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory and a judge of the Supreme Court of Norfolk Island. His Honour is currently the President of the Australasian Institute of Judicial Administration and has also served as Chairman of the Consultative Council of Australian Law Reporting.

The launch will take place at 6:00pm on Tuesday 29 June 2021 at the Sydney offices of our premier sponsor Herbert Smith Freehills.

To register your attendance, please RSVP by 12:00pm on Tuesday 22 June 2021: https://unswlj44-2.eventbrite.com.au/

First 2022 Thematic: ‘Abuse of Power’

The UNSW Law Journal is currently welcoming submissions for the thematic component of Issue 45(1). The topic for this thematic component is ‘Abuse of Power’.

Over the past 12 months, COVID-19 has, justifiably, been the main focus of legal and popular discourse within Australia. However, as we begin to emerge from the pandemic and re-evaluate our legal system, we are increasingly uncovering abuses of power by both private and government bodies. These include sexual assault allegations within Australia’s own Parliament House and findings of sexual harassment within the High Court, wage theft of vulnerable and migrant workers, the stripping of funding to the New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), and the increased spotlight on Indigenous deaths in custody.

One of the primary responsibilities of the law is to hold those in power to account, and ensure such power is not misused. The volume and seriousness of recent abuses raises the question of whether the law is sufficiently fulfilling this imperative function. Issue 45(1) aims to answer this question, shedding light on contemporary abuses of power both seen and unseen that impact the lives of everyday Australians. In light of this, the Journal invites contributions that explore how the law both facilitates and responds to abuses of power.

The submission deadline for the thematic Issue 45(1) is 3 September 2021. Publication of Issue 45(1) is set for late March 2022. Any changes to these deadlines will be indicated on the Journal’s website.

Articles for print publication in the Journal must be between 7,000 and 13,000 words in length (excluding footnotes). The style guide for the Journal is the current edition of the Australian Guide to Legal Citation, available online, and as supplemented by the latest edition of the Journal’s ‘Additions’.

If you are interested in, or have any queries about, submitting for Issue 45(1), please contact the Journal at law.journal@unsw.edu.au.

The University of New South Wales Law Journal is excited to announce the launch of Volume 44, Issue 44(1), on 8 April 2021. To launch Issue 44(1), we are very pleased to be holding a panel discussion on Issue 44(1)’s key theme, ‘Rights Protection amidst COVID-19’. The panel discussion will feature Mr Edward Santow, the Australian Human Rights Commissioner. Mr Santow was appointed Human Rights Commissioner in August 2016 and is also a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law, a Visiting Professorial Fellow at the University of New South Wales, and a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Human Rights and the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The panel discussion will also feature three authors from Issue 44(1): Professor Michael Legg, Dr Chris Martin and Dr Sara Dehm.

Issue 44(1) is comprised of seven articles which expand on the Issue’s theme, and six articles which cover an array of independent topics. The thematic articles discuss a breadth of topics in light of COVID-19, including: potential legal challenges to triage decisions in intensive care units; the parallels between the legal regimes governing immigration detention centres and residential aged care facilities as sites of confinement; the capacity and limits of international law to address the twin crises of refugee protection during COVID-19 and future displacement linked to climate-change; the use of remote hearings and Audio-Visual Links by courts during COVID-19; state and territory COVID-19 emergency measures regarding evictions and rent liabilities; the expansion of executive power in times of crisis; and the scope, application, and implications of criminal offences relating to the containment of COVID-19 in Australia. The articles independent of Issue 44(1)’s theme also represent an impressive body of legal scholarship, covering topics such as: the 2018 Australian High Court’s constitutional term in its inter-institutional context; the possibilities and limits of using corporate culture as a regulatory mechanism; the role of social entrapment evidence in self-defence cases involving intimate partner violence; the constitutional validity of using the Australian Defence Force in recent crises; the development and disruption of the notion of ’substantial identity’ and its analogues in Australian trademark law; and lessons for Australia from the UK’s regulation of financial advisers.

The launch will take place on Thursday 8 April 2021 via online live stream from the Journal’s YouTube channel, at 6:30pm. The link will be provided closer to the date.

To register your attendance, please RSVP before 12:00pm, 8 April 2021: https://unswlj44-1.eventbrite.com.au

The University of New South Wales Law Journal is pleased to announce the launch of Issue 43(4) on 12 November 2020. The General Issue will feature 16 articles across a range of legal topics. The launch topic ‘The Alien and the Law’?has been inspired by several articles in the Issue: Ellen Moore examines the differential impact of criminal and migration law upon non-citizens; Gabrielle Wolf explores the historical reticence of the medical establishment in registering foreign doctors in interbellum and wartime Australia; while Chris Draffen and Yee-Fui Ng compare the foreign influence legislative regimes in Australia and the United States and propose a rethink of the current approach such registration schemes.

The other articles in this Issue also canvas a wide range of legal scholarship, including topics such as: the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s information gathering powers vis a vis algorithmic collusion; avenues for reform and clarification in mediation confidentiality and privilege; an exploration of the misalignment in international law and Australian constitutional law with regards to expropriation; a study of the securities trading policies of the ASX 100; past, existing and proposed systems for filling casual vacancies in legislative Houses elected by proportional representation; the conundrum of the familial caregiver role in the context of gender equality in the legal workplace; perspectives on the future development of the profession; disciplinary proceedings for sexual misconduct taken against female health practitioners; accountability of not-for-profits in the performance of ‘public’ functions; empirical accounts on coercive powers from investigators of corporate crime; apportionment of proceeds from collective sales of strata property; indigenous fishing rights in coastal New South Wales and the criminal law; and the latest iteration of the long-running High Court statistics on constitutional law.

We are delighted to welcome the Hon Justice David Hammerschlag of the Supreme Court of New South Wales in the Equity Division to deliver the keynote speech. Prior to his appointment to the Court in 2007, Justice Hammerschlag had a diverse and distinguished legal career in South Africa, including as a solicitor and partner at a large commercial firm, and as a military lawyer in the South African Defence Force, before being called to the South African Bar in 1982. Upon moving to Australia in 1986 and requalifying not long after, his Honour maintained a thriving practice at the NSW Bar in not only complex commercial matters, but also as counsel in the Orange Grove inquiry and HIH Royal Commission. Justice Hammerschlag now administers the Commercial, Commercial Arbitration and Technology & Construction Lists of the Supreme Court, and has also sat on the Court of Appeal and Court of Criminal Appeal.

We are also pleased to be welcoming some of the authors of the articles published in the Issue to participate in a ‘Q & A’ session, including Chris Draffen, co-author of ‘Foreign Agent Registration Schemes in Australia and the United States: The Scope, Risks and Limitations of Transparency’; Gabrielle Wolf, author of ‘The Law and Politics of Registering Doctors: Lessons from New South Wales 1937–42’; and The Hon Justice Nicola Pain, co-author of ‘Balancing Competing Interests in the Criminal Justice System: Aboriginal Fishing Rights in Coastal New South Wales’.

The launch will take place on Wednesday 23 September 2020 via online live stream from the Journal’s Youtube channel at 6:30pm. A link will be emailed in advance of the premiere to registered attendees.

To register your attendance, please RSVP before 12:00pm, 12 November 2020 here.