Section V. The foundation law (p. 247-63) outlines English legal principles of colonisation and introduction of English law in Australia; influence of international jurists, esp. Vattel; instructions to Capt. Cook, proclamations of colonies; Batmans treaty and its voiding; early application of English law to Aborigines in Tasmania and New South Wales.

Featuring contributions from leading lawyers, historians and social scientists, this path-breaking volume explores encounters of laws, people, and places in Australia since 1788. Its chapters address three major themes: the development of Australian settler law in the shadow of the British Empire; the interaction between settler law and First Nations people; and the possibility of meaningful encounter between First laws and settler legal regimes in Australia. Several chapters explore the limited space provided by Australian settler law for respectful encounters, particularly in light of the High Court's particular concerns about the fragility of Australian sovereignty. Tracing the development of a uniquely Australian law and the various contexts that shaped it, this volume is concerned with the complexity, plurality, and ambiguity of Australia's legal history.

Sixth edition of a guide to Australia's legal system, first published 1974. Discusses the role of courts, law and morality, censorship and international law and human rights. Includes chapters on the origins of the legal system, how laws are made and what the various law courts do. Written in easy to understand language, and includes case studies, cartoons and index. Chisholm is a Judge of the Family Court of Australia and Nettheim is a Professor of Law at the University of New South Wales.

Includes cases, concepts and principles affecting status of Aboriginal people under British law; territorium nullius and non-recognition of Aboriginal land rights.

The Future of Australian Legal Education Conference was held in August 2017 to mark the 10th anniversary of the Australian Academy of Law (AAL), the 90th anniversary of the Australian Law Journal (ALJ) and the 30th anniversary of the Pearce Report on Australian Law Schools. The conference provided a forum for an informed, national discussion on the future of legal study and practice in Australia, covering practitioners, academics, judges and students.

What is the 'rule of law'? How do laws get made? Does our legal and political system achieve justice for all Australians equally? Designed for beginners as well as non-law students, this textbook provides a comprehensive and accessible guide to understanding Australia's system of law and government. Law in Australian Society explains legislation and case law, courts, and the doctrine of precedent. Keiran Hardy examines the roles played by parliaments, politics, and the media. He explains founding principles, including democracy, liberalism, the separation of powers, and federalism. Human rights and justice are highlighted, with an emphasis on First Nations Peoples and the law. The book explains criminal responsibility and the justice system, including police powers and the criminal trial. It concludes with case studies of cybercrime and counterterrorism laws to illustrate law reform in action. This second edition has been fully updated throughout, including recent legislation, cases, and topical issues from Australian law and politics, including from the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent referendum on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament. Each chapter features practical examples, chapter summaries and review questions together with a glossary of key terms. Concise, accessible and up-to-the-minute, this is a vital guide for anyone seeking to understand Australian law and government.

Justice McHugh once said that a lack of understanding of legal history was a misfortune, not a privilege. That was an understatement. As well as being essential for any Australian lawyer, the history underlying and informing the Australian legal system is a uniquely interesting amalgam of English, American and local developments.The two volumes of Historical Foundations of Australian Law set the very highest standards of analysis and scholarship. Each is introduced by a useful and perceptive commentary by James Watson. Together, they contain 31 essays by distinguished judges and practitioners and academics. Although each essay is self-contained, in combination they yield a rich analysis of how Australian law has reached its present state.The first volume, Institutions, Concepts and Personalities, contains incisive assessments of key figures such as Sir Owen Dixon and Justice Joseph Story (by Justices Hayne and Allsop respectively), and of key developments such as the establishment of an Australian land law, the reception of the common law, the growth to nationhood, the changing role of precedent and the separation of powers. There are essays on the very early influences on Australian law from the leading early texts (Glanvill and Bracton), from early English statutes and from Roman law. There are essays on the growth of equity, and even a modern dialogue on the Judicature legislation. And there are accounts of legal procedure, which is ultimately the source of much substantive law, and of the jurisprudential figures who have sought to analyse law.The second volume, Commercial Common Law, complements the first: distinguished judges, practitioners and academics write on many aspects of commercial practice, often viewed through more than one prism. Thus there are chapters on money and bills of exchange, and cheques and banking, and on the actions often associated with them (notably debt and conversion), and on Lord Mansfield's contribution to commercial law. There are chapters on how the basic elements of the law of torts and contract came into existence, from a variety of perspectives. There are analyses of privilege, defamation, assignment and implied terms. There are chapters on corporations, agency and insolvency, and a notable one on restitution (by Ian Jackman SC) that poses a challenge to thinking which has become orthodox outside Australia.These volumes are a very distinguished contribution to Australian legal literature, and the essays will bear reading and re-reading.* Click here for information about Volume I - Institutions, Concepts and Personalities* Click here for information about Volume II - Commercial Common Law