In search of coherent jurisprudence for international criminal law : correlating universal human responsibilities with universal human rights

I. The Evolution of International Criminal Law International criminal justice concerns breaches of international rules entailing the personal criminal liability of individuals (as opposed to the State for which the individuals may act as agents or organs), and presently includes acts such as genocide, torture, crimes against humanity, aggression and terrorism. ... A rule stating: any act of armed conflict which directly causes the death of a civilian is a war crime unless it can be shown that the military advantage gained by the attack outweighs the harm. ... Thus, so far as international criminal law is concerned any act during armed conflict which results in the death or injury to a person who does not pose a direct threat to the life of the accused should be a war crime. ... Pursuant to the Rome Statute and as a matter of customary international law torture is a war crime when performed in the context of an armed conflict, and a crime against humanity when it is part of systematic criminal conduct. ... Torture can also constitute an individual international crime, even where it does not satisfy the criteria of a war crime or crime against humanity. ...

Criminal procedure : Victoria & Commonwealth

This work is a clear and concise study of the principles underlying criminal procedure in Victoria and the Commonwealth jurisdictions. The book provides succinct extracts of leading cases and critiques the law. this content informs readers of the current law and how it can be reformed to deal more appropriately with the complexities and challenges of this area. The text includes a discussion of the recent reforms in Victoria.This book is for all readers with an interest in criminal procedure, including judicial officers,lawyers and students.

Annotated criminal legislation Victoria 2009

An indispensable resource for anyone who needs a sound understanding of the criminal law of Victoria. Butterworths Annotated Criminal Legislation Victoria is an indispensable resource for students, practitioners and others who need a sound understanding of the criminal law of Victoria. This book has an established reputation as an essential reference source. The Acts are annotated by Gerard Nash QC and Professor Mirko Bagaric of the School of Law, Deakin University. This book has been extracted from the four volume looseleaf service Bourke's Criminal Law Victoria. Important Features: mid Extensive new annotations discussing recent case law relating to various provisions of the Crimes Act 1958. mid A quick reference directory and grey shaded tabs provide ease of navigation. Related Titles: mid Arenson & Bagaric, Criminal Procedure: Victoria and Commonwealth, 2009. mid Clough & Mulhern, Butterworths Tutorial Series - Criminal Law, 2nd ed, 2004. mid Rush & Yeo, Criminal Law Sourcebook, 2nd ed, 2005. mid Spears & Hickie, Butterworths Questions & Answers - Criminal Law for Common Law States, 2009. mid Waller & Williams, Criminal Law: Text and Cases, 11th ed, 2009.

Socially optimal criminal court waiting times : a partial investigation

Criminal courts provide a forum for conducting prosecutions with a guilty plea or a trial. Since queues are used as the basis for rationing scarce court facilities delays are inevitable, however courts are invariably criticised as being inefficient as a consequence. This focus on court delay defined as the time elapsing between the listing of the case in the court list and its final disposition is misleading. Rather, attention should be drawn to the considerably longer period between the initiation of proceedings and the conclusion of the case. In the case of defendants not granted bail, this pre-trial delay confers both costs and benefits on society and this observation can be used to ascertain socially optimal pre-trial waits.

The recruitment and retention of Indigenous criminal justice agency staff in an Australian state

In Australia, as in other countries that have experienced colonisation, indigenous people are massively overrepresented in all stages of the criminal justice system. If criminal justice agencies are to provide culturally responsive and effective services to this group, it is important that they employ significant numbers of indigenous staff across all levels of their organisations. Despite the positive intentions of many justice agencies to increase the proportion of indigenous staff members they employ, the numbers remain low. In this article, we explore some of the possible reasons for this by reporting the results of focus groups conducted with existing indigenous justice agency employees. The employees raised a number of issues relevant to recruitment and retention. These are discussed in terms of their potential value in improving justice agency indigenous recruitment and retention strategies.

The age of criminal responsibility

In recent times there have been claims that the sentencing of serious juvenile offenders does not reflect community sentiment and legal policies are based on outdated ideas about adolescent development. The findings of this thesis call into question the suggestions that the law's assumptions about the development of competence is out of step with community attitudes and developmental research. The professional portfolio examines several hypotheses that have been generated to explain why disabled individuals engage in sexually inappropriate behaviour. It also highlights the importance of exploring the aetiology of this behaviour. Four case reports are presented.

Aborigines and the criminal law in South Australia : the first twenty five years

After considering relevant events and cases the conclusion is reached that South Australian Aborigines were not in any practical sense equal before the law at any time during the period 1836-1862, despite considerable efforts by individual government and court officials.

Criminal processes and investigative procedures : Victoria and Commonwealth

This book is designed to be a useful and practical tool for both students and legal practitioners alike. In addition to focusing on the recently enacted Criminal Protective Act 2009, this text also highlights other key aspects of the criminal processes.