Creating a legal framework for copyright management of open access within the Australian academic and research sector

This chapter analyses the copyright law framework needed to ensure open access to outputs of the Australian academic and research sector such as journal articles and theses. It overviews the new knowledge landscape, the principles of copyright law, the concept of open access to knowledge, the recently developed open content models of copyright licensing and the challenges faced in providing greater access to knowledge and research outputs.

Treatment for gender dysphoria in children : the new legal, ethical and clinical landscape

- Gender dysphoria is a condition in which a child's subjectively felt identity and gender are not congruent with her or his biological sex. Because of this, the child suffers clinically significant distress or impairment in social functioning. - The Family Court of Australia has recently received an increasing number of applications seeking authorisation for the provision of hormones to treat gender dysphoria in children. - Some medical procedures and interventions performed on children are of such a grave nature that court authorisation must be obtained to render them lawful. These procedures are referred to as special medical procedures. - Hormonal therapy for the treatment of gender dysphoria in children is provided in two stages occurring years apart. Until recently, both stages of treatment were regarded by courts as special medical treatments, meaning court authorisation had to be provided for both stages. - In a significant recent development, courts have drawn a distinction between the two stages of treatment, permitting parents to consent to the first stage. In addition, it has been held that a child who is determined by a court to be Gillick competent can consent to stage 2 treatment. - The new legal developments concerning treatment for gender dysphoria are of ethical, clinical and practical importance to children and their families, and to medical practitioners treating children with gender dysphoria. Medical practitioners should benefit from an understanding of the recent developments in legal principles. This will ensure that they have up-to-date information about the circumstances under which treatment may be conducted with parental consent, and those in which they must seek court authorisation.

Major changes to property law in Queensland

From 1 December 2014 a number of major changes were made to property law in Queensland with the simultaneous commencement of the Land Sales and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2014 (Qld) and the Property Occupations Act 2014 (Qld). This article examines these changes, their rationale and their implications for practice.

Valé Bunny Watson? Law librarians, law libraries, and legal research in the post-internet era

Katharine Hepburn’s entertaining portrayal of reference librarian Bunny Watson in Desk Set (1957) moves her character from apprehension about new technology to an understanding that it is simply another tool. This article outlines the impact of technology on academic legal research. It examines the nature of legal research and the doctrinal method, the importance of law libraries (and librarians) in legal research, and the roles and implications of the Internet and web search engines on legal research methods and education.

Is climate change litigation an effective strategy for promoting greater action to address climate change? What other legal mechanisms might be appropriate?

In recent times a widespread consensus on the reality and gravity of anthropogenic climate change has emerged. Perceived inadequacies in the Australian government’s legal and policy responses to climate change issues have resulted in environmental activists increasingly turning to the courts as a strategy to promote greater action to address adverse climate impacts. The efficacy of this strategy for achieving climate goals is limited by the time and expense of litigating, the restrictions inherent in environmental law administrative challenges, and the possibility that judicial decisions may be overruled by the legislature. To date, climate change litigation in Australia has met with varied success, yet its significance extends beyond the court room as an important mechanism for raising public, political and commercial awareness about climate change issues. Ultimately, however, the types of far-reaching changes needed to mitigate and manage adverse climate impacts require strong regulatory backing. The most effective approach to addressing the complex challenges posed by climate change is a coordinated suite of regulatory measures spearheaded by the Federal Government.

Legal Theories : Contexts and Practices [2nd ed.]

Legal Theories: Contexts and Practices presents legal theory as a living and evolving entity. The reader is brought into its story as an active participant who is challenged to think about where they sit within the history and traditions of legal theory and jurisprudence. This second edition explores how lawyers and the courts adopt theoretical and jurisprudential positions and how they are influenced by the historical, social, cultural, and legal conditions characteristic of the time in which they live. It considers how legal theories, too, are influenced by those conditions, and how these combined forces influence and continue to affect contemporary legal thinking and legal interpretation.

Deterrence of drug driving: The impact of the ACT drug driving legislation and detection techniques

The study sought to explore the initial impact of the ACT's implementation of roadside oral fluid drug screening program. The results suggest that a number of individuals reported intentions to drug drive in the future. The classical deterrence theory variables of certainty of apprehension, severity and swiftness of sanctions were not predictive of intentions to drug drive in the future. In contrast, having avoided apprehension and having known of others that have avoided apprehension were predictive of intentions to drug drive in the future. Increasing perceptions of the certainty of apprehension, increased testing frequency, and increased awareness of the oral fluid drug screening program could potentially lead to reductions of drug driving and result in safer road environment for all ACT community members.

The Australian Nonprofit Sector Legal Almanac 2014

The ACPNS nonprofit sector legal almanac provides summaries of legal cases involving nonprofit organisations, or of relevance to the work of nonprofits, particularly from Australia, but also New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States. It also summarises legislative changes that relate to nonprofit organisations in all Australian jurisdictions, and includes short articles on relevant topics: mergers of not for profit organisations; public ancillary funds; charitable housing; and dispute resolution.

Prostitution Ideology and Trafficking Policy: The Impact of Political Approaches to Domestic Sex Work on Human Trafficking Policy in Australia and the United States

Debates over the legitimacy and legality of prostitution have characterised human trafficking discourse for the last two decades. This article identifies the extent to which competing perspectives concerning the legitimacy of prostitution have influenced anti-trafficking policy in Australia and the United States, and argues that each nation-state’s approach to domestic sex work has influenced trafficking legislation. The legal status of prostitution in each country, and feminist influences on prostitution law reform, have had a significant impact on the nature of the legislation adopted.

The ghost in the machine: Legal challenges of neural interface devices

Neural interface devices and the melding of mind and machine, challenge the law in determining where civil liability for injury, damage or loss should lie. The ability of the human mind to instruct and control these devices means that in a negligence action against a person with a neural interface device, determining the standard of care owed by him or her will be of paramount importance. This article considers some of the factors that may influence the court’s determination of the appropriate standard of care to be applied in this situation, leading to the conclusion that a new standard of care might evolve.

Rediscovering law students as citizens: Critical thinking and the public value of legal education

In a series of publications over the last decade, Australian National University Professor Margaret Thornton has documented a disturbing change in the nature of legal education. This body of work culminates in a recently published book based on interviews with 145 legal academics in Australia, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Canada. In it, Thornton describes a feeling of widespread unease among legal academics that society, government, university administrators and students themselves are moving away from viewing legal education as a public good which benefits both students and society. Instead, legal education is increasingly being viewed as a purely private good, for consumption by the student in the quest for individual career enhancement.

What is Statutory Interpretation? A Primer QUT law students

In this Primer, our aims are to explain what statutory interpretation is and why it is important. We also aim to note some of the more difficult concepts and ideas you will need to understand when reading a statute, when deciding if it is relevant to a legal problem, and, if so, how it applies to that problem. We do not aim to provide an overview of the rules of Statutory Interpretation, but only to focus on areas that have created well-known difficulties for students and practitioners alike, such as the concept of the intentions of Parliament and the correct use of intrinsic materials.