Capturing "organised crime" in Australian Law

This briefing paper presents and foreshadows ongoing PhD research by the first author into how understandings of organised crime in Australia have been shaped, and the extent to which these perceptions have influenced legislative and policing responses. It begins with an historical survey of significant models of organised crime, then reviews current Australian legislative strategies, and goes on to raise questions about the conceptual model that underpins these strategies. The paper concludes with a discussion of the potential policy implications of this research.

Posted Workers and Free Movement of Services in the European Union – the Impact on National Employment and Immigration Law

This thesis examines posting of workers within the free movement of services in the European Union. The emphasis is on the case law of the European Court of Justice and in the role it has played in the liberalisation of the service sector in respect of posting of workers. The case law is examined from two different viewpoints: firstly, that of employment law and secondly, immigration law. The aim is to find out how active a role the Court has taken with regard these two fields of law and what are the implications of the Court’s judgments for the regulation on a national level. The first part of the thesis provides a general review of the Community law principles governing the freedom to provide services in the EU. The second part presents the Posted Workers’ Directive and the case law of the European Court of Justice before and after the enactment of the Directive from the viewpoint of employment law. Special attention is paid to a recent judgment in which the Court has taken a restrictive position with regard to a trade union’s right to take collective action against a service provider established in another Member State. The third part of the thesis concentrates, firstly, on the legal status of non-EU nationals lawfully resident in the EU. Secondly, it looks into the question of how the Court’s case law has affected the possibilities to use non-EU nationals as posted workers within the freedom to provide services. The final chapter includes a critical analysis of the Court’s case law on posted workers. The judgments of the European Court of Justice are the principal source of law for this thesis. In the primary legislation the focus is on Articles 49 EC and 50 EC that lay down the rules concerning the free movement of services. Within the secondary legislation, the present work principally concentrates on the Posted Workers’ Directive. It also examines proposals of the European Commission and directives that have been adopted in the field of immigration. The conclusions of the case study are twofold: while in the field of employment law, the European Court of Justice has based its judgments on a very literal interpretation of the Posted Workers’ Directive, in the field of immigration its conclusions have been much more innovative. In both fields of regulation the Court’s judgments have far-reaching implications for the rules concerning posting of workers leaving very little discretion for the Member States’ authorities.

The doctrinal method: Incorporating interdisciplinary methods in reforming the law

The doctrinal methodology is in a period of change and transition. Realising that the scope of the doctrinal method is too constricting, academic lawyers are becoming eclectic in their use of research method. In this transitional time, legal scholars are increasingly infusing evidence (and methods) from other disciplines into their reasoning to bolster their reform recommendations. This article considers three examples of the interplay of the discipline of law with other disciplines in the pursuit of law reform. Firstly the article reviews studies on the extent of methodologies and reformist frameworks in PhD research in Australia. Secondly it analyses a ‘snapshot’ of recently published Australian journal articles on criminal law reform. Thirdly, it focuses on the law reform commissions, those independent government committees that play such an important role in law reform in common law jurisdictions. This examination demonstrates that while the doctrinal core of legal scholarship remains intact, legal scholars are endeavouring to accommodate statistics, comparative perspectives, social science evidence and methods, and theoretical analysis, within the legal research framework, in order to provide additional ballast to the recommendations for reform.

Criminal intent

The High Court recently heard submissions of counsel in Zaburoni v The Queen. This case concerns an appeal against conviction for transmitting a serious disease with intent under section 317(b) and (e) of the Queensland Criminal Code. It raises important issues about the meaning of intent and how intent can be proven in Queensland criminal offences. Since intent is an element of so many of the more serious crimes, it is surprising to see that the courts, both in England and Australia, continue to grapple with how best to define it. In murder, for example, the accused is potentially going to be locked up for a very long time, so it is essential that the courts and juries are very clear on what intent actually means, so that they can be confident in correctly finding that it was present on the facts of the case.

Zaburoni HIV case: The law can sometimes be an ass, but not in this case

Lana Nowakowski's opinion piece on the High Court decision in the Zaburoni HIV case attacks "Queensland's absurd necessity to prove intention on transmission" and argues that "changes to the law are long overdue". Both claims are wrong...

(Failed) voluntary euthanasia law reform in Australia: Two decades of trends, models and politics

Within Australia, there have been many attempts to pass voluntary euthanasia (VE) or physician-assisted suicide (PAS) legislation. From 16 June 1993 until the date of writing, 51 Bills have been introduced into Australian parliaments dealing with legalising VE or PAS. Despite these numerous attempts, the only successful Bill was the Rights of the Terminally Ill Act 1995 (NT), which was enacted in the Northern Territory, but a short time later overturned by the controversial Euthanasia Laws Act 1997 (Cth). Yet, in stark contrast to the significant political opposition, for decades Australian public opinion has overwhelmingly supported law reform legalising VE or PAS. While there is ongoing debate in Australia, both through public discourse and scholarly publications, about the merits and dangers of reform in this field, there has been remarkably little analysis of the numerous legislative attempts to reform the law, and the context in which those reform attempts occurred. The aim of this article is to better understand the reform landscape in Australia over the past two decades. The information provided in this article will better equip Australians, both politicians and the general public, to have a more nuanced understanding of the political context in which the euthanasia debate has been and is occurring. It will also facilitate a more informed debate in the future.

Política criminal no Brasil neoliberal

Esta dissertação parte da compreensão dos sistemas punitivos em meio às estruturas sociais, demonstrando que o uso da coerção pública é um dos pilares fundamentais dos Estados modernos. Sustenta a necessidade de se desvendar os discursos ideológicos que legitimam o poder de criminalização, a fim de politizar o contexto das punições e alcançar a sua função latente. Concentra-se nas características específicas do Estado brasileiro instalado a partir da década de 1990, seguindo a trilha do Leviatã dos EUA neoliberal instaurado desde a década de 1980. Constata a correlação entre os sistemas punitivos brasileiro e norte-americano, com seus extensos campos de controle e semelhantes pensamentos criminológicos. Por fim, encontra a real funcionalidade das penas no Neoliberalismo, conformando um método de promover e manter as políticas econômicas e sociais típicas de sua conjuntura, manejando a insegurança social decorrente do desemprego estrutural, precarização do trabalho, aprofundamento da miséria e desigualdade.

Política criminal e direito penal econômico: um estudo interdisciplinar dos crimes econômicos e tributários

Este trabalho toma como objeto o Direito Penal Econômico em perspectiva interdisciplinar, no contexto da Constituição da República e, portanto, do Estado Democrático de Direito. Os propósitos são os seguintes: Analisar os vínculos entre modelo sócio-econômico, política criminal e paradigma punitivo. Identificar perspectivas do Direito Penal Econômico, no cenário contemporâneo de sociedade de risco. Examinar pressupostos, vertentes e abordagem do Direito Penal Tributário, com enfoque na abordagem social do bem jurídico tributário, do delito fiscal, da lavagem de dinheiro, na esteira dos crimes do colarinho branco. Do ponto de vista metodológico, desenvolveu-se pesquisa descritiva, baseada no modelo crítico-dialético, apoiada no pressuposto de que a trajetória do Direito Penal e sua inserção na seara econômica e tributária acompanham as contradições e valores sócio-filosóficos dominantes na sociedade. Nesse passo, com base na doutrina, legislação e jurisprudência nacional e estrangeira, procede-se à releitura do Direito Penal Econômico, a partir da Constituição e do modelo de Estado Social, que admite a intervenção no domínio econômico, no intuito de promover a justiça social. Além disso, procede-se à análise de sistemas penais de diversos países, para verificar, no cenário da globalização econômica e da aproximação das questões relacionadas à delinquência econômica, como são enfrentados problemas relacionados à configuração, à persecução e a punição de tais delitos. A conclusão aponta para a necessidade de construção de uma Política Criminal do Direito Penal Econômico que tome em consideração variáveis relacionadas à Economia e aos Princípios do Direito Penal, de molde a promover ajustamento do sistema penal aos valores e princípios constitucionais, promovendo o equilíbrio entre interesses individuais e coletivos.

Crime de perigo abstrato e constitucionalidade: embriaguez ao volante e as decisões dos tribunais de justiça dos estados do Rio de Janeiro e de Rondônia

Esta pesquisa aborda em primeiro momento os conceitos de crimes de perigo abstrato e concreto. Estendeu a ideia de crime e as funções do Direito Penal na sociedade contemporânea, como ainda evidencia esta área do Direito no sistema e/ou estrutura do mundo da vida. Os dois casos de crimes de perigo abstrato e concreto foram propostos nos estudos acerca do artigo 306 do Código de Trânsito Brasileiro CTB no tratado à embriaguez ao volante e a constitucionalidade ou não da aplicação do crime de perigo abstrato ao caso em específico. Nesta perspectiva as análises se configuraram nos relatos dos Tribunais de Justiça dos Estados do Rio de Janeiro e de Rondônia a fim de significar as tipificações em tela, bem como às relações intersubjetivas dos desembargadores e à própria organização de cada órgão judiciário. Dessas análises foi possível chegar à interpretação das diferenças entre o crime de perigo abstrato e concreto presentes nas incidências e/ou ocorrências de acidentes de trânsito nos dois Estados respectivamente. Em um terceiro momento centrou-se as análises nos estudos socioeconômicos e culturais que tratam de entender o fenômeno do trânsito nos municípios de Porto Velho-RO e Rio de Janeiro-RJ, cujos acidentes nas vias públicas modificam os modos de ser e de viver nos locais. Do ponto de vista metodológico a ideia é conceituar os crimes de perigo concreto e abstrato; os riscos da sociedade atual, se utilizando muitas vezes de Niklas Luhmann e Raffaele De Giorgi; Leonel S. Rocha; Renato de Mello Jorge Silveira; Jorge Luis Fortes Pinheiro da Câmara; Aparecida Luzia Alzira Zuin, Jürgen Habermas, Juarez Estevam Xavier Tavares; Eduardo Sanz de Oliveira Silva; Winfried Hassemer; Antônio Carlos Wolkmer e José Rubens Morato Leite; Diego Romero, entre outros. A fim de entender o que é perigo no escopo abrangido pelo Direito Penal, tomamos como embasamentos teóricos Luiz H. Merlin; Sánchez Silva, Luís Greco, Claus Roxin, Nilo Batista etc. Além desses autores, a tese se apoia nos teóricos: Juarez Tavares, Luiz Alberto Machado; E. Raúl Zaffaroni; Alexandre de Moraes. Ainda, complementamos as referências com Luiz Regis Prado; Nilo Batista. Estende-se à ideia aos crimes de perigo abstrato e direito penal brasileiro; aqui, encontramos subsídios em: Celso Delmanto; Luiz Flávio Gomes, dentre outros. Vale mencionar que neste diapasão, a proposta é conceituar e exemplificar os princípios legitimadores do Direito Penal frente à proposta fundamental da Constituição Federal de 1988. Ainda, conceituar e descrever os objetivos do CTB; as aplicações legais ou não do Art. 306 do CTB; e a definição e/ou classificação de embriaguez nesta linha de pensamento.

Who has the Right to Govern Online Activity? A Criminal and Civil Point of View

Kohl, U. (2004). Who has the right to govern online activity? A criminal and civil point of view. International Review of Law, Computers & Technology 18 (3), 387-410 RAE2008

The Felon and the Angel Copier: Criminal Identity and the Promise of Photography in Victorian England and Wales

Ireland Richard, 'The Felon and the Angel Copier: Criminal Identity and the Promise of Photography in Victorian England and Wales', In: Policing and War in Europe, Criminal Justice History, (Westport, CT, Greenwood Press), volume 16, pp.53-86, 2002 RAE2008

Rethinking cognition as the sole basis for determining Criminal Liability under the Manifest Illegality Principle

Olusanya, Olaoluwa, Rethinking cognition as the sole basis for determining Criminal Liability under the Manifest Illegality Principle, In: 'Rethinking International Criminal Law: The Substantive Part', Europa Law Publishing, pp.67-87, 2007. RAE2008

Identifying the Aggressor under International Law: A Principles Approach

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The accountability of transnational armed groups under international law

Terrorist attacks by transnational armed groups cause on average 15,000 deaths every year worldwide, with the law enforcement agencies of some states facing many challenges in bringing those responsible to justice. Despite various attempts to codify the law on transnational terrorism since the 1930s, a crime of transnational terrorism under International Law remains contested, reflecting concerns regarding the relative importance of prosecuting members of transnational armed groups before the International Criminal Court. However, a study of the emerging jurisprudence of the International Criminal Court suggests that terrorist attacks cannot be classified as a war crime or a crime against humanity. Therefore, using organisational network theory, this thesis will probe the limits of international criminal law in bringing members of transnational armed groups to justice in the context of changing methods of warfare. Determining the organisational structure of transnational armed groups, provides a powerful analytical framework for examining the challenges in holding members of transnational armed groups accountable before the International Criminal Court, in the context of the relationship between the commanders and the subordinate members of the group.

The Fraud Act 2006: some early observations and comparisons with the former law

Provides a detailed analysis of the Fraud Act 2006 provisions on the offence of fraud by false representation (s.2) and the offence of obtaining services dishonestly (s.11) and assesses the extent to which they address problems arising in connection with the former deception offences under the Theft Acts 1968 and 1978. [From Legal Journals Index]