Law Student Gazette

1. Human Rights Movie Screening

Right Now Radio, Australia’s only human rights focused radio show, has just launched on RRR and we need your support! To make sure Right Now Radio is able to have its most successful and productive year yet, a fundraiser is being held at Loop Bar (23 Meyers Place, Melbourne) on Thursday 22nd November from 6pm.

We’ll be showing a compelling short film by Sian Darling of Whobyfire Productions, which will introduce you to artists who have survived the refugee experience and are exploring freedom and healing through creative expression.

There’ll be a live radio interview by Right Now Radio host Ben Schokman with one of our fantastic guests, plus, movie tickets door prize, and for those feeling extra generous, the chance to donate to the purchase of new recording equipment for the radio team.

Tickets are $20 standard and $10 concession, payable on the night.

Facebook RSVP can be found here, find out more about Right Now Radio here, and listen to the podcasts here.

2. Law Student Colloquium

The fifth annual Law Student Colloquium is now seeking abstracts from students of all levels who wish to present a paper on any legal topic. Submissions by undergraduate students are especially encouraged. If you submitted an abstract before 12th November, please re-submit it because we have experienced some technical difficulties and may not have received your submission as a consequence.

An application can be made to speak at the Colloquium by submitting an abstract. An abstract is a short summary of the paper which the speaker intends to present. Abstracts from prospective speakers should be between 400 and 500 words in length and should be submitted via the Law Student Colloquium website. The deadline for submissions is Thursday, 6th December 2012.

Abstracts may be submitted here.

The Colloquium is an all-day event and will take place at Trinity College Dublin in the Law School and Graduates’ Memorial Building on Saturday, 16th February 2013. Tea/coffee and lunch will be provided and there will be a wine reception after the keynote speech, the Brian Lenihan Memorial Address. The address is in honour of the late Brian Lenihan, a former student of the Law School and Scholar of Trinity College who went on to have a distinguished career as a Senior Counsel and a Minister of the Irish government. The 2012 address was given by Judge Bryan McMahon, formerly of the Irish High Court, and chaired by Mr Paul Gallagher SC, the former Attorney General of Ireland. This year’s keynote speaker has yet to be confirmed.

1. ‘The People Smuggler’: Ali Al Jenabi – ‘Villain or Hero’

Date: Thursday 22 November 2012
Time: 6pm – 7.30pm
Venue: Monash University Law Chambers, 555 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne
RSVP: castan.centre@monash.edu or 03 9905 3327
Full details can be found here

Robin de Crespigny has spent three years working with Ali Al Jenabi to write his story. She is a film maker and lives in Sydney. The People Smuggler is her first book.

While both our major political parties try to out-do each other on who can be the toughest on refugees, one thing they are aligned on is deflecting the public’s attention to people smugglers as the cause of the problem, and convincing the majority of Australians that the few thousand people these smugglers bring here, is one of the most significant electoral issues we face.

Their determination to apportion blame and difficulty recognizing how desperate these people must be to get on leaky boats removes the human element allowing them to demonize the smugglers and to let the asylum seekers become simply faceless numbers.

The People Smuggler provides an alternative voice. It puts a human face on this highly inflammatory issue and tries to stand the reader in the shoes of Al Al Jenabi, an Iraqi refugee who became a people smuggler to get his family out of danger, and in the process smuggled over 500 others to safety.

Robin will talk about wrestling with the epic breadth of Ali AL Jenabi’s journey; with its uprisings, repressions, military conflicts and imprisonments, desperate escapes via mountain treks and ships on high seas; from Saddam Hussein’s Iraq across two continents and at least six countries, to his trial and jail in Darwin, detention in Villawood, plus his personal life of family, loves, and losses.

She will look at how Ali’s story is touching people who had previously never asked themselves what they would do if they were in the same situation, encouraging them to see that it is not all black and white, and to gain respect and compassion for asylum seekers as fellow human beings.

She will explore the myths that have grown up around this issue and discuss the current government policies of deterrence and excision, and the consequences these decisions will have on us as a society.

2. The Manipulation of Humanitarian Aid: Impact and Effectiveness

Date: Thursday 15 November 2012
Time: 5.30pm – 6.30pm followed by refreshments
Venue: Monash University Law Chambers, 555 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne
RSVP: here
Full details can be found here

Book Launch ‘The Golden Fleece’ examines the impact of manipulation on the effectiveness of humanitarian action. The tension between fundamental humanitarian values – the prioritization of life-saving over all other considerations – and political or economic agendas is not new. Relief work has long been subject to manipulation by governments, warlords, public opinion, disembodied realpolitik, and to the calculations of humanitarians themselves.

The Golden Fleece asks whether saving lives is, by its very nature, prone to instrumentalization or whether humanitarianism can be transformed and made more immune to manipulation.

1. PILCH

PILCH is please to invite Monash law students to the public launch event of the inaugural the Australian Symposium for Advocacy-Health Alliances, being held in Melbourne, Victoria on Thursday 15th November 2012.

The event will feature internationally renowned guest speakers:

• Dr Edward Paul, Director of Graduate Medical Education at Yuma Regional Medical Centre, National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership Transitional Board of Directors;
• Elizabeth Tobin-Tyler, Director of Public Service & Community Partnerships and Lecturer in Public Law at Roger Williams University School of Law, National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership Transitional Board of Directors;
• Prof. Pascoe Pleasence, Professor of Empirical Legal Studies at the University College London;
• Peter Noble, Clayton Utz Foundation Fellow, Coordinator of Loddon Campaspe Community Legal Centre.
• Christine Coumarelos, Law and Justice Foundation.

Medical Legal Partnerships feature three core activities: providing legal assistance in the healthcare setting, transforming health and legal institutions and their practices, and influencing policy change. In Australia, MLP is in its infancy. However, there are already several examples of legal services provided in partnership with health services and an emerging interest in adopting and adapting the MLP model for the Australian context.

Proudly hosted by Baker & McKenzie, this event is for those who work or study in the health or legal fields, have an interest in this area, or would just like to know more. Come along to join the conversations on Advocacy Health Alliances in Australia.

Date: November 15th, 2012
Time: 6.00 – 8.00 pm
Location: Baker & McKenzie, 19/181 William St, Melbourne
Cost: $25

To RSVP, please visit the PILCH site.

1. A Common Purpose

Organised by Victorian Women Lawyers, in conjunction with Reprieve Australia, sponsored by Justicia Lawyers and Consultants.

Winner of the Audience Award for Best Documentary at Sydney Film Festival 2011. Nominated for Best Feature Documentary AFI/AACTA Awards 201.

25 people are convicted of the murder of one man, 14 are sentenced to hang, one lawyer is assassinated and the other goes into exile. ‘A Common Purpose’ is the dramatic story behind a notorious murder trial that marks South Africa’s transition from apartheid to democracy.

Told through the perspectives of defence lawyer, Andrea Durbach, independent journalist, John Carlin and the accused. The story unfolds to reveal one of legal history’s biggest cases on the death penalty. A timeless and inspirational story about a struggle for justice in a country where injustice was entrenched in the law.

There will be a Q&A after the film with Andrea Durbach and Director, Mitzi Goldman

Ticket sale proceeds will go to “A Common Purpose Trust” established to support the educational and health care needs of the families of the Upington 25.

Date: Wednesday, 31 October 2012
Time: 6:00pm registration, 6:30pm start
Venue: State Library Theatrette, Entry 3, 179 La Trobe Street, Melbourne.
Tickets: $30.00 (Thank-you for your support!)

$20 student tickets available. Please email margj.willis@gmail.com from your university email address to book your place.

2. Reinvention Journal and the Monash-Warwick Conference of Undergraduate Research

The conference will be a one day event staged at both Monash and Warwick Universities in April 2013.

Current undergraduate students (including Honours) across disciplines are invited to showcase their research from any unit over the course of their degree in the form of a 20 minute oral presentation, or via a poster.

The theme is ‘Current research issues in your discipline or area.”

Three stipends will be available on a competitive basis for Monash students to travel to present at Warwick University.

• Cash prizes for the best presentations.
• Possibility to publish research in Reinvention, the Monash-Warwick Journal of Undergraduate Research.
• Not compulsory to publish in Reinvention but encouraged.
• Friendly environment to develop research skills and network with students in your field.
• Need not be original research – can be the result of work completed in units.
• Welcome to form panels with friends from same or different faculties.
• Open to students from all universities.
• Can receive advice from tutors/lecturers on what to submit

Abstracts due 10 December 2012 – 250 words. Email jessica.oleary@monash.edu or ernest.koh@monash.edu for further information or to apply.

1. 2013 Law Overseas Programs Prato/Malaysia Information Session

Find out how you can study overseas in 2013 at the Prato Centre, Italy or Sunway Campus, Malaysia without adding any time to your degree; Listen to students share their experiences from 2012; Hear about the application process, units offered, funding and more.

Date: Monday 15 October
Time: 1.00 pm – 2.00 pm
Venue: S3/25 (Science), Monash University, Clayton campus

Date: Tuesday 16 October
Time: 1.00 pm – 2.00 pm
Venue: Seminar room 3, 2nd floor, Law Chambers, Marsh Building, 555 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne

These sessions will not be recorded but all information presented will be available on the updated website from the 15 October.

2. 2012 Castan Centre Dinner

The Castan Centre for Human Rights Law invites you to its biennial human rights gala. This dinner is a vital fundraiser for the Centre’s many policy, public education and research programs. We hope that you will join us for a celebratory evening on Albert Park Lake with Australia’s growing human rights community.

Date: Thursday, 25 October 2012
Time: 7–11 pm
Venue: Carousel, 22 Aughtie Drive, Albert Park Lake, 3205

Keynote speaker: Dan Mori, LtCol, US Marine Corps (Ret.), Shine Lawyers, Melbourne

From 2003 to 2007, Dan Mori (often known by his first name, Michael or Major Mori) represented Australian Guantanamo Bay detainee, David Hicks. After Hicks’ transfer to Australia in 2007, Dan continued to serve in the Marines in California and Iraq while being promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He is retiring from the Marines following his recent assignment as a Military Judge in Hawaii. He recently moved to Australia with his family and now calls Melbourne home

For more information on the event please see here

3. Undergraduate Research Conference

In April 2013, Monash and Warwick Universities will jointly host the first Monash-Warwick Conference of Undergraduate Research. The notion of undergraduates publishing and presenting their research has a longer history overseas, especially in the United States. But it is still fairly new to Australian universities, and this conference will hopefully be part of a series of events and opportunities that will build up a culture of researching, publishing, and presenting among our undergrads.

For more information please see here.

1. 2013 Law Overseas Programs Prato/Malaysia Information Session

Find out how you can study overseas in 2013 at the Prato Centre, Italy or Sunway Campus, Malaysia without adding any time to your degree; Listen to students share their experiences from 2012; Hear about the application process, units offered, funding and more.

Date: Monday 15 October
Time: 1.00 pm – 2.00 pm
Venue: S3/25 (Science), Monash University, Clayton campus

Date: Tuesday 16 October
Time: 1.00 pm – 2.00 pm
Venue: Seminar room 3, 2nd floor, Law Chambers, Marsh Building, 555 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne

These sessions will not be recorded but all information presented will be available on the updated website from the 15 October.

2. 2012 Castan Centre Dinner

The Castan Centre for Human Rights Law invites you to its biennial human rights gala. This dinner is a vital fundraiser for the Centre’s many policy, public education and research programs. We hope that you will join us for a celebratory evening on Albert Park Lake with Australia’s growing human rights community.

Date: Thursday, 25 October 2012
Time: 7–11 pm
Venue: Carousel, 22 Aughtie Drive, Albert Park Lake, 3205

Keynote speaker: Dan Mori, LtCol, US Marine Corps (Ret.), Shine Lawyers, Melbourne

From 2003 to 2007, Dan Mori (often known by his first name, Michael or Major Mori) represented Australian Guantanamo Bay detainee, David Hicks. After Hicks’ transfer to Australia in 2007, Dan continued to serve in the Marines in California and Iraq while being promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He is retiring from the Marines following his recent assignment as a Military Judge in Hawaii. He recently moved to Australia with his family and now calls Melbourne home

For more information on the event please see here

3. The 10th World Day Against the Death Penalty

With The Honourable Michael Kirby AC CMG and Julian McMahon, hosted by Matthew Goldberg, President, Reprieve Australia

You are cordially invited to join Reprieve Australia for discussions on the eve of the 10th World Day Against the Death Penalty to celebrate the continued work of Reprieve Australia in advocating against the death penalty. In addition, Reprieve Australia will announce the launch of a new internship program in South East Asia and the appointment of the Black Strikes Fellow. The talk will be followed by drinks and canapés.

Date: Tuesday 9th October
Time: 6:30pm for 7:00pm start.
Place: Lander & Rogers, Level 12, 600 Bourke St, Melbourne.
Tickets: $20 available online via www.reprieve.org.au

1. Becoming Admitted to Practice: Employer Forum

Date: Tuesday 2nd October

Meet employers and industry insiders on Clayton campus. Hear from keynote speakers as they discuss tips on finding jobs in Law and non-traditional career pathways. Book online here.

2. Making Better Babies

Date: Tuesday, 2 October 2012
Time: 6 – 7.30pm
Location: BMW Edge, Federation Square, Flinders Street, Melbourne

Revolutionary developments in genetic science and biotechnology may provide new ways of treating and preventing disease. Most people think this is a good thing. Genetic science and biotechnology might also be used for human enhancement—to make people “better than well”.

In the context of in vitro fertilisation (IVF), genetic testing already allows parents to screen against embryos with severe genetic diseases. Genetic testing, however, might also enable identification of embryos with genes associated with positively desired characteristics. It might thereby become possible to create especially tall, smart, and/or beautiful people. But would this be ethical—and should it be permitted? Two world leading bioethics experts defend rival perspectives on designer babies in a public debate.

Featuring:

Pro:
Professor Julian Savulescu
Director, Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, University of Oxford
Sir Louis Matheson Distinguished Visiting Professor, Centre for Human Bioethics, Monash University

Con:
Associate Professor Robert Sparrow
Australian Research Council Future Fellow, Philosophy, Monash University

1. HLP Seminar 2012: Drones, Cyber Warfare and the Evolution of the Battlefield

As technology changes, so too does warfare. Does International Humanitarian Law need to change with it?

Nations are developing the capacity to wage war by remote, through armed drones and computer programs controlled continents away from their targets. Who controls these forces? Who is accountable for the damage that they cause? Can computer programmers and virtual pilots claim prisoner of war status? Can they be legitimately targeted by enemy forces?

How do the principles of International Humanitarian Law apply to 21st century warfare?

Former US military lawyer Dan Mori and Professor Tim McCormack will address the legal and ethical dilemmas of targeted and extra-judicial killings conducted by drone aircraft.

For more information, please see the Red Cross Website.

2. Welcome Plenary

Speaker: Kon Karapanagiotidis AO
Time: 5.30 – 6.30pm
Date: Tuesday 2 October 2012
Venue: Plenary Room 3, Melbourne Convention Exhibition Centre

Kon Karapanagiotidis OAM is the CEO and Founder of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre. Kon is proudly Greek, and grew up in a working class family in a small country town in Victoria. Kon’s personal experience of racism and witnessing the exploitation of his parents in factories planted the seeds for his passion for human rights. Kon went on to become a lawyer, social worker and teacher. His work as CEO has been recognized with being a Finalist for Australian of the Year (Victoria) in 2007, invited to participate in the 2020 Summit in 2008, voted one of Australia’s 20 Unsung Heroes as part of the launch in 2008 of the new Portrait Gallery in Canberra and voted as one of Melbourne 100 most influential people in The Age Melbourne Magazine. Most recently, Kon was awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 2010 and an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) in 2011.

Monash has 120 tickets all up, and are asking those wishing to attend to register for a free ticket by emailing their Name and Phone Number to socialmedia@monash.edu.

1. 2012 Costello Lecture

Presented by The Honourable Justice Kevin Bell, introduced by Tim Costello AO.

‘Protecting public housing tenants in Australia from forced eviction: the fundamental importance of the human right to housing and home’

The tenure of most public housing tenants in Australia is precarious and can be terminated without cause. There is talk of moving some tenants on, raising the spectre of forced eviction. In that context, this lecture examines the fundamental importance of the human right to housing and home.

Date: Tuesday 18 September, 2012
Time: 6 – 7.15 pm
Location: Monash University Law Chambers, 555 Lonsdale Street
RSVP: Thursday, 13 September 2012, law-marketing@monash.edu or (03) 9905 2630

For further information please see here.

2. Free to Air Television in a Changing Media Landscape

Join Monash alumnus Jeffrey Browne (LLB, 1979), Managing Director of Nine Network Australia as he speaks about the role of free to air television in the evolving world of media.

Date: Wednesday 19 September, 2012
Time: 6 – 7.15 pm
Location: Monash University Law Chambers, 555 Lonsdale Street

For more information, please see the flyer.

3. Interesting Alumni with Interesting Careers

Last minute opportunity to attend exclusive careers event!

We have extended the RSVP period to allow additional keen students to attend. There are limited places available on a first come first served basis.

Trying to decide on your next move? Want to hear more about life outside the world of commercial law in Melbourne? Come and hear young successful alumni speak about what they are doing and how they got there. Join the interactive panel discussion and ‘speed career’ with Judge’s Associates, Barristers, Public Servants, Management Consultants and Government Advisors. Food and drink provided.

The following prominent alumni will be in attendance:

• Meg O’Sullivan, Barrister, Former Solicitor (Malleson Stephen Jaques)
• Fiona Prowse, Senior Departmental Liason Officer, Department of Premier and Cabinet
• Natalia Antolak-Saper, Monash PHD Candidate, junior lawyer (Lander & Rogers)
• Brett Harding, Associate to Justice Emerton of the Victorian Supreme Court
• Natalie Siegel, Director, Pricewaterhouse Coopers with extensive experience in Indigenous social policy and legal services administration

Please RSVP by Monday 17th September 2012 here.

4. Kyoto and Tokyo Seminars in Japanese Law

Kyoto Seminar: : 5-9 February 2013
Tokyo Seminar: 12-13 February 2013

(An introductory class will be held in Sydney on 30 January 2013 from 5-7pm)

The Kyoto and Tokyo seminars offer a unique opportunity to study Japanese Law on an intensive basis in global and socio-economic context. The program aims to develop the general skills of comparative lawyers, to effectively and critically assess contemporary developments in one of the world’s wealthiest democracies. It is jointly organised by Sydney Law School and Ritsumeikan University School of Law in collaboration with the Australian Network for Japanese Law (ANJeL).

Applications are now open and close on Wednesday 10 October 2012. For full information please visit the University of Sydney website.

5. State Immunity, War Crimes and Human Rights

Until recently the law of state immunity might have seemed settled and uncontroversial. That is not so. There is a struggle between those who would reduce immunity still further – especially of senior officials such as General Pinochet – and those who would maintain immunity even for outrageous foreign governmental acts. In the age of the International Criminal Court, is Pinochet passé? Professor Crawford will review these developments and suggest a new synthesis. Professor James Crawford James Crawford has been Whewell Professor of International Law at the University of Cambridge since 1992, and a Research Professor at LaTrobe University since 2011. He has served as a member of the International Law Commission and was Special Rapporteur for State Responsibility from 1998-2001. He was also the Australian Law Reform Commissioner in charge of the reference leading to the Foreign States Immunities Act 1984 (Cth). He is a member of the NSW and English bars, has appeared in 23 cases before the International Court of Justice and is the author of numerous publications.

Date: Monday, 24 September 2012
Time: 4.00pm
Venue: John Scott Meeting House, Main Chamber, La Trobe University
RSVP: Here.

1. 2012 Costello Lecture

Presented by The Honourable Justice Kevin Bell, introduced by Tim Costello AO.

‘Protecting public housing tenants in Australia from forced eviction: the fundamental importance of the human right to housing and home’

The tenure of most public housing tenants in Australia is precarious and can be terminated without cause. There is talk of moving some tenants on, raising the spectre of forced eviction. In that context, this lecture examines the fundamental importance of the human right to housing and home.

Date: Tuesday 18 September, 2012
Time: 6 – 7.15 pm
Location: Monash University Law Chambers, 555 Lonsdale Street
RSVP: Thursday, 13 September 2012, law-marketing@monash.edu or (03) 9905 2630

For further information please see here.

2. Free to Air Television in a Changing Media Landscape

Join Monash alumnus Jeffrey Browne (LLB, 1979), Managing Director of Nine Network Australia as he speaks about the role of free to air television in the evolving world of media.

Date: Wednesday 19 September, 2012
Time: 6 – 7.15 pm
Location: Monash University Law Chambers, 555 Lonsdale Street

For more information, please see the flyer.

3. MCLS Mentoring Info Session

Monash Christian Legal Society is pleased to launch their Mentoring Program on the 27th September 2012, 6pm, in Seminar Room 9 at the Monash University Law Chambers.

Please register your interest to attend and be mentored by our wonderful Mentor Team members by Friday, 21st September 2012 by emailing your name and student ID to Victoria (vyap2@student.monash.edu).

For more information, please see here.

4. Reprieve Internship Information Session

Date: Wednesday 19 September
Time: 1.00 pm
Location: Seminar Room 4, Law Chambers, 555 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne

Returned volunteers will tell you about their experiences fighting the death penalty in the U.S. and give information and advice on how you can apply.

Reprieve is an Australian non-government organisation that fights the death penalty. It seeks to provide effective legal representation and humanitarian assistance to those facing the death penalty, to advocate against the death penalty and to raise awareness about human rights.

Established in Melbourne, Australia in May 2001, Reprieve Australia conducts volunteer programs at home and abroad, including sending Australians to defend clients facing the death penalty. It also produces newsletters and news updates, conducts awareness raising events and works with other organisations to abolish capital punishment.

5. Symposium on Australia’s Implementation of The Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Date: Friday 21 September 2012
Venue: Monash University Law Chambers, 555 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne
Time: 9:30am – 12:30pm (morning tea provided)
RSVP: castan.centre@monash.edu or 03 9905 3327 by Thursday 20 September

This symposium draws together experts to consider different dimensions of the United Nations Declaration, and its impact within the Australian legal and political landscape.

Speakers include:

• Dr Mark McMillan
  Senior Lecturer at Melbourne Law School
• Dr Kerry Arabena
  Professor and Director, Indigenous Health Research in the School for Indigenous Health, Monash University
• Matthew Storey
  CEO of Native Title Serivces Victoria Ltd

For full details on the symposium, please see here.