Inbrief

First High Court sitting in Sydney for Bell J

The Hon Justice Virginia Bell will take part in the full court sitting by the High Court in Sydney on Friday, 13 March 2009 at 9:15am in the courtroom on level 23, Law Courts Building, Queens Square....

Legislation to note: covert search warrants

The government yesterday introduced the Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Amendment (Search Powers) Bill 2009 to provide for covert search warrants, which would allow police to enter premises...

Achieving better outcomes for families in high conflict

The Greater Sydney Families in Transition Pathways Network (GSFIT) will present a professional development forum for family law professionals, facilitated by Julie McCrossin and Professor Richard...

Diarise: Bench and Bar Dinner, Friday, 8 May 2009

The 2009 Bench and Bar Dinner will take place at the Hilton Sydney on Friday, 8 May 2009. Invitations will be sent out through In Brief next week. The guest of honour is the Hon Robert French, chief...

Legislation to note: Mental Health Criminal Procedure Regulation

__The_ Mental Health (Forensic Provisions) Regulation 2009 _(NSW) has been gazetted. The object of this Regulation, as provided in the explanatory note, is to repeal the Mental Health (Criminal...

District Court judge to head Children's Court

Attorney General John Hatzistergos has announced that henceforth a District Court judge would be appointed to head the Children’s Court. The attorney said the as yet un-named judge would take up...

Correction: funeral service for Matt Laffan

Matt Laffan, solicitor, prosecutor, Law Society councillor, disability rights campaigner, public speaker, intrepid traveller and former candidate for mayor of Sydney, died on Sunday. A funeral...

New restrictions on fees in succession cases take effect today

New laws come into force today that give judges the power to limit costs in cases involving disputes over wills, according to a media release issued today by Attorney General John Hatzistergos. Mr...

Cases selected for reporting in Commonwealth Law Reports by J D Merralls QC

Following are the cases selected by JD Merralls for reporting in CLR:

Cesan v The Queen [2008] HCA 52 Gedeon v Cmmr of NSW Crime Commission [2008] HCA 43 Kuru v NSW [2008] HCA 26

**2 March 2009 **

Cases selected for reporting in FCR by V Kline

The following cases will be published in a forthcoming volume of FCR:

Business and Research Management Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Taxation [2008] FCA 1652 O'Shea v Heinemann Electric Pty Ltd [2008]...

Swearing in ceremony for David Frearson SC

The Bar Association has been advised that David Frearson SC will be sworn in as a judge of the NSW District Court at a ceremony to be held on Monday, 2 March 2009 at 11.30am in court 21A of John...

Web watch: LCA backgrounders on a charter of rights

To assist individuals or organisations in preparing submissions on a charter of rights, or in simply finding out more about what it would mean, the Law Council has prepared a range of material,...

Letter to the editor of the Daily Telegraph

The following is the full text of an (unpublished) letter to the editor of the Daily Telegraph from President Anna Katzmann SC concerning Tuesday's story entitled "Sex Trials Warning".

Janet...

Papers to note: BOCSAR report on clear up rates in sexual assault cases

The Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research has released a report into the decline in the clear up rate for sexual assault since the mid-1990s. The report cites a change in the profile of sexual...

Papers to note: Judicial Reasoning: Art or Science?

On 7 February 2009 the National Judicial College held its conference: "Judicial Reasoning, Art or Science?" Most of the papers delivered at the conference are now available online. Learn more>

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Legislation to note: Family Law Amendment Rules

The Family Law Amendment Rules 2009 (No.1) amend the Family Law Rules 2004 to incorporate changes to support the new trial and case management pathway and docket system, the de facto relationship...

Changes to Family Court and Federal Magistrates Court forms

The Family Court has published a notice to the profession advising it of changes to forms resulting from the commencement, on 1 March 2009, of the substantive provisions of the Family Law Act 1975...

Australian Lawyers Surfing Association Conference in beautiful Lombok

The Australian Lawyers Surfing Association Inc is holding its annual continuing legal education conference at the** Novotel Lombok on 18-23 August 2009**. Topics include commercial law, environmental...

Wanted: volunteer for immigration rights centre

The Immigration Advice and Rights Centre (IARC) is seeking the pro bono services of a member of the bar with expertise in employment law and contracts to join its Management Committee. IARC is a...

Cases selected for reporting in NSWLR by the editor, Bret Walker SC

The following cases will be published in a forthcoming volume of NSWLR:

Thomas v State of New South Wales [2008] NSWCA 316 Tamerji v Rhee [2008] NSWCA 314 Dome Resources NL v Silver [2008] NSWCA...

New judicial appointments

New South Wales Attorney General John Hatzistergos has announced three new judicial appointments:

>> The Hon Justice Peter Young has been appointed as a judge of appeal, replacing Justice Virginia...

Protective commissioner fees to be reduced

The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) has released a report recommending that certain fees paid to the Office of the Protective Commissioner (OPC) be capped at significantly lower...

Correction: retirement ceremony for the Hon Justice Brian Tamberlin

It was reported in yesterday's In Brief that a ceremonial sitting to mark the retirement of the Hon Justice Brian Tamberlin will be held in courtroom 21A of the Law Courts Building. This was...

Papers to note: NSWLRC report on young people and consent to health care

The New South Wales Law Reform Commission has released Report 119 (2008): _Young People and Consent to Health Care. _The chair of the inquiry, Professor Michael Tilbury, described the current law in...

Notice to accredited mediators and those interested in accreditation

The NSW Bar Association has been a Recognised Mediation Accreditation Body (RMAB) since May 2008. Since this date, the association has accredited 67 members as mediators. To better inform accredited...