Inbrief

ALRC launches a blog on Commonwealth secrecy laws

The Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) is holding a national two day phone-in and online discussion on reform of Commonwealth secrecy laws. To participate in the phone-in call 1800 760 291...

Changes to Legal Aid NSW care and protection policies

The Legal Aid Board has approved some cost savings measures for the Family Law Program. These savings initiatives involve some changes to the Commonwealth Family Law Policy and Guidelines, as well as...

IAMA mediation course: places are still available

The Institute of Arbitrators and Mediators Australia (IAMA) will present again the National Practitioner’s Certificate in Mediation course in Sydney. The six day course, which meets the...

End to self-regulation by the Migration Institute of Australia

The minister for immigration and citizenship, Senator Chris Evans, has announced the end of self-regulation for migration agents and the establishment of a new Office of Migration Agents Registration...

Facilities at Armidale Courthouse

Armidale Courthouse will soon undergo renovations. This work will impact upon the availability of interview rooms used by the legal profession. This notification relates specifically to the District...

Roundtable on cross-examination and sexual assault

New South Wales Attorney General John Hatzistergos will be among the distinguished guests taking part in a roundtable on cross-examination and sexual assault matters. The seminar will be chaired by...

New South Wales Bar Dispute Resolution Centre

The New South Wales Bar Dispute Resolution Centre opened on 10 December 2008. Located at level 1, Selborne Chambers, 174 Phillip Street, Sydney, it is the most convenient dispute resolution centre...

New members of the Bar Association

At meetings of Bar Council in February and March, the persons listed below were accepted as members of the New South Wales Bar Association.

Saving St James Church King Street

On 11 February 2009, at 6.00pm, St James Anglican Church King Street, commissioned by Governor Macquarie and designed by Francis Greenway, will celebrate the 185th anniversary of its consecration. As...

Assistance to those affected by bushfires

The Law Institute of Victoria has responded quickly to the Black Saturday bushfire disaster by offering half an hour of free initial advice to people with bushfire-related legal problems. Members of...

Distinguished speakers lined up for ABA conference in Strasbourg and London

The Australian Bar Association Conference will be held in Strasbourg and London **between 26 June and 1 July, 2009. **The list of speakers features eminent jurists from around the world, including...

Bar Council business for November-December 2008

Matters reported elsewhere in In Brief are omitted from this summary of Bar Council business. Bar Council regularly considers requests by the attorney general, the courts and other agencies for...

NSW Drug Court celebrates 10th anniversary

The New South Wales Drug Court marks its 10th anniversary today with the opening of a special conference. Attorney General John Hatzistergos, citing a Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research...

Inter-library loans from the University of Sydney

As reported in In Brief, the University of Sydney Law Library closed its doors for the last time at its Phillip Street premises at 6.00 pm on Friday, 23 January 2009. The librarians and the...

Accreditation of mediators in 2009

An information seminar will be held by the Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee at 5.15pm on 3 June 2009 for barristers interested in being accredited as mediators under the National Standards...

Web watch: the Hon Michael Kirby AC CMG

Fresh off the bench of the High Court, the Hon Michael Kirby AC CMG has published his own web site: www.michaelkirby.com.au which allows him to "speak directly to you". The site contains his famously...

Discussion paper on proposed national model for surrogacy laws

The Standing Committee of Attorneys-General (SCAG) and Ministerial Councils for Community Services and Health have released a discussion paper on a proposed national model for the regulation of...

Changing the face of human rights

Australia's National Human Rights Consultation Committee begins its consultations on a Charter of Rights next week in Queenbeyan. Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, the Right Honourable Jack Straw MP,...

Recent decisions of the House of Lords

The following three opinions of the lords of appeal are available on the House of Lords web site:

Z T (Kosovo) (Respondent) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (Appellant)� [2009] UKHL...

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

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

Salter by her tutor Steven Folino-Gallo v The Director of Public Prosecutions (NSW) [2008] NSWSC 1325 McEwen v Simmons and...

Australian Bar Association office bearers for 2009

At its annual general meeting on Monday, 2 February 2009, the following were elected as office bearers of the Australian Bar Association:

President's speeches at the High Court

President Anna Katzmann SC spoke on behalf of the New South Wales Bar at two ceremonial sittings of the High Court on 2 - 3 February, marking the retirement of the Hon Justice Michael Kirby and the...

Law Council welcomes latest moves towards a national legal profession

The Law Council has today welcomed Prime Minister Rudd’s announcement that legal profession reform is now part of the Australian Government’s ongoing micro-economic reform agenda. Law...

The Aurora Project - Rio Tinto NTRB Scholarships

Rio Tinto is once again offering two scholarships to lawyers currently working or interested in working at Native Title Representative Bodies (NTRBs) or Native Title Service Providers (NTSPs)....

Vale Christopher Anthony Pike (1955-2009)

Christopher Anthony Pike died on 24 January 2009. Members are invited to attend his funeral, to be held in the Magnolia Chapel of the Macquarie Park Crematorium, Plassey Road, Macquarie Park on...