Newsletter
Volume 1, Issue 1
Director’s welcome
Dear Members & Friends,
Welcome to the Castan Centre’s first
Newsletter.
Inside this Issue
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Letter from David Kinley
Holding Redlich
Fellowship & Reprieve
Internship
Castan Centre Launch
Since being launched some 18 months
ago by Justice Michael Kirby (see
story inside on p.3), the Centre’s
directors, staff and members have
sought to establish an institution that is
serious about human rights in general,
and about human rights scholarship in
particular. We expect to be judged by
what we do and how we do it, and so it
is for the Centre. To be sure it is for
others to determine the Centre’s
achievements, but for my part I am
both happy and proud to say that I
Past and Future Events
It is from their efforts that have come
the creation of all the new human
rights courses now offered in the Law
School; the range, depth and weight of
publications by Centre staff; the
hosting of conferences, workshops,
lectures and other public events inside
and outside the University; the
involvement in civil society, the media
and public debate on human rights
issues, the winning of grants and
project tenders on cutting-edge issues,
and our international work on global
and regional human rights problems.
Details of all these activities are in this
newsletter, as I hope you will be
enticed to find out. It is an exciting
time to be involved in the Centre and I
look forward to new ventures and
challenges ahead.
As we count on it, I
hope
you
will
continue to support
the Centre, and will
continue to keep an
eye on what we are
up to, which you will
now be able to do by
way
of
the
Newsletter,
which
will henceforth be
published every six
months.
Teaching and Internships
Publications
Reports and Submissions
Conference Papers &
Public Speeches
David Kinley
Project Grants
Centre Personnel
Ron Castan
think what the Centre has achieved
thus far has been impressive, as, I
believe, the contents of this newsletter
bear testimony. This has been possible
only
through
the
intelligence,
commitment and dedication to hard
work, and raw good humour of all
those involved and who are named
herein.
From top left, Melissa Castan, Sarah
Joseph, Julie Debeljak, Beth Gaze and
David Kinley.
http://www.law.monash.edu.au/castancentre/index.html
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Features
Holding Redlich
Distinguished Visiting
Fellow Program
Holding Redlich has agreed to the
establishment of a ‘Distinguished
Visiting Fellowship Program’ under
the auspices of the Castan Centre. The
Program is designed to attract one or
more high profile international and
domestic human rights scholars or
experts to be a Distinguished Visiting
Fellow to the Castan Centre each year.
During the tenure of their Fellowship
they will undertake research, teaching,
seminars and workshops, other public
speaking engagements and
practice/advice work (or some
combination of these activities), both
within the Centre and for Holding
Redlich.
The first Holding Redlich
Distinguished Visiting Fellow was
Professor Keith Ewing of King's
College London, who visited the
Centre in December 2001 and
delivered a public lecture entitled ‘The
Human Rights Act 1998’. In March
2002 Professor Harry Arthurs from
Osgoode Hall Law School in Canada
delivered a public lecture on
‘Globalization and the New Economy:
Implications for Labour Law.’
Reprieve Australia
Internship
Nick Button, Intern Summer 2001-02
Death row in Parchman, Mississippi
is a cold place. Notorious for a woeful
human rights record, Parchman has
been the venue for some infamous
executions, notably the execution of
Edward Earl Johnson in 1987.
Johnson, the subject of the BBC
documentary, ‘14 days in May’, was
eventually proven innocent of his
alleged crime.
Together with fellow intern Ashley
Halphen, I visited some clients on
Parchman’s death row as part of my
Reprieve Australia internship with the
Louisiana Crisis Assistance Center
(LCAC) last Australian summer.
As I walked up to the visitors’ booth for
the first time I kept thinking, ‘what does
one say to someone who has been on
death row for 20 years, who spends 23
hours of every day locked in a small
cell, with one hour of solitary exercise?’
Howard Neal, who is the subject of the
play ‘This is a True Story’ that came to
Australia last year as part of the launch
of Reprieve Australia, was one of the
clients I visited at Parchman. Howard is
mentally retarded, he has the IQ of a
sweet 10 year old child. Fascinated by
Australian wildlife, especially
kangaroos, he told me poignantly, ‘my
favorite animal is a golden eagle’. I
wondered if he perceived the irony,
somehow I think he did.
The internship program has been
developed by Reprieve Australia, the
sister organization to Reprieve (UK).
Reprieve was founded by Clive
Stafford Smith who is also the director
of the LCAC. Clive, who is one of the
leading capital defence lawyers in
America, heads a dynamic staff of
people intensely committed to ending
the death penalty. The organizational
charter of the LCAC is to defend people
who have been charged with a capital
offence or people who have lost their
direct appeal. The Reprieve Australia
internship involves undertaking a range
of responsibilities, some intense and
confronting, some tedious, but all of
which expose you to the ugly reality of
the death penalty system. The interns’
work is potentially extremely important.
Three of the interns spent the first two
and a half weeks ringing people from a
seemingly endless list of names
inquiring whether they had been
wrongfully excluded from juries on the
basis of their race and gender or as a
result of being past convicted felons.
This part of the program was
exceedingly dull, hard work, but it has
proven worthwhile. Only last week one
of the LCAC’s clients, Rikki Langely,
who has been on death row for 5 years,
was granted a retrial on the basis of a
similar project conducted by interns at
the LCAC a couple of years earlier.
Other work involves more direct contact
with specific cases. Leslie Dale Martin is
due to be executed on the 10th of May at
Angola Prison in Louisiana. I worked on
his case out of Lake Charles, Louisiana for
two weeks. I was based in a Court House
compiling evidence from trial transcripts
and I interviewed two members of the jury
who in 1992 convicted Leslie for the rape
and murder of a young woman from Lake
Charles and then sentenced him to death.
The defence, led by Clive Stafford Smith,
and Dave Lipka, an investigator with the
LCAC, managed to get a stay of execution
27 minutes before the execution was due
to take place. But the United States
Supreme Court has since denied Les'
petition, paving the way, subject to any
further writs, for his execution.
[Editor’s note: the execution took place by
lethal injection on 10 May 2002.]
The case typifies the flaws in a legal
system that was able to convict Leslie
Martin on the basis of an alleged
confession to a jail house cell mate (in
American parlance, a snitch); it was the
evidence of the ‘snitch’ that provided the
legal basis for the imposition of the death
penalty. It is sobering to realize that this
witness had testified for the prosecution
on at least 2 other occasions and further,
that Leslie Martin’ s lawyer had also
represented the snitch on at least 11 other
occasions. Due to the lawyer’s conflict of
interest, it was not surprising that the
snitch’s testimony went unchallenged at
trial.
The Les Martin case is one of many
similar cases that an intern will
encounter. There are many reasons to
consider undertaking the internship
including personal growth, the
development of practical skills, etc.
Perhaps the most important reason,
however, is that you will have the
opportunity to make a real difference
in the lives of people who need your
help.
Students who wish to express interest
in the program can do so by checking
out Reprieve Australia's website
http://www.reprieve.org.au/ and
emailing contact@reprieve.org.au.
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Castan Centre Launch
The Faculty of Law’s new Castan Centre for Human
Rights Law will reach out to the world, according to High
Court Justice Michael Kirby. Speaking at the Centre’s
launch on 31 October 2000, Justice Kirby said it was
wonderful to celebrate the establishment of a Centre which
will continue exploring the ideals of its namesake, Mr Ron
Castan QC (see obituaries page 12).
Justice Kirby said the death of the distinguished barrister
in 1999 had meant losing a champion of Aboriginal and
human rights issues. ‘It was his kind that executed the
tectonic shift in Commonwealth law in Australia that is
now known by everyone as Mabo and was one of the
moving forces that led to the decision in the High Court on
the Wik case’, Justice Kirby said.
The Castan Centre, committed to the protection and
promotion of human rights through research and
education, should continue adding a ‘real cutting edge’ to
human rights issues across the world, he said. ‘It will be
vital – if the Centre is to be true to Ron Castan’s name –
that it dedicate a great part of its work to the human rights
of the indigenous people of Australia’.
Justice Kirby also said that the Centre should look at
incorporating international human rights law into
Australian law and contributing to the debate about
introducing a Bill of Rights in Australia.
Other areas of interest mentioned by Justice Kirby were
human rights issues around Asia and the Pacific in
countries such as China and Cambodia and future
questions relating to drug-addicted people, infringements
in cyberspace, and the human genome.
Monash Dean of Law Professor Stephen Parker (above)
said the Castan Centre would be a ‘flagship activity’ for
the school. ‘We describe ourselves as a law school for a
changing world. The Castan Centre for Human Rights
Law, introduced to address human rights issues in a
changing world, typifies how we see ourselves and our
defining themes’, he said. ‘We see ethics and human
rights as based in autonomy and respect for the
individual’.
Castan Centre director Professor David Kinley (at left
with Justice Kirby) said the centre is pursuing ‘what we
believe to be a cardinal lesson of pioneers such as Ron
Castan – that in the interaction between the global and the
local lies the key to our better understanding of, and
respect for, each other’.
About 150 people attended the launch at law firm Phillips
Fox, including members of the Castan family (pictured
below with Justice Kirby).
http://www.law.monash.edu.au/castancentre/index.html
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Events
2000
•
Launch of Castan Centre: by
Justice Michael Kirby at Phillips
Fox, 31 October.
•
Public Forum: ‘Making a Real
Difference to Human Rights’ by
the Hon Alexander Downer MP
with response by Dennis Grant
SBS TV, Bureau Chief, chaired
by Prof David Kinley, 20
November.
•
Book Launch: Felicity Hampel
SC launched The International
Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights - Cases, Materials and
Commentary by Melissa Castan,
Sarah Joseph and Jenny
Schultz, 5 December.
2001
•
Inaugural Annual Castan
Centre Lecture: ‘Human Rights
in Regulating the Global
Economy’ by Professor Philip
Alston of the European
University Institute in Florence,
28 March.
•
Occasional Lecture: by Clive
Stafford Smith OBE, Director of
the Louisiana Crisis Assistance
Centre, New Orleans, on
‘Fighting the Death Penalty’, 16
May.
•
Refugee Workshop: organised
by Associate Professor Susan
Kneebone to mark the 50th
anniversary of the Refugee
Convention, 8 - 9 June.
International Human Rights Law Conference: ‘Human Rights and Global
Challenges’, 10-11 December. Speakers included notable overseas academics Prof
Keith Ewing, and Prof Mark Tushnet and Australians The Hon Elizabeth Evatt
AC, Prof Larissa Behrendt, Prof Ivan Shearer and Chris Sidoti. Topics covered
at the Conference included: Bill of Rights, Self Determination, Privatisation of
Human Rights, Cultural Relativity, Community Awareness of Human Rights,
Economic Social and Cultural Rights, and the Role of International Organisations
in Human Rights Protections. The Conference was a huge success with over 100
participants. Special thanks to student helpers Gabi Crafti, Pandora Noronha, and
Nicola Paton. Papers are available on the web at:
http://www.law.monash.edu.au/castancentre/conference2001/abstracts.html.
2002
•
Lecture: by Holding Redlich Distinguished Visiting Fellow Professor Harry
Arthurs, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University – Toronto on
‘Globalization and the New Economy: Implications for Labour Law’, 27
March.
•
Lecture: by Eric Van Der Wal, Director, Human Rights and Indigenous
Issues Section, Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) on
‘The practical implementation of Australia’s international human rights policy:
a view from DFAT’, 10 April.
•
Lecture: by Donald P. Arnavas, Attorney and Law Professor, Washington
D.C. on ‘US Military Tribunals: measured response or overreaction?’, 18
April.
•
Book Launch: Commercial Law and Human Rights, David Kinley and
Stephen Bottomley (eds), with guest speaker Julian Burnside QC, 22 April.
•
Lecture: by Brendon Christian, National Networking and Advocacy
Coordinator; Attorney, Campus Law Clinic, University of Natal, Durban on
‘Reflections on the HIV-AIDS crisis in South Africa’, 24 April.
Second Annual Public Lecture: by Senator Aden Ridgeway on ‘Mabo Ten
Years On: Small Step or Giant Leap?’ Monday 3 June at 12:30pm, Queen’s Hall,
Parliament House, Spring Street Melbourne. Ten years ago to the day, the High
Court handed down its landmark judgement in Mabo (No 2). It set in motion a
new legal regime recognising native title, it prompted calls for social justice for
indigenous peoples, and it elevated public debate of indigenous issues on all
fronts. But what has been its legacy? Where are the issues of indigenous land
rights, human rights, social and economic security today? Is the rhetoric of
reconciliation any closer to reality?
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Human Rights
Law Courses
http://www.law.monash.edu.au/castan
centre/units.html
Undergraduate:
Citizenship and Migration Law
Comparative Constitutions and
Rights
Human Rights and Australian Law
Indigenous Peoples and the Law
International Human Rights
Comparative Indigenous Law Video Link With
Students in US and Canada
Castan Centre Lecturer Melissa Castan facilitated a seminar in Comparative
Indigenous Law for 10 undergraduate students completing independent research
subjects. The students participated in four 8am video link up sessions with
students studying with Lindsay G. Robertson at the University of Oklahoma
and Bradford W. Morse at the University of Ottawa. The seminars covered
topics such as indigenous identity, discovery, invasion, settlement and treaties;
customary law and criminal justice, indigenous rights to land, economic
development and self-determination. The students’ self-directed research
projects (with supervision by Melissa Castan) are covering comparative issues of
indigenous identity, self-determination, customary law, environment and
property rights. Melissa Castan aims to seek University funding to further
develop this innovative and flexible international teaching process.
Student Internships
International Organisations
International Refugee Law and
Practice
Law and Discrimination
Law, Gender and Feminism
Graduate:
The Castan Centre has helped to facilitate human rights related international
internships for Monash Law students.
•
Douglas Stewart and Vanessa Szabo were recently in Geneva working with
the Australian Permanent Mission to the UN.
•
Raini Zambelli worked with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in
East Timor.
•
Douglas Stewart attended the UN World Conference Against Racism,
Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance in Durban,
South Africa as part of The Hague International Model UN Delegation.
•
Nicholas Button, Marissa Dreher and Olivia Henderson worked at the
Louisiana Crisis Assistance Center in the US, which provides legal
assistance to those facing the death penalty (see article p 2).
Current Issues in International
Human Rights law
Human Rights in the Global
Economy
Human Rights Litigation
Indigenous Rights and
International Law
More information on human rights internships and student placements will be
available online at: http://www.law.monash.edu.au/castancentre/index.html
International Humanitarian Law
Student Placements
Law, Gender and Feminism
Two students studying International Human Rights in 2002 have been placed
with the International Humanitarian Law Department of Australian Red
Cross, Victoria, where they are monitoring developments in international
criminal law, researching and writing conflict case studies, training manuals and
articles. The pilot program was organised by Julie Debeljak (Associate Director
of the Castan Centre) and Melissa Hardham from the Disability Employment
Action Centre (DEAC). In 2001 2 students spent 6 days at DEAC and an
additional 2 days each with the Equal Opportunity Commission of Victoria
and the Public Interest Law Clearinghouse. Hopefully the program will be
expanded to include new courses and partnerships.
Migration Law
Native Title and Land Rights
* Not all courses are offered by
the Law Faculty each year.
http://www.law.monash.edu.au/castancentre/index.html
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Publications by
Centre Members
Book Chapters & Articles
Books
Bill of Rights
Bottomley, S. and Kinley, D. (eds.),
Commercial Law and Human Rights,
(Dartmouth Publishing Co., Aldershot,
2001).
Debeljak, J., ‘Access to Civil Justice:
Can a Bill of Rights Deliver?’ (2001)
Tort Law Review 1.
Joseph, S. and Castan, M., Federal
Constitutional Law: A Contemporary
View (Law Book Co, Sydney, 2001).
Joseph, S., Schultz, J., & Castan, M.,
The International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights: Cases,
Materials, and Commentary, (Oxford
University Press, Oxford, 2000).
Available to purchase:
http://www.oup.co.uk/isbn/0-19826774-6
Constitutional Rights
Joseph, S., ‘Political Advertising and
the Constitution’, in G. Patmore (ed),
The Big Makeover: A New Australian
Constitution - Labor Essays 2002
(Pluto Press, Melbourne, 2001), pp.
48-59.
Corporations and Human Rights
Joseph, S., ‘An Overview of the
Human Rights Accountability of
Multinational Enterprises’, in
Kamminga, M. and Zia-Zafiri, S.), The
Liability of Corporations in
International Law, (Kluwer, The
Hague, 2000), pp. 75-93.
Kinley, D. and Joseph, S.,
‘Multinational Corporations and
Human Rights: Questions about
their Relationship’, (February, 2002)
27 Alternative Law Journal, pp. 7-11.
‘The authors are to be congratulated
on the excellence of their book. During
the last session of the Committee in
Geneva that book was much in
evidence in the hands of members and
of the Secretariat’ –Ivan Shearer.
Kinley, D., ‘International Human
Rights as Legally Binding or Merely
Relevant’, in Bottomley, S. and
Kinley, D. (eds.) Commercial Law and
Human Rights, (Dartmouth Publishing
Co., Aldershot, 2001).
Enforcement: Domestic
The authors with Felicity Hampel SC
Gaze. E., ‘The Costs of Equal
Opportunity – will changes to
HREOC solve the problem of antidiscrimination law enforcement?’
(2000) 25:3 Alternative Law Journal
125-130.
Enforcement: International
Duxbury, A., ‘Saving Lives in the
International Court of Justice: The
Use of Provisional Measures to
Protect Human Life’, (2000)
California Western International Law
Journal.
Duxbury, A., ‘The Privileges and
Immunities of United Nations
Experts: The Cumaraswamy Case’,
(2000) Asia-Pacific Journal on Human
Rights and the Law 88-110.
European Convention on Human
Rights
Kinley, D., ‘Legal Rights and State
Responsibilities under the ECHR’,
chapter in Hancock, L. & O’Brien, C.,
(eds.) Re-writing Rights in Europe,
Dartmouth Publishing Co., Aldershot,
2000).
Indigenous Rights
Castan, M., ‘Reconciliation, the Law
and the Constitution’, in M. Grattan
(ed.), Reconciliation: Essays on
Australian Reconciliation (Black Inc,
Melbourne 2000), pp. 202-209.
Castan, M. & Naylor, B., ‘The
Hardest Bridge’ (2000) 25
Alternative Law Journal 102
(regarding the reconciliation debate).
Debeljak, J., ‘Barriers to the
Recognition of Indigenous Peoples’
Human Rights at the United Nations’
(2000) 26 Monash University Law
Review 159-194.
Debeljak, J., ‘Indigenous Rights:
Recent Developments in
International Law’ (2000) 28
International Journal of Legal
Information 266-310.
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O'Connor, P., ‘History of Trial:
Cubillo v Commonwealth, Gunner v
Commonwealth’ (2001) 26:1
Alternative Law Journal 27-31.
O'Connor, P. ‘Squaring the Circle:
How Canada is Dealing with the
Legacy of its Indian Residential
Schools Experiment’ (2000) 6:1
Australian Journal of Human Rights
188-215.
O’Connor, P., ‘Reparation for
Australia’s removed Aboriginal
children: Defining the Wrong’
(2000-2001) Third World Legal
Studies.
Kneebone, S., ‘Merits Review of
Refugee Status Determinations and
the Natural Justice Paradigm’ in
Refugee Law, Policy and Practice
(Migration Resource Centre, 2001).
Relationship between International
Human Rights Law and Domestic
Law
Duxbury, A., (co-author) ‘The
International Law Implications of
Australian Abortion Law’ (2000)
University of New South Wales Law
Journal 1-34
Bill of Rights
Debeljak, J., ‘Inquiry into a Bill of
Rights for New South Wales’,
submitted to the NSW Standing
Committee on Law and Justice, on
behalf of the NSW Branch of the
Australian Plaintiff Lawyers
Association, April 2000 (evidence
given in February 2001), pp 1-41.
Kinley, D., ‘Inquiry into a NSW Bill
of Rights’ written submission to the
NSW Standing Committee on Law and
Justice 29 April 2000.
Enforcement: Domestic
International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights
Joseph, S., ‘Human Rights
Committee: Recent Decisions’,
(2001) 1 Human Rights Law Review,
83-95; 305-318.
International Organisations
Duxbury, A., ‘Austria and the
European Union - The Report of the
“Three Wise Men”’ (2000)
Melbourne Journal of International
Law 169-174.
Judicial Independence
Debeljak, J., ‘Judicial
Independence’, A Collection of
Materials for the Judicial Conference
of Australia, with Professor Stephen
Parker, 2002.
Refugees
Kneebone, S., ‘Restricting Judicial
Review of Migration (Refugee)
Decisions: A System in Crisis in
Need of a Holistic Approach’ (2000)
Public Law Review 87-92.
Women’s Rights
Gaze, B., ‘Working Part Time:
Reflections on “Practicing” the
Work-Family Juggling Act’ (2001) 1
QUT Law and Justice J. 199-212.
Loff, B., Gaze B., and Fairley, C.,
‘Prostitution, Public Health and
Human Rights Law’ (2000) 356 The
Lancet 1764.
Reports/Submissions
Anti-Terrorism Legislation
McCasland-Pexton, A., Joseph, S. and
Kinley, D., Submission to the Senate
Legal and Constitutional Committee
regarding the Security Legislation
Amendment (Terrorism) Bill 2002 [No
2]. Transcript of hearings available at:
http://www.aph.gov.au/hansard/senate/
commttee/s5459.pdf.
Joseph, S and Kinley, D., Submission
to the Parliamentary Joint
Committee on ASIO, ASIS and DSD
regarding the Australian Security
Intelligence Organisation Legislation
Amendment (Terrorism) Bill 2002 April 2002: Transcript of hearings
available at:
http://www.aph.gov.au/hansard/joint/c
ommttee/j5493.pdf
Gaze, B., Submission to the
Victorian Attorney-General on a
review of the Equal Opportunity Act
1995, July 2000.
Gaze, B., Submission to
Administrative Review Council on a
Code of Conduct for Members of
Merits Review Tribunals, February
2001.
Environment and Indigenous Rights
Mfodwo, K., ‘Indigenous Use’ –
Chapter 9 - Management and
institutional arrangements assessment,
South East Regional Marine Plan - a
report to the National Oceans Office,
Hobart, Australia, October 2001 42 pp.
Mfodwo, K., Maori participation in
legal and institutional arrangements
for the marine sector – a report to the
Ministry for the Environment,
Wellington, New Zealand, August
2001, 50pp.
Mfodwo, K., Protection of Maori
historic heritage a series of
publications commissioned by the
Ministry for the Environment,
Wellington, New Zealand July-August
2001.
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Mfodwo, K., Implications for Maori
of proposed legal and institutional
reforms: heritage management,
oceans policy and local government –
a scoping report commissioned by the
Ministry for the Environment New
Zealand, March 2001, 15 pp.
Mfodwo, K., Treaty and Maori
interest aspects of environmental law
in New Zealand -- a report to the
Ministry for the Environment,
Wellington, New Zealand June, 2000,
390pp.
Mfodwo, K and Tsamenyi, B. M., A
Review of the Legal and Institutional
Framework for Indigenous
Participation in Commercial
Fisheries: Australia, New Zealand &
Canada, a report commissioned by the
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Commission, Canberra June 2000,
40pp.
Indigenous Rights
Joseph, S., Submissions to the United
Nations Human Rights Committee
by the Human Rights and Equal
Opportunity Commission (HREOC)
on ‘Native Title’, ‘Indigenous People
in Custody’, and ‘Mandatory
Sentencing Laws in Northern Territory
and Western Australia’, 2001.
available at:
http://www.hreoc.gov.au/social_justice
/submissions/un_human_rights.html.
Joseph, S., (co-author) Submission to
the United Nations Human Rights
Committee by the Human Rights and
Equal Opportunity Commission
(HREOC) on ‘Heritage Protection’
and ‘Indigenous Disadvantage and
Self-Determination’, 2001. available
at:
http://www.hreoc.gov.au/social_justice
/submissions/un_human_rights.html.
Kinley, D., Submission to Senate
Legal and Constitutional Committee
‘Inquiry into the Stolen generation.’ 13
July 2000.
Prisons
Naylor, B., ‘Government’s
Independent Investigation into the
Management and Operations of
Victoria's Private Prisons’, August
2000.
Refugees
Crafti, G. and Kneebone, S.,
‘Detention, Children and Asylum
Seekers: a comparative study’, a
submission to the Human Rights and
Equal Opportunity Commission
regarding the National Inquiry Into
Children in Detention, 15 April 2002.
Joseph, S., Submissions to the United
Nations Human Rights Committee
by the Human Rights and Equal
Opportunity Commission (HREOC)
on ‘Detention of Unauthorised
Arrivals’, 2001. This report is
available at:
http://www.hreoc.gov.au/social_justice
/submissions/un_human_rights.html
Centre of Public Law, University of
NSW Faculty of Law, 1 March 2002.
Debeljak, J., ‘Will a Bill of Rights
Enhance Access to Civil Justice?’ at
the Victorian Conference of the
Australian Plaintiff Lawyers
Association, Mt Buffalo, Victoria, 5-7
May 2000.
Debeljak, J., ‘Access to the Civil
Justice System: Can a Bill of Rights
meet the Challenge?’ at the Annual
Conference of the Australasian Law
Teachers’ Association, Canberra, 2-5
July 2000.
Debeljak, J., ‘Human Rights as
Judicial Politics or Parliamentary
Judgements’, presented at Castan
Centre’s Human Rights and Global
Challenges Conference, Melbourne 10
December 2001. Available online:
http://www.law.monash.edu.au/castan
centre/conference2001/papers/debeljak
.html
Corporations and Human Rights
Women and Human Rights
Gaze, B., Comments to Sex
Discrimination Commissioner on
draft Pregnancy Guidelines for
Employers, on behalf of National
Women's Justice Coalition, February
2001.
Gaze, B., Submission to Senate Legal
and Constitutional Committee
inquiry into proposed amendments to
the Sex Discrimination Act, November
2000.
Conference Papers &
Public Speeches
Bill of Rights
Kinley, D and Debeljak, J., ‘Bill of
Rights Roundtable’, Gilbert & Tobin
Kinley, D., ‘Business and Human
Rights: the legal dimension’
presented at Regional Workshop on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,
Asia-Pacific Forum of National
Human Rights Institutions, Hong Kong
11-13 July 2001.
Kinley, D., ‘Corporations, Human
Rights and Legal Obligations’,
Inaugural Meeting of Human Rights
Interest Group, Mallesons Stephen
Jaques, Melbourne, 19 April 2002.
Joseph, S., ‘Human Rights
Accountability and Multinational
Corporations’, ACFOA: Development
Challenges in the Global Economy, 7
September 2000.
Joseph, S., ‘The “Third Wave” of
Corporate Human Rights
Accountability: Pharmaceuticals
and Human Rights’, presented at
Castan Centre’s Human Rights and
http://www.law.monash.edu.au/castancentre/index.html
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Global Challenges Conference,
Melbourne 10 December 2001.
Available online:
http://www.law.monash.edu.au/castan
centre/conference2001/papers/joseph.h
tml
Globalisation and Human Rights
Kinley, D., ‘Human Rights and
Global Challenges’, Legal Aid
Conference, Victorian Legal Aid, 26
October 2001.
Kinley, D., ‘Globalisation & Human
Rights’, Symposium on Globalisation
and the Universalisation of Legal
Norms, Sydney University, 24 August
2000.
Kinley, D., ‘Economic, Social &
Cultural Rights’, in Globalising the
Rule of Law, Vice-Chancellor’s
Symposium, Griffith University,
Brisbane, 19-19 August 2000.
Indigenous Issues
Castan, M., ‘Terra Nullius, Res
Extincta; Australian Legal Culture
and Indigenous Identity’, presented
at Imaging Aboriginality: Indigenous/
European entanglements in culture
and representation CAIS conference,
Prato Italy, 9-12 April 2002
Castan, M., ‘When sorry is not
enough: reconciliation in Australia’
at University of Wisconsin-Madison's
Conference Interrogating
Reconciliation, Manila, Philippines,
August 2001.
International Human Rights Law
Kinley, D., ‘The Rhetoric of Human
Rights?’ presented at Extremism and
Exclusion: The European Experience
and Australian Resonances,
Contemporary Europe Research
Centre, University of Melbourne, 1414 November 2001.
Kinley, D., ‘Human Rights Training
and the Myanmar Government’,
Burma/Myanmar Update 2002,
Coombs Theatre, The Australian
National University, 14 February.
http://www.law.monash.edu.au/castan
centre/conference2001/papers/kinley.h
tml
International Organisations
Prisons
Duxbury, A., ‘The Immunity of
International Organisations for
Human Rights Abuses’, presented at
the American Society of International
Law and Australian and New Zealand
Society of International Law Joint
Conference, Sydney, June 2000.
Naylor, B., ‘Public accountability in
Victoria's prisons’ a paper presented
at the Australian and New Zealand
Society of Criminology Conference,
Melbourne, February 2001.
Judicial Independence
Debeljak, J., ‘Courts versus the
People: Have the Judges Gone too
Far?’ the Annual Colloquium of the
Judicial Conference of Australia,
Launceston, 26 to 28 April 2002.
Debeljak, J., ‘Judicial Independence:
Norms and Declarations, and some
Practical Outcomes’, a paper to
launch A Collection of Materials for
the Judicial Conference of Australia,
at the Annual Colloquium 2001 of the
Judicial Conference of Australia,
Uluru, 7 to 9 April 2001.
Naylor, B., ‘Prisons, Privatisation
and Human Rights’, presented at
Castan Centre’s Human Rights and
Global Challenges Conference,
Melbourne 10 December 2001.
Available online at:
http://www.law.monash.edu.au/castan
centre/conference2001/papers/naylor.h
tml
Privacy
Gaze, B., ‘Privacy and Research
Involving Humans’ paper presented
to the National Privacy Conference,
Melbourne Nov 26-27, 2001.
Pro Bono Human Rights Work
The Relationship between
International Human Rights Law
and Domestic Law
Joseph, S., ‘Federalism and
International Human Rights’,
presented at the American Society of
International Law and Australian and
New Zealand Society of International
Law Joint Conference, Canberra, 29
June 2000.
Kinley, D., ‘The Shrinking State’s
Growing Responsibilities for
Human Rights Protection’, presented
at Castan Centre’s Human Rights and
Global Challenges Conference,
Melbourne 10 December 2001.
Available online at:
Castan, M., ‘Pro Bono work and
Human Rights Law’ delivered at
PILCH, Annual General Meeting, 13
December 2000.
Refugees
Kinley, D., ‘Refugees and
International Human Rights’,
Mentone Girls Grammar School, 17
October 2001.
Kneebone, S., ‘Judicial Review: A
Common Law or A Constitutional
Doctrine?’ presented at Annual
Conference of the Australian Institute
of Administrative Law, Adelaide, June
2000.
http://www.law.monash.edu.au/castancentre/index.html
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United Nations Global Compact
The project is being undertaken by the
Castan Centre, led by Prof Kinley and
Sarah Joseph, in conjunction with its
Industry Partners, Futureye and
Premier Oil (UK).
Kinley, D., ‘Human Rights and
Corporate Responsibilities’,
Reputation Qest UN Global Compact
Seminar, Blake Dawson Waldron,
Melbourne, 18 October 2001.
Kinley, D., ‘Legal Perspectives on
the UN Global Compact’, Discussion
Forum at Ruyton Girls’ School, 7
March 2002.
Project Grants
Non-Academic Bodies
Burma
‘Human Rights and International
Law Training Program’ for officials
of Government of Burma: 2000-2002.
Welcome Dinner for Indonesians 2001
‘Human Rights Training
Workshop’ for staff of Indonesian
Ministry of Human Rights, IndonesiaAustralia Strategic Training Program
II, Puncak, Indonesia, June 2000.
Advice to Indonesian Minister for
Human Rights on Ministry Strategic
Planning, Jakarta, March-April 2000.
Provision of Short Course on
International Law to Officials from
Indonesian Ministry of Law and
legislation by Monash University Law
School, with Commonwealth
Attorney-General’s Department, JuneJuly 2000.
The project is being run under the
auspices of an Australian Research
Council Linkage Grant.
The project is international and
domestic in focus. Part of the research
will involve significant industry,
NGO, government and community
consultation and the project team
would be happy to hear from
organisations who might be interested
in participating in or learning more
about the project. For more
information see article by David
Kinley and Sarah Joseph in the
Alternative Law Journal:
http://www.law.monash.edu.au/castan
centre/arc_kinley.pdf
Globalisation
Indonesia
Academic Bodies
Bill of Rights
The Castan Centre has won a second
tender under the Indonesia Australia
Specialist Training Project II
(IASTPII) program to run a series of
human rights workshops here at the
Faculty.
The first workshop was held for 15
Indonesian officials in April -July
2001. The second workshop is taking
place from April to June 2002, for 19
Indonesian government officials. In
addition to a number of external
experts engaged specifically for the
workshops many lecturers from within
the Faculty have been involved in the
delivery of the workshops and
seminars.
Debeljak, J., Strategic Partnership with
Industry - Research and Training
(SPIRT) Grant (The Judicial
Conference of Australia being the
Industry Partner) 1999-2002: The
Institutional Impact of a Bill of
Rights.
Debeljak, J., ‘Reform in American
History and Law’, Fulbright
American Studies Institute Fellowship,
June-August 2001.
Kinley, D., McAdam, M., Bieske, N.,
Kneebone, K., ‘Globalising Human
Rights in Asia’ part of a coalition of
six centres established under the
research unit on cultures and
technologies in Asia: SMURF Grant
2001.
Prisons
Naylor, B., Monash University Small
Grants Scheme 2000: ‘Accountability
in public and private prisons: the
operation of internal disciplinary
hearings in Victorian prisons.’
Corporations and Human Rights
The Centre has won a substantial grant
to conduct a major three-year research
project into the legal dimensions of the
relationship, both present and future,
between corporations and human
rights, beginning in January 2002.
Refugees
Kneebone, S., ARC Discovery Scheme
Grant 2002: ‘Fair Procedures for
Refugee Status Determination’.
http://www.law.monash.edu.au/castancentre/index.html
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Centre Members
Director: Prof David Kinley
Associate Directors: Sarah Joseph and Julie Debeljak
Monash Law School Staff:
Melissa Castan
Beth Gaze
Advisory Board
™ Professor Philip Alston, New York University School
of Law
™ Professor Virginia Dandan, Department of Studio Arts,
College of Fine Arts, University of the Philippines;
Chair United Nations Committee on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights
™ The Hon Elizabeth Evatt AC, Member; World Bank
Administrative Tribunal; Honorary Visiting Professor,
University of NSW Law School.
Associate Prof Susan Kneebone
Kwame Mfodwo
Dr Bronwyn Naylor
Pam O’Connor
Prof Stephen Parker
Moira Paterson
Prof Marilyn Pittard
Jenny Schultz
Prof Francis Trindade
Dr Eric Wilson
PhD Students: Becky Batagol, Nicole Bieske, Helen
Potts, Marnie Wilson.
Professional Associate
Chris Sidoti, Human Rights Consultant, Former Federal
Human Rights Commissioner
™ Professor Claudio Grossman, Dean of Law School,
Washington College of Law, The American University
™ Ms Felicity Hampel QC, Barrister-at-Law; Part-time
Commissioner, Victorian Law Reform Commission
™ Professor Christof Heyns, Professor of Human Rights
Law, University of Pretoria, South Africa and Director
of the Centre for Human Rights
™ The Hon Justice Michael Kirby, AC CMG, High Court
of Australia
™ Senator Aden Ridgeway, Deputy Leader, Australian
Democrats
™ Professor Ivan Shearer, Faculty of Law, University of
Sydney; Member, United Nations Human Rights
Committee
™ His Excellency Judge C.G. Weeramantry, Judge ad
hoc of the International Court of Justice
Visiting Scholars/Researchers
Prof Harry Arthurs, Osgoode Hall Law School in Canada
Prof Keith Ewing, King's College London
Dr Anne Orford, Faculty of Law, Melbourne University
Wasantha Seneviratne, University of Colombo Law
School
Administrator
Kay Magnani
Research Assistant/Newsletter Editor:
Anne McCasland-Pexton
Contact details:
Castan Centre for Human Rights Law
PO Box 12
Monash University
Victoria, Australia 3800
Ph: 613 9905 3327
or email us at castan.centre@law.monash.edu.au
http://www.law.monash.edu.au/castancentre/index.html
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Photograph reproduced with permission of Francis Reiss
Ron Castan AM QC is finished. His spirit lives. His own words stand as testament to the kind of man he was, and why our
loss is so deep and our grief so profound. Ron was a remarkably decent man whose heart and conscience always guided his
intellect. Indigenous Australians have lost a champion: the entire country has lost a treasure… For almost 30 years Ron played
a leading role in some of the most significant Australian litigation involving the rights of Indigenous peoples: Mabo,
Koowartha, Tassie Dams, Onus & Franklin are but a few of the most well known cases to which he brought the power of his
considerable legal skills and the grace of his personality.
In 1971, Ron became the founding secretary of the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service. In 1982, the Mabo case was begun
with Ron as senior counsel. He was by our side in the political struggle in the 1993 negotiations to honour Eddy Mabo and
the others who had fought so hard to secure our land rights. While the justice of a cause should win a case, it cannot do so
without the catalyst of human energy and advocacy. Ron gave the energy of his life and channelled his immense ability into
the cause of justice. Not only for Indigenous Australians. As he said, justice is meaningless if it is not extended to all and a
belief in justice is empty unless it is expressed in action.
-- Mick Dodson & David Allen
[Reproduced with thanks from Indigenous Law Bulletin October 1999, volume 4, issue 24.]
By any standards, Ron Castan was a remarkable man. His activities and interests spread far and wide across the nation's
legal, commercial, political, artistic and philanthropic life - not to mention his family, and his prominent place amongst the
Jewish community of this country, and overseas. But most of all, it was Ron's personal qualities that endeared him to his
many friends, colleagues and associates. Blessed with acute intelligence and formidable abilities as a negotiator and lawyer,
he was nevertheless unassuming in nature, always kind and considerate to others, especially those in need, always ready to
hear and discuss ideas - however speculative or bizarre - and devoted to the purging of injustice wherever he saw it. To me, he
demonstrated the highest principles of his faith, his profession, and of caring humanity. He showed us through his daily work
and relationships, what a human being can achieve for the betterment of the community. We are all in his debt.
Perhaps others can now pursue these various tasks - but I fear nobody can do it quite like Ron. He is greatly missed, he is
irreplaceable, but his work and personal example will, I'm sure, inspire many to carry on regardless.
-- Bryan Keon-Cohen QC
For more on Ron Castan visit: http://www.law.monash.edu.au/castancentre/roncastan.html
http://www.law.monash.edu.au/castancentre/index.html
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