Law
Castan Centre For
Human Rights Law
Annual Report 2012
Australia
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Malaysia
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South Africa
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Italy
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www.law.monash.edu/castancetre
Castan Centre For Human Rights Law
Annual Report
2012
About the Castan Centre
About Ron Castan AM QC
Since Michael Kirby AC CMG officially opened the Castan Centre
for Human Rights Law in October 2000, our dedicated staff has
strived to create a stronger culture of human rights in Australia. We
at the Castan Centre believe that human rights must be respected
and protected, allowing people to pursue their lives in freedom and
with dignity. In our pursuit of a stronger human rights culture for
Australia, we work in seven broad areas:
Ron Castan was a passionate advocate for the recognition and
protection of human rights and a distinguished member of the
Victorian Bar. He is best remembered for his role as lead counsel on
the landmark Mabo case, which recognised native title over land.
Ron toiled on the case for over 10 years and, according to Greg
McIntyre, a lawyer who worked with Ron on the matter, he ‘effectively under-wrote the whole claim’.
Public education, including numerous public lectures,
roundtables, conferences and workshops featuring prominent
Australian and international human rights figures, and an increasing
social media presence..
Prior to the Mabo case, Ron worked on the landmark Gove
and Koowarta land rights cases, and helped found the Victorian
Aboriginal Legal Service. His commitment to human rights extended
beyond Indigenous issues. He was a member of the Victorian Equal
Opportunity Commission and President of the Victorian Council for
Civil Liberties (now Liberty Victoria). Ron led the campaign against
the Australia Card in the 1980s and was a key player in negotiations
over the Wik native title legislation in the 1990s. He died in 1999.
Policy, through submissions to parliaments, direct representations
to governments and contributions to public debates on important
issues.
Student programs aimed at tertiary and secondary students,
including internship programs, mooting and essay competitions,
and careers seminars.
Indigenous programs, especially the Aurora Project’s native title
capacity building program.
‘There was a sort of a ruthlessness in Ron Castan. A ruthlessness
on behalf of justice.’
Thomas Kenneally AO
Teaching, through the oldest human rights law masters degree
in Australia, as well as a thriving undergraduate human rights
program.
Research leading to the publication of monographs, textbooks,
handbooks and practical guides on a variety of human rights
issues.
Human rights training and consultancies aimed at educating
Australian and international government officials about human
rights.
The Castan Centre is unique in that it blends the intellectual rigour
of human rights law and brings human rights to life in practical
ways. As a place of learning and action, I have had a long and
warm association with the Centre.
- Jose Ramos Horta, President of Timor Leste
The Castan Centre is a jewel in the crown of Australian law
- The Hon. Michael Kirby AC CMG, former High Court judge
Ron Castan
2012 In Review
by Prof. Sarah Joseph, Castan Centre Director
Monash University seeks to improve the human condition by
advancing knowledge and fostering creativity. It does so through
research and education and a commitment to social justice,
human rights and a sustainable environment.
- Monash University Statement of Purpose
2012 was another great year for the Centre. Highlights included
our vibrant and challenging public education program, headlined
by the Chair of the United Nations Committee Against Torture and
the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food. These
speakers, as well as international guests from the University of San
Francisco, the Society for Democratic Initiatives in Sierra Leone and
the University of Georgetown Law Centre, all featured at our free
public events, ensuring they reached the widest possible audience.
Once again, our annual conference sold out more than a month in
advance, and remained the only annual human rights conference
in Australia. In addition, video footage of all our public events in full,
as well as short, introductory Q&As with our speakers, are available
for free through our Youtube channel, forming an important and
accessible archive of human rights thought and debate.
In 2012, the Centre continued to engage with federal, state and
territory parliamentary committees through its Accountability
Project. The Centre made 20 submissions to parliamentary
inquiries, including advice on the Federal Government’s National
Human Rights Action Plan, intelligence and security matters,
the proposed consolidation of federal anti-discrimination laws,
children’s rights and asylum seeker policy. In addition to direct
engagement through submissions, the Accountability Project also
aims to inform and influence public debate about human rights
through the media. Encouragingly, media engagement increased
from 18 mentions in 2010 to 42 in 2012. The Centre engaged
with media across a wide range of platforms, including ABC and
SBS radio, online sites such as The Drum and The Conversation,
print media such as The Age, and Channel 7 and ABC breakfast
television shows. Increasingly, people are turning from traditional
media outlets to social media, and the Centre has been committed
to engaging a wider audience through its innovative use of social
media platforms such as Twitter, Youtube and Facebook.
As an academic organisation, much of the Centre’s work is
underpinned by its outstanding research capabilities. The research
conducted by our academics lead to a large number of books,
journal articles, conference papers and research consultancies
on human rights in Australia and overseas. In 2012, Centre
Deputy Director Adam McBeth, along with academic and NGO
colleagues, was awarded a research grant as part of the MonashOxfam Partnership to investigate community-driven accountability
processes in Cambodia. In addition to research, Centre academics
form the backbone of the longest-running Masters course in
Australia devoted to human rights law, as well as the rich offerings
in the area available at Monash University at the undergraduate
level.
A key area of the Centre’s work is our student programs, which
nurture students’ passion for human rights and give vital experience
to our future human rights leaders. The 2012 Global Internship
Program saw ten outstanding Monash Law students fly off to
nine leading human rights organisations across four different
continents. We also hosted ten in-house interns who gained
invaluable experience and insight into the Centre’s day-to-day
work in research, policy and public education. Students wishing to
know more about careers in human rights were able to attend two
seminars with an impressive line-up of speakers who discussed
their own career paths in both the international and domestic
arenas. Our very successful human rights moot competition ran
for the sixth successive year, expanding to include 12 teams, with
an interstate team competing for the first time. Not only were they
not daunted by having to familiarise themselves with the Victorian
Charter of Human Rights, they went on to win the competition:
congratulations to the University of Sydney.
Since 2006, the Centre has participated in the Aurora Project,
which provides capacity building services to Native Title
Representative Bodies, as well as a range of other programs such
as student internships and a scholarship guide for Indigenous
students. The Project has been a great success over the past six
years, but as it completed in 2012, the Centre is looking to replace
the shortfall in income through new consulting work, increased
donations and sponsorships and income from fundraising events.
With this in mind, the Centre conducted human rights training
programs for Iraqi government officials in 2012, and hopes to
expand this work in 2013.
Thank you to all our supporters who helped make 2012 another
successful year for the Centre, and we look forward to working with
old and new faces as we further strengthen our programs in 2013.
Professor Sarah Joseph opening the Centre’s 2012 biennial dinner
Castan Centre Programs
1. Public Education
Public education is one of the cornerstones of the Castan Centre’s
work and we endeavour to reach the widest possible audience. To
help us realise this goal, we have ensured that most of our public
events are free-of-charge and tickets to our annual conference as
cheap as possible. By the end of 2012, the Centre had hosted 149
conferences, public lectures, roundtables and careers seminars
since its establishment in 2000.
Public Lectures
Our 2012 events featured a broad range of topics and speakers,
headlined by the Chair of the United Nations Committee Against
Torture, and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right
to food. We also showcased international speakers from the
University of San Francisco, the Society for Democratic Initiatives
(SDI) in Sierra Leone and the University of Georgetown Law Centre.
Event topics ranged from conventions against torture, aid and
accountability, Indigenous issues, police surveillance, asylum
seekers, human trafficking and the situation in Libya, and
international criminal law.
The 2012 public lectures were:
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David Pred, Executive Director, Bridges Across Borders
Cambodia
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Dr Natalie Bugalski, Human Rights Lawyer, Author of
DERAILED report
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Eang Vuthy, Development Watch Program Manager,
Bridges Across Borders Cambodia
Panel forum - ‘The Relevance of the Convention Against
Torture in Preventing and Redressing Violence Against
Women’, 22 February 2012. Panelists:
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Claudio Grossman, Chair, United Nations Committee
Against Torture
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Fiona McCormack, CEO, Domestic Violence Victoria
Lecture - Dr Stephen Zunes, Professor of Politics and
International Studies, University of San Francisco, ‘Nonviolent
resistance in the Middle East’, 19 March 2012
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Lecture - Global Poverty Project ‘1.4 Billion Reasons’, 1
May 2012
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Panel forum - ‘Human rights, protest and police surveillance:
a forum on intelligence gathering and monitoring of public
protest’, 17 May 2012. Panelists:
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Michael Pearce SC, Barrister and Former President of
Liberty Victoria
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Anthony Kelly, Executive Officer, Flemington & Kensington
Community Legal Centre, and trainer with Pt’chang
Nonviolent Community Safety Group
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Anna Brown, Solicitor and Director of Advocacy and
Strategic Litigation, Human Rights Law Centre
Chris Heislers
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Jan Beer
Panel forum - ‘The Impact of Mental Impairment Legislation
for People with Cognitive Impairment: The Aboriginal Disability
Justice Campaign’, 30 May 2012. Panelists:
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Phillip French, lawyer and Director of the Australian Centre
for Disability Law
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Professor Patrick Keyzer, Director of the Centre for Law,
Governance and Public Policy at Bond University
Panel forum - ‘The Legacy of the Mabo Case: Indigenous land
justice in Australia’, 12 June 2012. Panlists:
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Professor Marcia Langton, Chair of Australian Indigenous
Studies at the University of Melbourne
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Dr Bryan Keon-Kohen QC, barrister practising principally in
native title, human rights and civil liberties
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Castan Centre/King & Wood Mallesons Annual lecture
– Professor Olivier De Schutter, United Nations Special
Rapporteur on the right to food, ‘The role of the right to food in
combating global hunger’, 19 June 2012
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Lecture - Emmanuel Saffa Abdulai, ‘The Success and
Challenges of Transitional Justice in Sierra Leone’, 1 August
2012
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Panel forum - ‘Executive Supremacy? Are governments now
more powerful than parliaments?’, 9 August 2012. Panelists:
Panel forum - ‘Aid and Accountability: Safeguarding Rights in
High-Risk Development Projects’, 13 February 2012. Panelists:
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Dr Rosemary Laing, Clerk of the Senate in the Australian
Parliament
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Dr Greg Taylor, Associate Professor at Monash University’s
faculty of law and author of The Constitution of Victoria
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Greg Barber MP, Parliamentary leader of the
Victorian Greens
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Lecture - Paris Aristotle AM, member of the Expert Panel on
Asylum Seekers, in conversation with Michael Gordon, the
National Affairs Editor of The Age, 5 September 2012
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Lecture - Robin de Crespigny, Author of The People Smuggler,
‘The People Smuggler: Ali Al Jenabi – ‘Villain or Hero’, 22
November 2012
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Lecture - Professor David Cole, Professor at Georgetown
University Law Center, ‘Where Liberty Lies: Civil Society and
Individual Rights in America’s “War on Terror” after 9/11’, 18
December 2012
Olivier De Schuter explains the
right to food
Bryan Keon-Cohen and Marcia
Langton talking on the legacy of
the Mabo case
Conference
Our annual conference remains the only annual human rights
conference in Australia, and is a vital fixture on the Australian human
rights calendar. Again in 2012, the conference sold out more than
a month in advance and feedback from the 220 attendees was
overwhelmingly positive.
Speakers at the conference, which was held at the Spring Street
Conference Centre, were:
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Professor Tim Flannery, Professor at Macquarie University and
2007 Australian of the Year, ‘Global warming and human rights’
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The Hon Ms Susan Ryan AO, Commonwealth Age
Discrimination Commissioner, ‘Human Rights Never Age’
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Professor Kerry Arabena, Professor and Director of Indigenous
Health at Monash University, ‘No Winners, No Losers: Just
Truth, Justice and Mercy - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Peoples and Constitutional Reform’
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Dr Samantha Thomas, Senior Research Fellow, Department of
Marketing at Monash University, ‘Unintended consequences
of the ‘war’ on obesity: A public health and human rights
approach’
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Professor the Hon Gareth Evans AC QC, Chancellor of The
Australian National University, President Emeritus of the
International Crisis Group and former Australian Foreign
Minister, ‘The responsibility to protect’ after Libya and Syria’
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Mr Sami Ben Gharbia, Tunisian Blogger and Advocacy Director
of Global Voices, ‘The role of social media in the Tunisian
revolution, in the context of the Arab Spring’
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Mr Allan Asher, Chair of the Foundation for Effective Markets
and Governance (FMAG) at the School of Regulation,
Justice and Diplomacy, ANU and the former Commonwealth
Ombudsman, ‘People just like us; human rights for asylum
seekers!’
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The Hon Mr Ron Merkel QC, Barrister and former Judge of the
Federal Court of Australia, ‘Has Australia’s horse and buggy
Constitution acquired a few jet engines?’
Professor Tim Flannery
draws the connection
between human rights
and global warming
Melissa and Steven
Castan speak to
Professor Gareth Evans
Special thanks goes to the Conference sponsors – Corrs Chambers
Westgarth, Victoria Legal Aid (Major Sponsors), Dever’s List,
Justitia, Holding Redlich, National Australia Bank, Williams Winter
Solicitors, Victorian Equal Opportunity & Human Rights Commission
(Sponsors), the Alan Missen Foundation, Minter Ellison Lawyers,
Oxfam-Monash Partnership (Supporters).
Dr Kerry Arabena talks
on constitutional reform
Special Event – 2012 Castan Centre Dinner
The Centre hosted its biennial dinner in style on 25 October 2012
with a gala event at Carousel on Albert Park Lake, which was
attended by over 370 people outdoing the 10thanniversary dinner
in 2010. Dan Mori - retired Lieutenant Colonel in the US Marine
Corps and, most famously, the lawyer for Australian Guantanamo
Bay detainee, David Hicks - spoke on the mainstreaming of
“executive directed killings” (assassinations of suspected terrorists
by governments). The night was expertly hosted by ABC TV host
Myf Warhurst and our charity auctions raised vital funds to help
continue the Castan Centre’s work.
Our thanks must go to all those who contributed to the dinner,
including auction items. Special mention must go to Vernon
Chalker, who contributed prizes and wine for the evening. A full list
of donors is at the rear of this report.
Retired Lieutenant
Colonel Dan Mori
delivering his address
Master of Ceremonies
and ABC TV personality
Myf Warhurst gets the
evening under way
Centre Deputy
Director Julie Debeljak
introduces the
keynote speaker
2. Student Programs
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Hester Kelly: Human Rights Advocacy Centre, Accra Ghana
As a university-based human rights centre, nurturing students’
passion for human rights is a vital part of what we do. The Centre
was founded by academics who have devoted their careers
to teaching human rights law, and from the outset the Centre
has sought to increase engagement with students beyond the
classroom.
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Alexandra Lachal: United Nations Special Rapporteur on the
Right to Health, Mumbai India
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Vanessa Lamborn: Oxfam, South Africa
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Yardena Lankri: Israel Democracy Institute, Jerusalem Israel
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Anne Poulos: International Commission of Jurists,
Geneva Switzerland
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Alyse Richmond: United Nations Global Compact,
New York City
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Melody Stanford: Africa and Middle East Refugee Assistance,
Cairo Egypt
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Sarah-Mae Thomas: International Women’s Rights Action
Watch - Asia Pacific, Kuala Lumpur and Geneva
Global Internship Program
The 2012 Global Internship Program saw ten high-achieving
Monash Law students selected to intern at nine organisations
spread across North America, Africa, Asia, the Middle East and
Europe.
Interns receive a stipend to cover living costs, insurance and
airfares which offset the vast majority of interns’ costs, thereby
making the program available to a wide set of students. Interns
also take part in a cross-cultural training course prior to departure
and then blog about their experiences while on assignment (see the
social media report in the policy section, below).
The 2012 Global Interns were:
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Sayomi Ariyawansa: Human Rights First, New York City
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Cara Bredebusch: Oxfam, South Africa
(L-R) Sandra Murray, Nabila Buhary, Divya Roy, Amanda Thompson,
Elisabeth Howard, Jeremy Shelley, Giselle Diego, Manav Satija,
Alison Cole, Kylie Pearce, Tessa Daws
We acknowledge the support of the 2012 Global Internship
supporters: Daniel and Danielle Besen, the Law Faculty’s Student
Mobility Fund, the Office of the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Education),
the Nordia Foundation, the Dara Foundation, the Finkel Foundation
and Silvia and Michael Kantor. Special thanks goes to Maria
Dimopoulos of MyriaD Consulting, who conducted the predeparture cross-cultural training.
In-house Internship Program
The Centre strives to give as many students as possible an
experience of working in human rights policy and research
through our In-House Internship Program. Some of the many
projects the interns worked on included research for submissions
to Parliamentary committees, drafting articles for the bi-annual
newsletter, preparing headnotes for the Oxford Reports in
International Law project, reviewing entries to the Writing for Human
Rights Essay Competition and assisting at Centre events.
Our 2012 In-House Interns were:
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Summer internship (January): Sagorika Platel and Imogen
White
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Semester 1 (2012): Rachana Rajan and Angie Glikson
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Summer (Feb 2012): Sagorika Platel and Roxana Zamani-Ashni
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Semester 1 (2012): Imogen White and Mini Chandramouli
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Semester 2 (2012): Kylie Pearce and Henrietta Champion de
Crespigny
Native Title Internships
As part of its collaboration with the Aurora Project, the Castan
Centre supports the Aurora Native Title Internships, which
send university students from all over Australia to native title
representative bodies, Indigenous policy bodies and other
organisations focusing on Indigenous rights.
Centre Deputy Director Paula Gerber with The Honourable
Judge Felicity Hampel, the Honourable Justice Pamela Tate
and Professor Zifcak
The 2012 interns from Monash University were Bianca Failla,
Daisy Fotopoulos, Chloe Rings, Erica Tarquinio and Robin Trotter
(Summer 2012/13 intake) and Lillian Alexander, Geraldine Bate,
Roberta Foster, Anna Gibson, Kelly Grant, Jessica Solla and
Kristine Tay (Winter 2012 intake).
Human Rights Moot Competition
Eleven teams from Victorian universities, and, for the first time, an
interstate challenger, competed in the 6th annual Victorian Charter
of Human Rights and Responsibilities Mooting Competition. The
preliminary rounds were held at the Melbourne offices of Clayton
Utz. The competition was won by the team from University of
Sydney with runners up from La Trobe University. The final was held
at the Victorian Court of Appeal before her honour, Justice Pamela
Tate SC of the Court of Appeal, Judge Felicity Hampel SC of the
County Court and Professor Spencer Zifcak, Allan Myers Chair of
Law at Australian Catholic University.
We acknowledge our moot sponsor, Clayton Utz, which has
generously supported the competition since its inception in 2007.
Human Rights Careers Series
The passion of many Monash Law students for an alternative career
in law can best be seen at our annual human rights careers events.
In 2012, the Centre hosted two careers seminars which focused
on international and domestic human rights careers. The seminars
featured speakers who discussed their career path and provided an
overview of the human rights careers available at the organisation
they currently work for. Speakers featured:
International Human Rights Careers
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Jonathon O’Donohue, Legal Advisor on International Justice,
Amnesty International Australia
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Amalia Fawcett, Senior Child’s Rights Specialist, Plan
International
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Kate Orange, Senior Legal Office, International Human
Rights and Anti-Discrimination Branch, Attorney-General’s
Department
Domestic Human Rights Careers
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Belinda Lo, Principal Lawyer, Eastern Community Legal Centre
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Gudrun Dewey, Senior Legal Advisor, Victorian Equal
Opportunities and Human Rights Commission
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Michael Power, Lawyer - Law Reform, Environmental
Defender’s Office
Belinda Lo talks about being a
community lawyer
3. Policy
One major focus of the Centre is to utilise research to inform public
policy debates on vital human rights issues. In 2012 the Centre
continued its policy work through the Accountability Project. The
accountability project aims to “unlock” the Centre’s World-class
human rights expertise to influence public debate and government
policy. In 2012, Centre staff continued with these aims by providing
impartial and independent views on important human rights issues
to government, spoke regularly in the media on topical matters and
greatly increased the Centre’s social media presence.
Submissions to Parliamentary Committees
One of the most important ways in which the Centre informs
policy debate is through its engagement with federal, state and
territory parliamentary committees. The Centre has a long history
of influencing parliamentary debate and securing amendments
to legislation and policy through its submissions. The Centre’s
submissions increased from eight in 2010 to 22 in 2011. The
Centre’s submissions in 2012 were:
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S. Joseph, Evidence before the Joint Parliamentary Human
Rights Committee on asylum seeker legislation, particularly
offshore processing, on 19 December
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S. Kneebone, Submission on the Crimes Legislation
Amendment (Slavery, Slavery-like Conditions and People
Trafficking Bill 2012 (with Aderajew Teshome), July 2012
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S. Kneebone, Submission to the Expert Panel on Asylum
Seekers (with Sarah Joseph, Tania Penovic, Maria O’Sullivan
and Adiva Sifris), July 2012
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S. Kneebone, Witness before the Senate Legal And
Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee, 29 August 2012
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J. Kyriakakis, Submission on the General Comment by the UN
Committee on the Rights of the Child Regarding Child Rights
and the Business Sector - First Draft, August 2012
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T. Penovic, Expert Panel on Asylum Seekers’ Report (2):
Changes to Migration Act sideline human rights
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A. Sifris, Submission to the Commonwealth House Standing
Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs Inquiry into the
Marriage Equality Amendment Bill 2012 and the Marriage
Amendment Bill 2012 (with P. Gerber on behalf of the Castan
Centre for Human Rights 2012)
A. Sifris, Submission to the Commonwealth Senate Legal and
Constitutional Committee Inquiry into the Marriage Equality
Amendment Bill 2010 (with P. Gerber on behalf of the Castan
Centre for Human Rights, 2012)
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Castan Centre for Human Rights Law, Submission to the
Department of Foreign Affairs on a draft Charter of the
Commonwealth, Prepared by Adam Fletcher, February 2012
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A. Dao, National Human Rights Action Plan: Exposure Draft,
Submission to Australian Government Attorney-General’s
Department Consultation, February 2012
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P. Emerton, Submission to the Parliamentary Joint Committee
on Intelligence and Security, Inquiry into potential reforms of
National Security Legislation, August 2012, (provided evidence
on 5 September 2012)
Media
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A. Fletcher, K. Vandenberg, R. Loftus and K. Tu, Submission
to Australian Government Attorney-General’s Department
regarding the Consolidation of Anti-Discrimination Laws paper,
January 2012
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A. Fletcher, Submission to Senate Legal and Constitutional
Affairs Committee, Migration Amendment (Removal of
Mandatory Minimum Penalties) Bill 2012, February 2012
By engaging with the media, the Centre reaches a wider audience
and can influence and inform public debate on human rights issues.
A goal of the new Accountability Project is to increase engagement
with the public through the media. The result has been pleasing, as
media engagement increased from 18 mentions in 2010 to 42 in
2012. Media engagement in 2012 included:
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A. Fletcher, Submission to the Joint Standing Committee on
Treaties regarding ‘The Optional Protocol to the UN Convention
against Torture’ March 2012
G. Boas, Radio interview with ABC Radio National on the
implications of breaching diplomatic immunity, ABC, 17 August
2012
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A. Fletcher and P. Gerber, Submission to the Attorney
General’s Department in Favour of Australia Signing and
Ratifying the Third Optional Protocol to the Convention on the
Rights of the Child, April 2012
M. Castan and P. Gerber, Radio interview with 98.9FM
Brisbane, on the Indigenous Birth Registration Project, 23
November 2012
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M. Castan and P. Gerber, Radio interview with National
Indigenous Radio Service 98.5FM QLD, on the Indigenous
Birth Registration Project, 28 February 2012
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A. Fletcher, Submission to Law Reform Committee’s Inquiry
into Sexting, June 2012
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A. Fletcher, Submission to federal Parliament Inquiry into the
Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Bill 2012,
August 2012
A. Dao, ‘Malaysia Solution: Outsourcing Our Moral
Obligations’, The Conversation, 29 June 2012 (Also published
on the Castan Centre blog 2 July 2012
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A. Fletcher, Submission to federal parliamentary inquiry into
Migration Amendment (Health Care for Asylum Seekers) Bill
2012, October 2012 (provided evidence in November 2012)
A. Dao, ‘Freedom of Speech Going Backwards in Vietnam’,
Crikey, 28 September 2012 (Also published on the Castan
Centre blog 1 October 2012
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O. De Schutter, Opinion piece by Castan Centre Annual
Lecturer on the topic of his lecture - World Hunger Can’t be
Solved with More Food, The Drum, 19 June 2012
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P. Emerton, Radio interview with SBS Radio on Terrorists
Organisations, 4 June 2012
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A. Fletcher Turning back the boats - back to the future on
asylum policy, Online Opinion, 1 February 2012
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S. Joseph, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, “Right of
Peaceful Protest”, 13 November 2012
S. Joseph and A. Fletcher., Submission to Senate Legal and
Constitutional Affairs Committee regarding the Human Rights
and Anti-discrimination Bill 2012 - Exposure Draft, December
2012
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A. Fletcher, After Serco, what rights do asylum seekers have in
detention?, The Conversation, 16 March 2012
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S. Joseph, ‘The surprising escape bid of Julian Assange’,
The Conversation, 21 June 2012
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A. Fletcher, Nystrom v Australia: human rights umpire snubbed
again, Online Opinion, 4 May 2012
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A. Fletcher, ‘Is the Max Brenner protestors’ court victory an
Australian legal watershed?’ The Conversation, 26 July 2012
S. Joseph, ‘Media regulation debate clouded by appeals to
simplistic notions of free speech’, The Conversation, 27 June
2012
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A. Fletcher ‘Paris Aristotle talks asylum seekers at the Castan
Centre’, The Conversation, 3 September 2012
S. Joseph, ‘It’s time for accountability on Iraq’,
The Conversation, 24 July 2012
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A. Fletcher, ‘Was David Hicks convicted of a ‘non-crime’?’, The
Conversation, 22 October 2012
S. Joseph, ‘Human Rights and the Olympics: Games of
Freedom or Oppression’, The Conversation, 24 July 2012
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P. Gerber, ‘Same-sex pairs: An ‘I do’ dilemma’, Monash
Weekly, 23 April 2012
S. Joseph, ‘So who is Julian Assange’s new lawyer, Baltazar
Garzón?’, The Conversation, 25 July 2012
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P. Gerber, ‘A long wait: Australia finally gets a Children’s
Commissioner’ The Conversation, 4 May 2012
S. Joseph, ‘Pussy Riot: a new chapter in art versus power’,
The Conversation, 31 July 2012
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P. Gerber, Radio interview with ABC Radio National on the
announcement of a new children’s commissioner, 7 May 2012
S. Joseph, ‘Same sex marriage could become a constitutional
battleground’, The Conversation, 6 August 2012
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P. Gerber, Putting human rights on the curriculum in Australian
Schools, Radio Australia, 29 May 2012
S. Joseph, Radio interview with 3RRR on Russia’s “Pussy Riot”
trial, 8 August 2012
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P. Gerber, Radio interview with ABC AM on Children’s Rights,
4 June 2012
S. Joseph, ‘Britain bungles Assange asylum bid’,
The Conversation, 16 August 2012
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P. Gerber, Opinion piece, There is a better way to make
statutory appointments, The Age, 30 July 2012
S. Joseph, ‘Are we really staying in Afghanistan to preserve our
reputation?’, The Conversation, 3 September 2012
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S. Joseph, ‘Hate speech or offensive speech: the human rights
and wrongs of “Innocence of Muslims”’, The Conversation,
13 September 2012
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S. Joseph, ‘The responsibilities of social media companies
over free speech’, The Conversation, 17 September 2012
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S. Joseph, Appearance on Weekend Sunrise on Channel 7
discussing anti-Islam Film, 23 September 2012
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S. Joseph, ‘The Globalisation of Free Speech: A Race to the
Top or the Bottom?’, The Conversation, 26 September 2012
(also at Castan Centre blog, 28 September 2012)
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S. Joseph, Radio interview with 3CR on Russia’s “Pussy Riot”
trial, 28 September 2012
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S. Joseph, ‘In Defence of Alan Jones’, The Conversation,
4 October 2012
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S. Joseph, ‘Children’s rights versus freedom of religion:
the sanctity of the confessional seal’, The Conversation,
14 November 2012
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S. Joseph, ‘Clash of rights in confession move’, The New
Zealand Herald, 16 November 2012
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S. Joseph, Radio Interview on Joint Parliamentary Human
Rights Committee hearing on new migration laws, SBS radio,
19 December 2012
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P. Gerber, ‘Marriage is best for raising children … that’s why we
need marriage equality’, The Conversation, 29 August 2012
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P. Gerber, Prevention is better than cure when it comes to
human rights’, Edward Elgar, 14 September 2012
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P. Gerber, Marriage Equality Defeat: Where to from here?’
Women’s Agenda, 20 September 2012
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P. Gerber, ‘Wiping the slate clean: historic convictions for gay
sex must be expunged’, The Conversation, 26 September
2012
•
P. Gerber, ‘Aboriginal people are still denied full citizenship’,
ABC Drum, 1 November 2012
•
P. Gerber, ‘The same-sex marriage implications for Australia
from the US election and abroad’, The Conversation, 13
November 2012
•
P. Gerber, ‘ASEAN Human Rights Declaration: a step forward
or a slide backwards?’, The Conversation, 21 November 2012
•
P. Gerber, ‘US Supreme Court wades into same-sex marriage
debate’, The Conversation, 12 December 2012
•
P. Gerber, ‘Move to strike gay sex records’, The Age,
17 December 2012
•
S. Joseph, ‘Victoria’s Human Rights Charter: future still
unclear’, The Drum, 15 March 2012
•
S. Kneebone, Guest on ABC TV Breakfast News discussing
Expert Panel Submission, 16 July 2012
•
S. Joseph, ‘The Eurovision human rights conundrum’,
The Conversation, 25 May 2012
•
S. Kneebone, Radio interview with ABC News on migration
centre in East Timor, 18 July 2012
•
S. Joseph, Reflections on Mabo, the case and the movie,
The Conversation, 11 June 2012
•
•
S. Joseph, ‘System of ASIO security assessments for refugees
challenged in court and in Parliament’, The Conversation,
19 June 2012
S. Kneebone, Interview with Liam Cochrane, ABC Radio
Australia, ‘Migration linked to human rights abuses, says
academic’, 4 October 2012
•
S. Kneebone, Migration to Australia linked to rights abuses,
says academic, ABC Radio Australia, 5 October 2012
•
S. Kneebone, Interview with Charis Palmer, News Editor, ‘The
Conversation’ quoted in article on access to asylum seekers in
detention, 15 October 2012
•
S. Kneebone, Interview with Parisuth Sodsai, SBS Radio, Thai
Program, 16 October 2012
•
J. Kyriakakis, ‘Torture Inc: How far do Corporate Interests
Stretch when Human Rights are at Stake?” The Conversation,
12 October 2012
•
J. Kyriakakis, ‘Lessons from the Chamberlain case: the human
cost of wrongful conviction’, The Conversation, 19 June 2012
•
B. Naylor, ‘The Slap: Corporal Punishment and Children’s
Human Rights’, Right Now, 2 August 2012
•
B. Naylor, Time for an end to parental tough love, The
Conversation, 14 August 2012
•
M. O’Sullivan ‘Abbott’s asylum seeker policy floats in murky
legal waters’, The Conversation, 24 January 2012
•
M. Smith, Radio interview with 2SER on the Special Court for
Sierra Leone’s Charles Taylor verdict, 27 April 2012
•
Profile of Castan Centre Annual Lecturer Olivier de Schutter Hungry for Change, The Age, 19 June 2012
Social Media
As increasing numbers of people have turned to social media for
news and views on myriad issues, the Centre has increasingly used
social media tools to engage with the general public on human
rights. The Centre is committed to using some of the most popular
platforms to further its goal of increasing public education in the
area of human rights. For this reason, the Centre currently operates
the following:
•
A Twitter page (twitter.com/castancentre), which is a trusted
source of the latest news and opinion on human rights issues.
The Centre tweets an average of 29 links to human rights
news, views and reports each day.
•
A Facebook page (facebook.com/thecastancentre), which
predominantly publicises the Centre’s latest goings-on,
including upcoming events, blog posts and media stories,
policy papers and parliamentary submissions.
•
A YouTube channel, which hosts videos of many of our public
events, plus shorter interviews conducted with human rights
experts.
•
Two blog sites: the main site (castancentre.com) carries
opinion pieces by Centre academics on various issues while
the secondary site (castanglobalinterns.wordpress.com) carries
reports posted by the Centre’s Global Interns when they are
overseas on assignment.
We believe that social media is a vital tool for creating a stronger
human rights culture by engaging with our existing supporters and
reaching new audiences. Our plan is to strongly expand our social
media presence in the coming years.
Relevant year-end statistics for social media (with 2011 figures in
brackets) were:
•
3731 followers on Twitter (2315).
•
1374 followers on Facebook (988).
•
31,684 hits on its main blog site for the year (17,036).
•
6043 hits on its Global Interns blog site for the year (4539).
•
6674 views on its YouTube site for the year (The Centre did not
have statistics for its YouTube page by the end of 2011)
Centre staff produced the following posts for the main blog site in
2012:
•
A. Dao, ‘Malaysia Solution: Outsourcing Our Moral
Obligations’, 2 July 2012
•
A. Dao, ‘Freedom of Speech Going Backwards in Vietnam’,
1 October 2012
•
O. De Schutter, ‘World hunger can’t be saved with more food’,
Guest blogger, 19 June 2012
•
A. Fletcher, ‘Turning Back the Boats – Back to the Future on
Asylum Policy’, 25 January 2012
•
A. Fletcher, ‘Human Rights are not Luxuries’, 14 February 2012
•
A. Fletcher, ‘Extradition and Mutual Assistance Changes Slip in
under the Radar’, 7 March 2012
•
A. Fletcher, ‘Serco and Asylum-seekers’ Rights in Detection’,
16 March 2012
•
A. Fletcher, ‘Signs of Progress on Independent Detention
Oversight’, 2 April 2012
•
S. Joseph, ‘The surprising escape bid of Julian Assange’, 21
June 2012
•
A. Fletcher, ‘Another 356 pages on the excesses of
immigration detention’, 4 April 2012
•
S. Joseph, ‘A closer look at the Pussy Riot phenomenon’, 24
August 2012
•
A. Fletcher, ‘Transparency and accountability – is the UN
leading by example?’, 18 April 2012
•
S. Joseph, ‘Alan Jones campaign: is it censorship?’, 8 October
2012
•
A. Fletcher, ‘Nystrom v Australia – Human Rights Umpire
Snubbed Again’, 2 May 2012
•
S. Joseph, ‘Children’s rights versus freedom of religion: the
sanctity of the confessional seal’, 15 November 2012
•
A. Fletcher, ‘Why alleged police abuse must be investigated
independently’, 18 May 2012
•
S. Joseph, ‘Banning confession does nothing to protect kids’,
The Punch, 20 November 2012.
•
A. Fletcher, ‘An Insatiable Appetite for National Security’, 17
July 2012
•
S. Joseph, ‘Another silly season post: The Law of War and The
Lord of the Rings’ 22 December 2012
•
A. Fletcher, ‘Is the Max Brenner protectors’ court victory an
Australian legal watershed?’, 1 August 2012
•
•
A. Fletcher, ‘Expert Panel on Asylum Seekers’ Report (1): The
Good, the Bad and the Ugly’, 16 August 2012
J. Kyriakakis, ‘Pirates Incorporated: The US Supreme Court to
decide if corporations are liable under the Alient Tort Statute’, 5
March 2012
•
A. Fletcher, ‘The Human Rights Treaty Body System – Growing
Pains or Terminal Decline’, 21 August 2012
J. Kyriakakis, ‘Lessons from the Chamberlain case: the human
cost of wrongful conviction’, 19 June 2012
•
T. Penovic, ‘Expert Panel on Asylum Seekers’ Report (2):
Changes to Migration Act sideline human rights’, 17 August
2012
•
B. Schokman, ‘The evidence is in: the Charter of Human
Rights is working for all Victorians’, Guest blogger, 4 April 2012
•
M. Smith, ‘Southern Somalia: Don’t let the Kenyan military run
the show’, 23 February 2012
•
•
A. Fletcher, ‘The Right to Silence Takes a Beating in NSW’, 10
September 2012
•
A. Fletcher, ‘M47 Case – High Court Rules that Refusal of
Refugee Protection is not ASIO’s Job’, 9 October 2012
•
A. Fletcher, ‘ASIO Security Assessments can now be reviewed,
but not by the courts’, 18 October 2012
•
P. Gerber, ‘Children will soon be seen AND heard by the UN’,
23 January 2012
•
P. Gerber, ‘Australia FINALLY gets a children’s rights
commissioner’, 3 June 2012
•
P. Gerber, ‘Doctor’s views on same-sex marriage are illinformed’, 13 June 2012
•
P. Gerber, ‘UN Expert Committee says Australia must do much
better at protecting children’s rights’, 25 June 2012
•
P. Gerber, ‘Marriage is best for raising children…that’s why we
need marriage equality’, 30 August 2012
•
P. Gerber, ‘Marriage equality defeat: where to from here?’, 21
September 2012
•
P. Gerber, ‘Wiping the slate clean: historic convictions for gay
sex must be expunged’, 26 September 2012
•
S. Joseph, ‘Sinking boats: a reason to reconsider
compassion’, 5 January 2012
•
S. Joseph, ‘Sometimes cricket is “just not cricket”’, 16 January
2012
•
S. Joseph, ‘The Eurovision human rights conundrum’, 25 May
2012
•
S. Joseph, ‘Reflections on Mabo’, 11 June 2012
•
S. Joseph, ‘Challenges to the travesty of ASIO assessments
for refugees’, 18 June 2012
•
S. Joseph, ‘Media regulation debate clouded by simplistic
notions of free speech’, 27 June 2012
Tunisian blogger Sami Ben Gharbia talks about the power of
social media
4. Research
Much of the work produced by the Castan Centre is underpinned
by its outstanding research capabilities. The Centre’s Director, five
Deputy Directors and nine Associates produce research leading
to books, journal articles, conference papers, submissions to
parliamentary inquiries, policy papers and opinion pieces.
•
P. Gerber, ‘Human Rights Education in the Australian
Curriculum’ Chapter 22 in Gerber, Paula & Castan, Melissa
(eds) Contemporary Perspectives on Human Rights Law in
Australia (2013) Thomson Reuters 531-555 (with A. Pettit)
•
P. Gerber, ‘Marriage Equality in Australia’ Chapter 9 in Gerber,
Paula & Castan, Melissa (eds) Contemporary Perspectives on
Human Rights Law in Australia (2013) Thomson Reuters 199221. (with A. Sifris)
•
J. Kyriakakis, ‘Justice After War: Economic Actors, Economic
Crimes and the Moral Imperative for Accountability after War’,
in L. May and A.T. Forcehimes (eds), Morality, Jus Post Bellum,
and International Law (2012) Cambridge University Press,
113-138
•
J. Kyriakakis, ‘Justice After War: Economic Actors, Economic
Crimes and the Moral Imperative for Accountability after War’,
in L. May and A.T. Forcehimes (eds), Morality, Jus Post Bellum,
and International Law (2012) Cambridge University Press,
113-138
•
D. Lindsay, ‘Digital Eternity or Digital Oblivion’ in Dieter Dörr
& Russell Weaver (eds), The Right to Privacy in the Light of
Media Convergence – Perspectives From Three Continents (De
Gruyter, 2012) pp 322-343.
•
B. Naylor & B. Saunders, ‘Parental Discipline, Criminal Laws,
and Responsive Regulation’’ in Law and Childhood Studies:
Current Legal issues Volume 14 ed Michael Freeman (Oxford
University Press 2012) pp. 506-529.
•
T. Penovic, ‘Boat people and the body politic’ in Paula Gerber
and Melissa Castan (eds) Contemporary Human Rights Issues
in Australia (forthcoming, Thomson Reuters 2012)
•
T. Penovic, ‘Non-compliance, Amendment and Time’ in
Colbran et al, Civil Procedure: Commentary and Materials (5th
Edition, LexisNexis, in press for publication in August 2012)
•
R. Sifris, ‘Is Australia respecting a woman’s right to
reproductive freedom?: An analysis of recent legal
developments’ in Paula Gerber and Melissa Castan (eds),
Contemporary Human Rights Issues in Australia (Thomson
Reuters)
Publications by Centre staff in 2012 were:
Books and Edited Collections
•
G. Boas, Public International Law: Contemporary Principles
and Perspectives, Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham UK,
2012
•
M. Castan, 2012, Archival Science - Special Issue: Keeping
Cultures Alive: Archives and Indigenous Human Rights,
Springer, Dordrecht Netherlands, (edited with S. McKemmish,
L. Russell, L. Iacovino)
•
J. Debeljak, Transnational Crime and Human Rights:
Responses to Human Trafficking in the Greater Mekong
Subregion (Routledge, 2012) (with Susan Kneebone)
•
P. Gerber, Contemporary Perspectives on Human Rights Law
in Australia (2012) Thomson Reuters (with Melissa Castan)
•
S. Gray, Criminal Laws, Northern Territory, 2nd edition,
Federation Press, 2012 (co-written with Justice Jenny
Blokland, Northern Territory Supreme Court).
•
S. Kneebone and J. Debeljak, Transnational Crime and Human
Rights: Responses to Human Trafficking in the Greater Mekong
Subregion (Routledge, April 2012)
Journal Articles
•
H. Askola, ‘Tale of two citizenships? Citizenship, migration and
care in the European Union’, Social and Legal Studies [P], vol
21, issue 3, Sage Publications Ltd, UK, pp. 341-356. 2012
•
M. Castan, ‘Editors’ introduction to Keeping cultures alive:
Archives and Indigenous human rights’ (2012) 12(2) Archival
Science 93-111. (with S McKemmish, L Iacovino, L Russell)
•
M. Castan, Lawyers’ Conduct and Social Media: Tips and
Traps, (with O. Litaba) (2012) issue 110 Precedent 1.
•
M. Castan and J. Debeljak, ‘Indigenous Peoples’ Human
Rights and the Victorian Charter: a Framework for Reorienting
Recordkeeping and Archival Practice’ (2012) 12 Archival
Science 213-234 (Published online, December 2011, DOI
10.1007/s10502-011-9164-z)) (ERA A+)
•
S. Joseph, ‘Protracted Lawfare: the tale of Chevron Texaco
in the Amazon’ (2012) 3 Journal of Human Rights and the
Environment 70-91
•
S. Joseph, ‘Social Media, Political Change and Human Rights’
(2012) 35 Boston College International & Comparative Law
Review 145-188
Book Chapters
•
M. Castan, ‘The Current Human Rights Landscape’ Chapter 1
in P. Gerber & M. Castan (eds) Contemporary Perspectives on
Human Rights Law in Australia (2013) Thomson Reuters (with)
P. Gerber
•
M. Castan, ‘The High Court and Human Rights: Contemporary
Approaches’ Chapter 4 in P. Gerber & M. Castan (eds)
Contemporary Perspectives on Human Rights Law in Australia
(2013) Thomson Reuters (with P. Gerber)
•
J. Debeljak, ‘Does Australia Need a Bill of Rights?’ in Paula
Gerber and Melissa Castan (eds), Contemporary Human
Rights Issues in Australia (Thomson Reuters, November 2012)
•
J. Debeljak, ‘Human Rights Instruments: Human Rights
Regimes in Australia’ in Paula Gerber and Melissa Castan
(eds), Contemporary Human Rights Issues in Australia
(Thomson Reuters, 2012, forthcoming/in press)
•
S. Kneebone, ‘Introduction: Migrant Workers Between States:
In Search of Exit and Integration Strategies in South East Asia’
(2012) 40 Asian Journal of Social Sciences 376-391
•
D. Lindsay, ‘Broadcast Regulation in the Broadband
Era: Licensing and Content Regulation’ (2012) 62(3)
Telecommunications Journal of Australia 43.1-43.29.
•
M. O’Sullivan, Acting the part: can non-state entities provide
protection under international refugee law?, International
Journal of Refugee Law [P], vol 24, issue 1, Oxford University
Press, Oxford UK, pp. 85-110, 2012
•
S. Kneebone, “Law, Governance and Regulation of the Intraregional Labour Migration in South East Asia: An Agenda for
Protection and Development”, ARC Linkage Grant ($170,000),
2009-ongoing
•
S. Kneebone, “Delivering Effective Protection to Victims and
Prevention of Human Trafficking in the Greater Mekong SubRegion”, ARC Linkage Grant, ($150,000), 2009-ongoing
•
A. McBeth, Monash-Oxfam Partnership, “Community-driven
accountability: steering multi-level accountability systems from
the ground up,” Cambodia-based research project, with S
Marshall (Monash BusEco), K Macdonald (Melbourne Arts),
P Taylor McKeown and M Simon (both Oxfam), $298,754 in
funding, 2012-14.
Grants Awarded
•
A. McBeth, Monash-Oxfam Partnership, “Community-driven
accountability: steering multi-level accountability systems from
the ground up,” Cambodia-based research project, with S
Marshall (Monash BusEco), K Macdonald (Melbourne Arts),
P Taylor McKeown and M Simon (both Oxfam), $298,754 in
funding, 2012-14.
Research Consultancies
•
S. Joseph, Oxford University Press, Oxford Reports in
International Law, headnotes and commentary for all decisions
of UN Human Rights treaty monitoring bodies, $100,000+,
ongoing
•
S. Joseph and A. Fletcher, Research into rates of
imprisonment, focusing on vulnerable groups including
Indigenous Australians, youth and those with a cognitive
disability, and current analysis of utilisation of alternative
sentencing options, Attorney-General’s Grants to Australian
Organisations Program $26,507.50 (2011-2012)
•
P. Gerber, ‘Best Practice in school-based human rights
education’ Commonwelath Attorney General’s Department
($8,300)
•
B. Naylor, C. Trotter, R. Sheehan and C. Flynn, Women
Exiting Prison In Victoria: A Post-Release Study 2011-2013
Department of Justice (Victoria) 2011-2013 $249,560
Ongoing Grants
•
G. Boas, International Criminal Justice: Law, Policy and its
Relevance to Australia’s security, with W. Schabas and M.
Scharf (Monash University 2010-2013) (ARC 2010-2014)
•
G. Boas, Sole Chief Investigator on ARC Discovery Project
Grant: ‘International Criminal Justice: Law, Policy and its
Relevance to Australia’s security’ ($176,000), 2010-2012
•
G. Boas, recipient of Monash Research Accelerator
Programme Grant entitled ‘Dealing with war criminals within
Australia’, ($110,000) 2011-2012
•
J. Debeljak, ARC Linkage Grant, entitled Applying Human
Rights Legislation In Closed Environments: A Strategic
Framework For Managing Compliance, with fellow Chief
Investigators Dr Bronwyn Naylor, Prof Arie Freiberg, Dr
Inez Dussuyer, and Dr Stuart Thomas and six collaborating
organisations: Commonwealth Ombudsman, Ombudsman
Victoria, Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights
Commission, Office of the Public Advocate, Office of the
Inspector of Custodial Services (WA), Office of Police Integrity,
$587,803, consisting of $323,803 cash ($188,803 cash
from the ARC and $135,000 cash from the Collaborating
Organisations) and $264,000 in-kind, which runs from 2008
to 2012
•
•
P. Emerton, recipient of Monash Research Accelerator
Programme Grant for project titled ‘Understanding collective
political agency: a non-liberal account of national selfdetermination’ ($90,000), 2011-2012
P. Emerton, (with J. Goldsworthy and D. Smith), A Principled
Theory of Legal Interpretation’, ARC Discovery Grant,
$216,000, 2010-2012
•
P. Emerton, recipient of Monash Research Accelerator
Programme Grant for project titled ‘Understanding collective
political agency: a non-liberal account of national selfdetermination’ ($90,000), 2011-2012
•
P. Gerber, Recipient of Monash Research Accelerator
Programme Grant, ($110,000), 2011-2012
•
S. Kneebone, ARC Linkage Grant, entitled Delivering Effective
Protection to Victims and Prevention of Human Trafficking in
the Greater Mekong Sub-Region ($150,000) which runs from
2009-2012
Conference Papers and Public Talks
•
M. Castan, ‘Interconnectedness, multiplexity and the global
student: Using blogging and micro blogging to open students’
horizons, Australian Law Teachers Association Conference 2
July 2012, (with Kate Galloway and Kristoffer Greaves)
•
M. Castan, ‘Interconnectedness, multiplexity and the global
legal landscape: Using social media to open our academic
horizons, University of Sydney, 2 November 2012
•
P. Gerber, ‘10 things you should know about the new Optional
Protocol’ Symposium on the Recent developments concerning
the Convention on the Rights of the Child, 24 April 2012
•
S. Joseph, ‘Superannuation Funds and Human Rights: Risks
and Consequences’, AIST Fund Governance Symposium
2012, Hilton, Melbourne, 24 October 2012
•
S. Joseph, Paper to ANU, ‘Mainstream Media Coverage of
Universal Periodic Review’, 13 December 2012
•
S. Kneebone, Paper to International Symposium on Human
Trafficking - Joint Collaboration between Universitas
Padjadjaran and Monash University Australia, on The Overlap
between Human Trafficking and Recruitment of Migrant
Workers, 25 September 2012
•
A. McBeth, ‘Shock’, The Passions of International Law
Symposium, Melbourne Law School, 13-15 September 2012
•
B. Naylor, presentation ‘Reforming homicide defences and
introducing defensive homicide’’ - Domestic Violence Resource
Centre Roundtable, May 2012
•
M. O’Sullivan ‘Third Country Processing and The ‘Malaysian
Solution’ - Lessons from Australia’, Conference Paper
presented at the Canadian Association for Refugee and Forced
Migration Studies, York University, Toronto, 16 May 2012
•
M. O’Sullivan ‘Prioritising Resettlement and
Penalising‘Unlawful’ arrivals’, Refugee Studies Centre 30th
Anniversary Understanding Global Refugee Policy, University of
Oxford, 5-6 December 2012.
•
T. Penovic, ‘Implementing Human Rights in immigration
detention facilities’ at ‘Implementing Human Rights in Closed
Environments 2012 Conference’ 21 February 2012
6. Teaching and Supervision
Monash University operates the longest-running Masters course
in Australia devoted to human rights law, in addition to its rich
offerings in the area at the undergraduate level. Since the
establishment of the Castan Centre in 2000, student interest
in human rights has markedly increased. At the same time, the
number of human rights academics employed in the Monash Law
Faculty has continued to grow, allowing the Faculty to increase the
range of units on offer.
In 2012 the following units were offered.
Postgraduate Units
5. Human Rights Training Consultancies
The Centre conducts short courses and training programs,
predominantly for Australian and international government officials.
In 2012 it conducted the following programs:
•
Training of delegates from the Iraqi Ministry of Human (February
2012) (A. McBeth, T. Penovic, R. Sifris, and M. Smith)
•
Training of delegates from the Iraqi Ministry of Human Rights
(December 2012) (A. McBeth, J. Kyriakakis, and M. Smith)
•
Comparative Bills of Rights, A. Ward
•
Forced Migration and Human Rights, S. Kneebone
•
Genocide in international law, W. Schabas
•
Health Law and Human Rights, I. Freckleton
•
International covenant on civil and political rights, S. Joseph
•
International Criminal Justice, G. Boas
•
International human rights law and development, R. Atuguba
•
International Humanitarian Law, G. Boas
•
International Human Rights Law and Women, K. Eastman
•
Overview of international human rights law, (offered twice each
year), J. Debeljak and K. Eastman
•
Protecting the Rights of Minorities, Marginalised and Vulnerable
People, P. Gerber
•
Terrorism and Human Rights, S. Joseph
Undergraduate
•
Advance Professional Practice (Human Rights), A. Evans
(Semester 1) and R. Hyams (Semester 2)
•
Human Rights in Australian Law, T. Penovic
•
Indigenous Peoples and the Law, S. Gray
•
International Criminal Law, J. Kyriakakis
•
International Human Rights Law, A. McBeth
•
International Refugee Law and Practice, M. O’Sullivan
•
International criminal law, J. Kyriakakis
•
International human rights, H. Askola (Prato program)
•
International laws of armed conflict, G. Boas
•
Law and discrimination, C. Campbell
•
Law, Gender and Feminism, F. Hum
•
Law and Social Theory, P. Emerton
PhD, SJD and LLM Major Thesis Completions
In addition to formal teaching, Centre academics supervise
postgraduate students undertaking their degree by research.
Students may undertake a LLM by research instead of coursework.
At the doctoral level, candidates have two options: the SJD, for
which students must complete four postgraduate subjects and
write a 50,000 word thesis, and the PhD, for which students must
complete a 100,000 word thesis.
Research students generally develop outstanding levels of
knowledge in their chosen field and often progress to academia,
or work in fields related to their study. For these reasons, we
consider nurturing research students to be a vital contribution to
human rights scholarship and practice. Candidates for the various
research degrees in 2012 were:
•
Len O’Neill, Anarchism and the Liberal Criminal Justice
System, (P. Emerton)
•
Maria O’Sullivan, The ‘ceased circumstances’ clause under
Article 1C(5) of the 1951 Refugees Convention (S. Kneebone)
•
Natalie Stroud, The Koori Court of Victoria: An answer to
cultural and language disadvantage for indigenous offenders in
the criminal justice system? (M. Castan with K. Burridge)
•
Sue Teppendon, Neo-liberalist doctrine of individual rights
(P. Emerton)
•
Noel Villaroman, The intersection of the human right to religious
freedom and planning laws Building God’s Temple: Planning
Regulations, Places of Worship and Religious Freedom in
Australia (P. Gerber)
•
Yee-Fui, The relevance for constitutional and administrative
law and theory of the increasing influence of the media and
ministerial advisers on the contemporary executive government
(P. Emerton with H. Lee)
PhD
•
Olivia Ball, All the way to the UN: Is petitioning a UN human
rights treaty-body worthwhile? (P. Gerber)
•
Bronwyn Bartal, Rights of the pregnant woman and the role
of the ‘born alive’ rule in the maintentance of those rights (B.
Naylor)
SJD
•
Caroline Aebersold, Investment Law and Human Rights Law
(S. Joseph)
•
Lyn Coulson Barr, Conciliation and disability: Assessing
capacity and adapting processes to promote participation of
people with cognitive impairments in statutory conciliation
(B. Naylor)
Azadeh Dastyari, A study of US asylum law (A. McBeth with P.
Emerton and S. Kneebone)
•
Mark Gumbleton, Towards the Abolition of the Doctrine of
Extended Common Purpose (S. Gray)
•
Sina Etezazian, Ambiguities regarding the prerequisites for the
exercise of self-defence (G. Boas)
•
Melba Kapesa, Business and human rights: the future of
corporate accountability (A. McBeth)
•
Paula Arias Fernandez, New Refugee Groups Settling in
Australia, (S. Kneebone with C. Flynn)
•
•
Rod Hagen, Unregistered and Invisible: An Examination of
Indigenous Birth Certification and Registration in Australia
(M. Castan with L. Russell)
Elizabeth King, From Milosevic to Guantanamo Bay, an
examination of the construction of the due process norm in the
enforcement of International Humanitarian Law (G. Boas)
•
Phuong Thi Tue Hoang, ‘Trafficking in and from Vietnam’
(S. Kneebone)
Lisa Lee, Women, war and gender-based violence: Protections
in international humanitarian law and prosecutions in
international criminal justice (G. Boas)
•
Mel Keenan, The western legal response to sorcery in colonial
Papua New Guinea, (M. Castan with G. Powles)
Mark Morley, International law, Islamic jurisprudence and the
Constitution of Pakistan (S. Joseph)
•
Brendan Loizou, Aboriginal People & Access to Justice: Are
their rights being protected? (M. Castan with L. Russell)
Athena Nguyen, United States Peacekeepers and Sexual
Exploitation (S. Kneebone and S. Joseph)
•
Samantha Renwick, Sentencing defensive homicide,
(B. Naylor with J. Clough)
•
Robin Smith, Finding the State’s Soul: Determining a State’s
Genocidal Intent (G. Boas)
•
Aderajew Teshome, Ethiopia’s Response to Human Trafficking:
Towards Effective Criminalisation and Protection (S. Kneebone)
•
Nicola Walker, The Australian Human Rights Framework - How
Effective can it be in Protecting Human Rights? (J. Debeljak)
•
Narumon Changboonmee, The role of human rights to protect
children on the move to Thailand (S. Kneebone)
•
Judith Courtin, Mediation and Child Sexual Assault Perpetrated
by Catholic Clergy: A Procedurally Just Process or a Panacea?
(B. Naylor)
•
•
•
•
•
Anita MacKay, Comparison of two theoretical frameworks for
prison operation – restorative justice and human rights
(B. Naylor with J. Debeljak)
•
Fiona McKay, An Investigation of the Influences of Attitudes
and Opinions towards Asylum Seekers and Refugees in
Australia (S. Thomas and S. Kneebone)
•
Reyvi Marinas, Hannah Arendt’s contribution to thinking about
non-citizens in law and politics (S. Kneebone and M. Janover)
•
Jayani Nadarajalingham, Theorising collective resistance
(P. Emerton with D. Smith and T. Handfield)
•
Katie O’Bryan, A comparative egal analysis of the rights of
Indigenous communities in Australia and other common law
countries such as Canada, New Zealand and the USA to
manage water, including an analysis of the international legal
framework in which they exist (M. Castan with D. Yarrow)
Honours
•
David Barda, Judicial Direction in Sexual Offences Cases (B.
Naylor)
•
Alainnah Calabro, To what extent do the legal frameworks
surrounding birth registration act as a barrier to Indigenous
Australians? (M. Castan)
•
Fiona Crock, How effective is the use of concurrent evidence in
construction law dispute resolution? (P. Gerber)
7. Indigenous Programs
•
Cameron Grant, The responsibility to protect and the
authoriation of United Nations Member States ‘to take all
necessary measures’ against Libya under United Nations
Security Council Resolution 1973 (G. Boas)
Since 2004, the Castan Centre has been involved with the Aurora
Project. Initially established to implement the recommendations
of Castan Centre Deputy Director Melissa Castan and Mr Richard
Potok regarding capacity building at Native Title Representative
Bodies, the Project has since expanded significantly.
•
Elisabeth Howard, A global perspective: the relevance of
international law and foreign jurisdiction decisions to Australian
domestic courts (A. McBeth)
•
Laura John, Breaking the people smugglers’ business model
(S. Kneebone)
•
Ryan Kornhauser, Examining the relationship between beliefs
about economic opportunities and attitudes to the poor and
punitiveness (B. Naylor with K. Gelb)
•
Colette Mintz, What can Australia learn from international
experiences in constitutional recognition of indigenous
peoples? (M. Castan)
•
Melissa Molloy, Public perception of the Victorian Supreme
Court - the constitutional validity of dialogue model human
rights Acts in State jurisdictions (J. Debeljak)
•
Anne Poulos, Equality non-discrimination and the best interests
of the child - same-sex marriage and the Convention on the
Rights of the Child (P. Gerber)
•
Melody Stanford, Analyse the compatibility of the UNHCR’s
operations in the Asia-Pacific with its mandate, most
particularly its objectives as defined under the 1951 Refugee
Convention and the 1967 Protocol and the Indochinese
Comprehensive Plan of Action (CPA) of 1989… (A. Dastyari)
Masters by Research
•
David Barda, Campaign Finance Reform in Australia and the
US (M. Castan)
•
Brian Cantwell, Has Australia successfully incorporated the
human rights principles of equality and discrimination into
Australian Law, in particular in relation to Australia’s indigenous
population? Or is the status of indigenous Australians suffering
as a result of inadequate protection of vulnerable Australians
under Australian Law. Discuss (M. Castan)
•
Tal Shmerling, What lessons can be learned from the Canadian
protection of Indigenous rights for the Australian process of
Indigenous Constitutional recognition? (M. Castan)
In addition to the capacity building work, the project, which is
operated in conjunction with Aurora Projects and Programs,
includes other features such as assistance with recruitment, the
operation of a large-scale internship program and a handbook on
postgraduate scholarship opportunities for Indigenous students.
The project is funded predominantly by the Commonwealth
government.
The Aurora Native Title Internship Program has had outstanding
results since the inception of the Program through to the summer
2012/13 round, having arranged 1,130 internship placements
(780 legal, 175 anthropology, 172 other social science and three
business) at 83 host organisations, including 15 NTRBs and 68
organisations working in land rights, policy development, social
justice and human rights - all with an Indigenous focus. Ninety
one of the placements so far have been undertaken by Monash
University students and graduates (57 legal, 19 anthropology and
15 other social science). Research shows that twenty percent of
these interns end up working in full-time, part-time or contract
positions in Indigenous Affairs after completing their degrees.
The Indigenous Students’ Guide to postgraduate scholarships
in Australia and overseas, and a similar undergraduate guide, list
opportunities in a wide range of disciplines, including architecture,
the arts, business, education, engineering, government, health,
humanities, information technology and law.
Our People
The Castan Centre sits within the Law Faculty at Monash University.
The Centre is governed by the Director and five Deputy Directors,
who are all senior Faculty members with teaching and research
expertise in human rights. Centre Associates are Faculty members
who are recognised for their role in assisting the Centre. Day to day
operations are carried out by the Director and the administrative
staff.
Director
Prof. Sarah Joseph Director
(teaching in Prato from 10 April to 25 May)
Elizabeth Evatt, former member, UN Human Rights Committee;
Chair of Board for Public Interest Advocacy Centre, Sydney
Professor Claudio Grossman, Chair, UN Committee against Torture
(also Dean, Washington College of Law, American University)
The Hon Judge Felicity Hampel, County Court of Victoria
Professor Christof Heyns, UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial,
summary or arbitrary executions, University of Pretoria, South Africa
Professor Ivan Shearer, former member, UN Human Rights
Committee; Emeritus Professor, University of Sydney
Ms Melissa Castan (OSP first semester)
Judge Christie Weeramantry, retired, International Court of Justice,
founder, Weeramantry International Centre for Peace, Education
and Research, Sri Lanka
Dr Julie Debeljak (Acting Director from 22 March to 8 June)
Members
Deputy Directors
Dr Paula Gerber (Acting Director from 6 to 26 June)
Dr Adam McBeth
3419 as at 31 December 2012.
Funding
The Centre received its funding from the following sources in 2012:
Ms Tania Penovic (OSP first semester)
•
Consultancies and research: 26%
Associates (Faculty staff)
•
Monash University 15%
•
Sponsorship and events: 34%
•
Foundations 11%
•
Individuals 14%
Dr Heli Askola
Dr Gideon Boas
Ms Azadeh Dastyari
Dr Patrick Emerton
Dr Stephen Gray
Dr Joanna Kyriakakis
Ms Maria O’Sullivan (OSP first and second semesters)
Ms Ronli Sifris
Associates (external)
Dr David Yarrow
Chris Sidoti
Awards
P. Gerber, Monash Law Faculty Dean’s Award for Excellence in
Innovation and External Collaboration (2012) ($2,000)
P. Gerber, LexisNexis Centenary Book Award, Finalist, (2012)
[Winner selected in Aug 2013]
Administrative Staff
Marius Smith – Manager
Adam Fletcher – Manager, Accountability Project
Andre Dao – Project Officer
Janice Hugo – Administrator
Patron-in-Chief
Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce AC, Governor-General of the
Commonwealth of Australia
Patron
The Hon Michael Kirby AC CMG
Academic Advisory Board
Professor Philip Alston, New York University School of Law
Patrick Dodson, Lingiari Foundation Inc
Thirteen percent of total funding is derived from one consultancy
project – The Aurora Project – which is due to complete in 2012.
The Centre must replace this income and plans to do so through
a combination of new consulting work, increased donations and
sponsorship and income from fundraising events.
Our Supporters
Benefactors ($25,000 or more per year)
The Helen and Bori Liberman Family
Monash University Faculty of Law
Guardians ($10,000 or more per year)
Daniel and Danielle Besen
Clayton Utz
The Alan and Elizabeth Finkel Foundation
Peter Hanks
Holding Redlich
Michael and Sylvia Kantor
Monash University Office of the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Education)
Nordia Foundation
Champions ($5000 or more per year)
Julian Burnside QC
Fiona Geminder – Pratt Foundation
George and Freda Castan Families Charitable Foundation
Believers ($2500 or more per year)
The Castan Family
Corrs Westgarth Lawyers
The Hon. Michael Kirby AC CMG
Sam Shmith
Victoria Legal Aid
Enthusiasts ($1000 or more per year)
Nellie Castan – Nellie Castan Gallery
Bill Classon - Australian Fishing Network
Dever’s List
Pia du Pradal
Will Fowles – Piper Capital
Evonne Goolagong Cawley
Sarah Hinchey
Justitia
Thomas Kane
David and Professor Robert Manne
National Australia Bank
Professor Keith Nugent - The Australian Synchrotron
Margaret Rappolt
Jen Robinson
The Hon. Kevin Rudd MP
Liberty Sanger
Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission
Williams Winters Lawyers
Anonymous
Friends ($500 or more per year)
Alan Missen Foundation
Australian Communities Foundation
David Collins - Meredith Music Festival & Golden Plains
Damian Crock - Picture This Ballooning
James Hains - Telstra
David Laidlaw
Fiona McLeod
Joel Townsend
Minter Ellison Lawyers
Oxfam Australia-Monash University Partnership
Justice Peter Vickery – Martha Cove Vineyard
Andrew Volard - Telstra
Anonymous
Anonymous
Supporting Members ($100 or more per year)
Alternative Law Journal
Damian Abrahams
Ameet Bains - Saint Kilda Football Club
David Bardas
Callum Barry-Murphy – Beerboys.com.au
Nick Bowden - Run Ready
Caterina Borsato – Caterina’s Cutina e Bar
Deborah Candy
Vernon Chalker – Gin Palace
Georgia Chapman - Vixen
Susan Cohen
Anna Forsyth
Brendan Gale - Richmond Football Club
Alan Goldberg
Rachel Grau
Justice Peter Gray
James Gorton SC
Anthony and Andie Halas – SeaFolly Sydney
Nathan Harris
Michael Heaton QC
Liz Hughes
David Hummerson
Daniel Khoury
Michael Lambie and Scott Borg – The Smith
Louise Laskey
Peter and Avril McGrath
James McPherson - Three Palms Sorrento
Deborah Mailman
Salvatore Malatesta – Sensory Lab
Andrew Marlton - First Dog on the Moon
Charles Moffat
Justice Marcia Neave
Chris Nathan
Anthony O’Donoghue
Mark Osborne
David Parsons
Sue Pennicuik MLC
Martin Pirc – Punch Lane
Melanie Sloss SC
Ben Schokman
Dr Jennifer Strauss
Josef Szwarc
Pamela Tate
Evan Thornley - Betterplace
Meredith Thompson – Freedman & Turner Travel Associates
Paul Wand
Anne Warner
Senator Penny Wright
Anonymous (12)
Further information
Faculty of Law
Building 12, Clayton Campus
Monash University, VIC 3800
Telephone: +61 3 9905 3327
+61 3 9905 5305
Email: castan.centre@monash.edu
Fax:
facebook.com/TheCastanCentre
twitter.com/CastanCentre
www.law.monash.edu