In overturning the convictions of Peter Ellis, the Supreme Court showed Māori tikanga has a place in New Zealand’s common law. The lower courts and the law schools now need to make it work.
Academic rigor, journalistic flair
Articles on Courts
Displaying 1 - 20 of 105 articles
Centuries ago, women could “plead the belly” - argue they were pregnant to avoid the death penalty. It gave rise to the female jurors in Australian courtrooms.
Expert opinion is necessary as part of the justice system – but nobody is asking if the experts are fit for the task and if their evidence is reliable.
The WikiLeaks founder has been granted leave to appeal the order to extradite him to the US. What happens now?
Lehrmann gave evidence in his case against Channel 10, but exercised his right to silence during the 2022 criminal trial. It shows the unfairness
Just days before Justice Michael Lee was due to pass down his judgment, Network 10 threw another spanner in the works.
Appointing individuals who may have links to the party in power is not necessarily troublesome, as long as the process emphasizes legal knowledge and fairness, and not partisan considerations.
Until the justice system reckons with its systemic racism, pre-sentencing reports will fail to shift the way the courts see Black offenders.
A recent Federal Court of Appeal decision opens the door for more climate cases to be brought before the courts. Will they answer the call?
Can we avoid dangerous climate change by taking government to court?
If passed, B.C.’s Bill 45 will trample over the constitutional rights of unhoused people by ignoring shelter barriers, Indigenous rights and the need for daytime shelter
David McBride helped bring about a reckoning with the Australian Defence Force, but came at a legal cost. Will it stop others coming forward?
Court decisions based on a judge’s discretion rather than the letter of the law are increasingly common. But this risks undermining some basic liberties.
The meanings we carry around in our heads seem so natural and inborn that we fail to realise other people can have quite different understandings.
Pseudolaw looks a bit like law. It uses legal texts and sounds like something a lawyer might say. But it does not follow normal legal rules. So where did it come from, and why it is so worrisome?
A critical race theory scholar explains why it’s problematic to use rap lyrics as evidence of a crime, and what some lawmakers are doing to protect artistic expression.
No matter how clean an election is, Nigerian politicians typically challenge the result.
Two very distinct legal processes are at issue in the Michael Oher case.
Two sociologists break down how cases related to plaintiffs’ beliefs and LGBTQ+ rights have fared in federal courts over several decades.
A designer opposed to same-sex marriage argued that a Colorado anti-discrimination law would effectively force her to speak against her beliefs.
Top contributors
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Emeritus Professor of Law and Criminal Justice, University of South Australia
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Professor in Media and Communication, Goldsmiths, University of London
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Associate professor, University of Technology Sydney
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Adjunct Professor, La Trobe University
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Criminal Law Researcher, Deakin University
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Arie Freiberg is a Friend of The Conversation.
Emeritus Professor of Law, Monash University
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Chancellor's Postdoctoral Research Fellow, School of Architecture, University of Technology Sydney
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Associate Professor in Law, Deakin University
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Adjunct Associate Professor, University of New England
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Professor of Journalism and Social Media, Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research, Griffith University, Griffith University
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Adjunct Fellow, T.C. Beirne School of Law, The University of Queensland
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Senior Lecturer in Social Work, University of Salford
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Professor of Criminal Law, University of Sydney
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Senior Lecturer – Criminal Law, Procedure, Digital Criminology, University of Sydney
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Academic position - Research Associate at the Centre for Resources, Energy and Environmental Law, The University of Melbourne
