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Monthly Archives: September 2012
Pensions, Federal Magistrates, and Judicial Independence
Unlike other federal judges, who are entitled a fixed, non-contributory pension, Federal Magistrates belong to a superannuation scheme. Adelaide Law School PhD Candidate Anna Olijnyk looks at the recent case of Baker v The Commonwealth, in which the Full Federal Court considered whether Federal Magistrates’ post-retirement income arrangements violated Chapter III of the Constitution. The […]
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Supporting Recognition of Indigenous Peoples in the South Australian Constitution
In May this year, South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill announced that his government was committed to formal recognition of the State’s Aboriginal peoples through amendment of the Constitution Act 1934 (SA). The government established an advisory panel to consult with the South Australian community, advise the government on the preferred form of the amendment and […]
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Reconsidering Male Circumcision
Today, Cornelia Koch and Anne Hewitt from the Adelaide Law School will present a public seminar on the regulation of circumcision in Australia and Germany. The discussion is informed by a recent decision of a German Court that the circumcision of a young Muslim boy constituted a criminal offence. The issue involves delicate questions about the right to […]
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Government Lawyers and the Public Interest: Still Relevant Today?
What is the relationship between the public interest and government lawyers? On one level, the concept pervades the very existence of government lawyers: advising and assisting government understand the limits of its powers is a function conducted in the public interest. But beyond providing one explanation for the existence of government lawyers, should the […]
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Section 117 of the Constitution and Discounted Public Transport for Students
One complaint that students studying Australian Constitutional Law will make from time to time is that the subject matter that they are studying rarely has a directly affect on their day-to-day lives (unless they are selling crayfish, constructing dams or committing war crimes). I, of course, reject that proposition and a recent trip to Sydney […]
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