Three PLPRU members, Peter Burdon, Alex Reilly and Anna Olijnyk, have contributed to a new book to be published by Federation Press later this month. Federation Press describe The Critical Judgments Project: Re-reading Monis v The Queen (Gabrielle Appleby and Rosalind Dixon, eds):

‘This book introduces students to a number of critical legal perspectives and demonstrates how such perspectives might be used to influence and reimagine existing legal doctrines. It extends the seminal Feminist Judgments Project and adapts it specifically for the purpose of teaching critical legal thinking. Each chapter provides extracts and commentary on the prominent thinkers within the critical discipline before a leading critical scholar rewrites the judgment in the famous 2013 decision of the High Court of Australia, Monis v The Queen, informed and reimagined through this perspective.’

In Monis, the Court split 3:3 on the question of whether a law prohibiting the ‘offensive’ use of a postal service breached the implied freedom of political communication. The Critical Judgments Project provides 13 ‘judgments’ from a notional seventh judge, each written from a different critical perspective. Peter and Alex write their judgment from a deliberative democracy standpoint, while Anna (with Melanie Schwartz) take a restorative justice approach.