New Land Court Forms
As a result of recent changes to legislation, the President of the Land Court has issued amended Land Court Forms 2 and 10 (valuation appeals and categorisation for rating and land tax).
Land Court form 17 (withdrawal/ discontinuance) and Land Appeal Court Form 6 (withdrawal/ discontinuance) have also been amended due to procedural clarification.
The associated practice directions are Land Appeal Court 1 of 2010 and Land Court 1 of 2010.
The forms are available, along with the new practice directions, on the Land Court website: http://www.landcourt.qld.gov.au/.
If required, hard copies of the forms can also be obtained from the Land Court Registry, level 8, Brisbane Magistrates Court, 363 George Street, Brisbane.
Within the next fortnight or so, these and other Land Court and Land Appeal Court forms will be available to download from the Land Court website as amendable PDF documents and I encourage you to keep an eye on the website for this change.
Please contact the Land Court registry on telephone 3247 5193 or by email landcourt@justice.qld.gov.au if you require further information.
Among Times of Arms, the Laws Fall Mute … Not
The following footnote from the judgment delivered by Heydon J on 4 August 2010 in Aktas v Westpac Banking Corporation Limited [2010] HCA 25 :
“[48] [1940] 1 All ER 316 at 321-323 per Hilbery J. Whatever its legal merits, this decision, printed as it is on wartime paper, yellowed now by the humidity of seventy sultry Sydney summers, at least illustrates the untruth, in common law systems, of the maxim “inter arma silent leges”. There is much to admire in a legal system which, in the terrible year of 1940, ensured that one of its most senior judges devoted his energies to determining whether the dishonouring of a cheque for £2 15s 8d drawn by a credit bookmaker to settle a successful long odds bet on a horse race was actionable defamation, and deciding that the defendant should pay damages of £250 — another successful long odds bet, this time in the greater lottery of defamation litigation. Thus were traditional and fundamental cultural values, which had played so large a part in the rough island story, vindicated. Had Churchill, whose name is inextricably linked with 1940, been aware of the decision, he might have made the remark he made in another context: “It makes you feel proud to be British.”
BAQ Family Law Practice Reception – 17 August 2010
The President and Bar Association of Queensland invite all Members to attend the BAQ Family Law Practice Reception to be held in the Bar Common Room, Inns of Court on 17 August 2010. RSVP: 11 August 2010 to suzanna@qldbar.asn.au.
BAQ Mediator’s Conference – Hyatt Sanctuary Cove – 28-29 August 2010
Following on from the successful inaugural conference in 2009 the Bar Association of Queensland will again be hosting the Mediators Conference in August 2010. The Conference committee has designed a program of topical sessions which will provide insights into a variety of practical mediation issues.
Day one of the conference will commence with an interactive session facilitated by Dr Anne Purcell concentrating on key mediator skills. This will be an opportunity to hone your skills and share valuable experiences of how different techniques work in practice.
Mandatory CPD strands will be addressed in ‘Essentials of Practice Management’ by James Bell QC and ethical issues will be addressed in ‘Conï¬dentiality and Immunity for Mediators’.
Saturday will conclude with an interactive role play entertainingly demonstrating ‘do’s and don’ts’ in a medical negligence mediation.
Following feedback from last year’s conference family law mediation topics have been included for Sunday morning.
The program will also include insights into ADR from Deputy President Hack and Conference Registrar Bernadette Rogers from the AAT. We will conclude with an invigorating debate on ‘To mediate or not to mediate’ by The Hon Justice Daubney and The Hon Justice Martin of the Supreme Court of Queensland.
2010 Bar Dinner
The Annual Bar Dinner will be held on Friday, 10 September 2010 at the Brisbane Club.
Members should note that the change was necessary for a number of reasons, in particular, the proximity of the Bar Dinner to the recent Keane Dinner and the commencement of school holidays, both of which would have significantly impacted on those able to attend the event.
Subject to the timing of the High Court sittings, it is anticipated that the Dinner will return to its traditional timing in 2011.
TC Beirne School of Law – Current Legal Issues Seminar 2010
Current Legal Issues is a series of seminars which commenced last year. The series seeks to bring together leading scholars, practitioners and members of the Judiciary in Queensland and from abroad, with a view to:
⢠providing a forum for the critical analysis and discussion of current legal issues;
⢠bringing to bear upon those issues the different perspectives offered by leading members of the Academy, profession and Judiciary;
⢠forging stronger links between academic and practising lawyers in Queensland.
Each seminar will comprise a chair, speaker, and commentator. The chair will introduce the speaker and commentator. A paper will then be presented by a leading practising or academic lawyer, and will be subject to a brief, expert commentary. Subsequent debate and contributions from the floor will be facilitated by the chair. Seminar papers will be available in advance at www.law.uq.edu.au/current-legal-issues-series, a website hosted by the University of Queensland.
9 September 2010: “Aspects of the law of damages”
Speaker:Professor Sarah Derrington, University of Queensland
Commentator: Mr G.A. Thompson S.C.
Chair: The Hon. Justice Richard Chesterman RFD, Court of Appeal
14 October 2010: “Sentencing in the context of a sentencing advisory council”
Speaker: Professor Arie Freiburg AM, Monash University
Commentator: The Hon. Chief Justice Paul de Jersey AC, Chief Justice of Queensland
Chair: Mr Anthony Moynihan S.C., Director of Public Prosecutions, Queensland
Annual Bar Soccer Challenge Cup
The NSW Bar have cordially invited the Queensland Bar to become involved in the Annual Bar Challenge Cup (Soccer) which is currently played between the New South Wales and Victorian Bars, thus making it into a Tri-States Bar Cup.
The inaugural Tri-States event is to be held at Sydney University on 11 September, 2010.
Interested young (and not so young) players of the ‘beautiful game’, male and female are welcome. All that is needed is an ability to pparticipate and a sense of fun. It is also an excellent opportunity for members to meet NSW and Victorian Bar members and enhance collegiality, perhaps even improve your fitness!
So celebrate the joys of the World Game! Interested persons should contact the Convener, John Selfridge at jwselfridge@qldbar.asn.au.
Call for presenters – the 2011 Queensland Law Society professional development calendar
The Queensland Law Society’s professional development team, in collaboration with the Law Society’s Sections and Committees, are now planning a range of conferences, seminars and interactive workshops for 2011, including our flagship program for March, the 49th Annual Symposium.
Expressions of interest are sought to present on substantive topics (across a range of practice areas and levels of experience) and additionally, the suite of core subjects for solicitors, including practical legal ethics, professional skills and practice management/business skills.
To express your interest in presenting, please email a current CV, a 100-word description of your nominated topic, plus preferred presentation format to the Manager of Professional Development, Holly Bretherton, (h.bretherton@qls.com.au), or alternatively, give Holly a call to discuss on (07) 3842 5905.
The Australian Bar Association Conference – Berlin – 3 to 6 July 2011
Expressions of interest are now being taken for the Australia Bar Association Conference to be held in Berlin between 3 July and 6 July 2011.
The Conference will commence in Berlin on the evening of Sunday, 3 July 2011 and conclude with a Gala Dinner on Wednesday, 6 July 2011. The Business sessions will be held at the Adlon Hotel.
The names of those interested will be placed on a Priority List to receive a registration brochure prior to any general mailout. Please send your full contact details to Dan O’Connor at the email address below or by facsimile.
Questions about registration?
Contact Dan O’Connor, ABA Conference Secretariat, Tel: (07) 3238 5100, Fax: (07) 3236 1180, Email mail@austbar.asn.au
Questions about travel?
Contact Ruth Carlton, World Travel Professionals, Tel: (07) 3220 2008, Fax: (07) 3220 2288, Email ruth.carlton@worldtravel.com.au
Removing the Uncertainties from Coronial Autopsies
Families have the right to object to an invasive coronial autopsy of their loved one, but whether their objection is accepted by the Coroner tends to be an arbitrary decision, Queensland University of Technology (QUT) justice expert Dr Belinda Carpenter recently said.
As part of a new study, Dr Carpenter will survey coroners to find out how they determine which objections stand. The study funded by a $140,000 Australian Research Council Linkage grant will explore how coroners, police, counsellors and pathologists engage with families after the shock of a sudden or violent death.
“In 2003 Queensland adopted a new system of death investigation which, for the first time, gave coroners the responsibility of determining the level of invasiveness of an autopsy,” said Dr Carpenter from QUT’s Faculty of Law.
“This included an obligation for coroners to consider family concerns about autopsy.”
There are three types of autopsies: an external viewing; a partial internal viewing with up to four dissections; and a full internal viewing with five or more dissections. Dr Carpenter said since the introduction of the legislation which allowed coroners to take into account genuine family concerns, there had been fewer invasive internal autopsies ordered. But she said in most cases these were motivated by family concern rather than religious or cultural objections.
“Comments like ‘feels mother has been through enough’ and ‘we wish to bury our son whole’ tended to be most effective in influencing less invasive autopsies to be performed,” she said. Dr Carpenter said the fact objections were rarely based on cultural or religious belief could reflect a lack of confidence and knowledge from minority groups. “What we want to do now is talk to the people who are involved in the decision-making process of a coronial autopsy to enable a more consistent and transparent approach to be established,” she said. “From a community perspective we hope it will help in providing more informed and appropriate decision-making by coroners, less invasive autopsies by pathologists, and more focused intervention by counsellors.”
Dr Carpenter said there were about 24,000 deaths in Queensland annually and around 3000 were referred to the coroner.
The four-year study is being conducted with industry partners from Queensland Health Scientific Services, Queensland Police and the Coroner’s Office. This project follows a 2004 ARC funded study which investigated the effect legislation had on determining the number and type of autopsies ordered.
The 25th Annual Calabro SV Consulting Family Law Residential – 13 and 14 August 2010
This year’s conference will focus on current trends in family law and feature separate streams for children’s and property issues as well as solicitor advocates and counsel.
Following an opening address by the Honourable Robert McClelland MP, Commonwealth Attorney-General, there will be a panel discussion on research perspectives on the 2006 Family Law Act amendments, facilitated by Lisa Backhouse, journalist, Channel Nine.
Don Fraser QC, barrister and ethics counsellor, Queensland Bar, and Alexandra Moles, senior associate, HopgoodGanim Lawyers, will take you through the legal and ethical considerations involved with clients who access their former partner’s accounts and records (including emails and facebook) without permission.
Other Residential speakers include:
⢠Judge Dale Clarkson, Family Court of New Zealand
⢠The Honourable Justice Jennifer Boland, Family Court of Australia (Sydney)
⢠Federal Magistrate Keith Slack, Federal Magistrates Court of Australia (Brisbane)
To download the full program, CLICK HERE.
Access to Justice and Pro Bono Conference – 27 & 28 August 2010
The 3rd National Access to Justice and Pro Bono Conference will take place in Brisbane on 27 and 28 August 2010. This conference will bring together lawyers, policy makers, academics and law students and will cover key issues in the area of access to justice including the case for funding the legal assistance sector, identification of gaps in legal need and improving coordination across the sector.
Sessions will be in four streams, criminal justice, pro bono, civil and family law, and topics will include:
- Legal Aid funding — why is it important to the criminal justice system?
- Achieving focus and depth — building unique and innovative pro-bono models
- Issues arising from the Moynihan review of the civil and criminal justice system in Queensland and the Law Reform Commission proposals
- Barriers to criminal justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
- Pro bono in the Asia Pacific region
- Child protection
- Coordinating the legal response to natural disasters
The conference will feature many prominent local, national and international speakers such as:
- The Hon Robert McClelland, Commonwealth Attorney-General
- Glenn Ferguson, President, Law Council of Australia
- Esther Lardent, President and Chief Executive Officer, US Pro Bono Institute
For more information and to register, please visit www.a2j10.com.au
Voiceless 2010 Animal Law Lecture Series
Joyce Tischler, Co-founder and General Counsel for the US Animal Legal Defense Fund, is the guest speaker at the fourth Voiceless Animal Lecture Series which will take place at various venues across Australia in August 2010. Ms Tischler will be speaking at three events in Queensland, including a legal professional seminar at Allens Arthur Robinson, (where Graeme Page SC will deliver a guest lecture), and lectures at Griffith and Bond Law Schools.
Voiceless is an independent non-profit think tank dedicated to alleviating the suffering of animals in Australia.
For further details please visit http://www.voiceless.org.au/lecture
Lawyers win QUT Outstanding Alumni Awards
Two lawyers won Queensland University of Technology Outstanding Alumni Awards at a special ceremony held in Brisbane on 28 July 2010, in recognition of their exceptional achievements.
Jacqui Payne was named the Faculty of Law Outstanding Alumni Award winner and Anthony Smare earned the Outstanding Young Alumnus Award.
Ms Payne has achieved a number of firsts in her career. In 1986 she became the first Indigenous Australian to achieve the distinction of admittance as a solicitor in Queensland. A decade later she was the only woman in Queensland to have established her own highly successful criminal law firm. She is also Queensland’s first Indigenous magistrate, presiding in both the Brisbane Magistrates Court and the Murri Court. Following graduation from QIT with a Bachelor of Laws in the early 1980s, Ms Payne completed her articled clerkship with Brisbane commercial law firm Power and Power. Until the early 1990s, she worked with the ATSI Corporation Legal Service. She also worked for 14 years in criminal defence prior to her appointment as a magistrate in 1999. During her magisterial career Ms Payne has presided over a number of high profile cases including the 2007 Dr Haneef case. She has also had a positive impact on working conditions for women in the legal profession in Queensland.
Meanwhile, Mr Smare is one of Papua New Guinea’s leading lawyers and company directors. After completing his QUT Bachelor of Applied Science (Geology)/Bachelor of Laws dual degree in 1998, Mr Smare joined law firm Allens Arthur Robinson, first in Melbourne and then in Port Morsby, where he was named a partner at the age of 31. He left legal practice in 2005 and is now director of a wide range of organisations in PNG, including national telco Telikom, mining regulator PNG Mineral Resources Authority, mobile telco Bemobile, microfinance bank Nationwide Microbank and retail conglomerate City Pharmacy. Mr Smare helped lead the expansion of the world’s largest gold miner, Barrick Gold, in PNG and is director and general manager of corporate and legal for the company’s PNG subsidiaries. Mr Smare is also executive trustee of the PNG Halivim Wantok Disaster Fund which raises funds for disaster relief and restoration projects and has plans for more projects to help others in PNG.
5th ABA Residential Advanced Trial Advocacy Course – 17 to 21 January 2011
Registration for the fifth ABA Residential Advanced Trial Advocacy Course to be held in Melbourne from 17 to 21 January 2011 is now open. Places in the course are limited to people with seniority of at least two years at the private Bar. The coaching faculty will comprise top senior Australian and international barristers, judges and performance coaches.
The course provides an opportunity for members to develop their advocacy skills by preparing a case and experimenting with a number of styles of performance to see which is the most effective for that advocate on that occasion.
For more information please contact Chris D’Aeth, ph. (02) 9229 1712 or email cdaeth@nswbar.asn.au.
17th Commonwealth Law Conference, Hyderabad, India – 5-9 February 2011
The 17th Commonwealth Law Conference ‘Emerging Economies & the Rule of Law – Opportunities and Challenges’ will take place at Hyderabad, India, from 5 to 9 February 2011.
The Commonwealth Law Conference (CLC) is a prestigious event that brings together legal practitioners from all over the Commonwealth to debate current issues affecting practice and the profession, exchange views and experiences with colleagues and get up to date with the latest commercial products and services.
Programme streams will focus on:
⢠Human Rights & The Rule of Law
⢠Corporate & Commercial Law
⢠Legal & Judicial Profession
⢠Contemporary Legal Topics
For more information, visit www.commonwealthlaw2011.org
No doubt the only shady thing about this firm is its spelling (“enquries”)!
