Sally Layson, Author at Rule of Law Education Centre

Wisdom from Hon Sir Brennan

3 June 2022 |

Wise Words from Hon Sir Brennan Sir Gerard Brennan, the former Chief Justice who was primarily...

Tribute Judge Zahra

13 May 2022

Peter Zahra, who died this week, was much more than the NSW District Court judge who was running the embezzlement trial of Guy Sebastian’s former manager, Titus Day.

Behind the scenes Judge Zahra was one of the biggest supporters of a program that gives law and commerce students direct access to NSW courts.

The Federal Election and the Registration of Political Parties

1 April 2022

The Federal Election and the Registration of Political Parties High Court of Australia John...

LSA Conference 2022: Rule of Law and Skaf

30 March 2022

The Rule of Law Education Centre presentation to the Legal Studies Association Annual Conference...

Complacent Democracy: Chipping away at the Rule of Law

17 March 2022

Chipping away at the Rule of Law There will be many lessons from the war in Ukraine, some of which...

International Day of Women Judges

2 March 2022

International Day of Women Judges After its inception by the UN’s general assembly in April 2021,...

Australia Day- a time to celebrate

25 January 2022

Australia Day is a time to
celebrate our shared values: respect, inclusion, civility, responsibility, compassion, equality and the opportunity to have a fair go; and appreciate our democratic rights and the rule of law

Victorian Pandemic Management bill

2 November 2021

The Victorian governments latest pandemic legislation, the Public Health and Wellbeing Amendment (Pandemic Management) Bill 2021 has been the subject of some serious concern within the legal profession.

Eureka rebellion

15 October 2021

The Eureka rebellion was a defining moment in Australian history as the beginning of true representative democracy. It resulted in important reforms being put in place to limit the power government had over the people and gave people a voice in making laws and the ability to hold decision makers to account.
This page provides an audio book reading of the book, character chards, a poster and the Eureka Debate

Did Democracy die during the Pandemic?

13 October 2021

Did democracy die during the pandemic? What about accountability, government scrutiny and the role of citizens in a democracy? What happens if parliament does not sit?

What is the Role of ICAC

1 October 2021 |

ICAC was designed to expose corruption in NSW. However it has become a parallel system of justice with public hearings, no review or exoneration protocol and a court like appearance that can neither make findings of guilt or innocence, follows fair trial procedural justice and even impacts the criminal justice system. This article considers the flaws about ICAC and why its role is confused.

The Legal Position of Covid Restrictions

5 August 2021

Outlines the legal position of covid restrictions and lockdowns, the lawfulness and the restrictions on freedom on speech, border closures, police powers

Presumption of Guilt Conference

18 May 2021

Are we witnessing the death of the presumption of innocence? And does this matter?

This is the subject of the Rule of Law conference hosted by the Rule of Law Education Centre, that will examine recent challenges to this doctrine and the threat this poses to the Australian concept of a ‘fair go’.

Speakers include Ron Hoenig MP, Margaret Cunneen, Malcolm Stewart and Chris Merritt

Libertyworks and Implied Freedom of Political communication

19 March 2021

Speed and Stracey recently represented Libertyworks Inc, at the High Court to seek a declaration that the registration provisions under the FITS Act were beyond the power of the Commonwealth Parliament to enact because they contravened the implied constitutional freedom of political communication