Patrick on ‘A la carte spirituality and the future of freedom of religion’

Dr Jeremy Patrick, a Lecturer in the USQ School of Law and Justice, has published a paper in a new edited collection.  The title of the paper is 'A la carte spirituality and the future of freedom of religion' and it appears in Paul Babie, Neville Rochow, and Brett Scharffs (eds), Freedom of Religion or Belief: Creating the Constitutional Space for Fundamental Freedoms (Elgar, 2020).  Here is the abstract:

"Although institutional religion continues on, there has been a dramatic increase in the past 20 years in those who describe themselves as ‘spiritual but not religious’. The common trait among so-called SBNRs is that they take an individualistic approach to religion: picking and choosing particular beliefs from a wide variety of religious traditions and then adding in, on an a la carte basis, notions from what may be derided by many as folklore, pseudoscience, the New Age smorgasbord or personal intuition. The rise of this ‘new spirituality’ presents challenges for the traditional application of religious freedom principles in liberal democracies which were developed in the context of institutional, hierarchical and formalized religious affiliations. This paper examples doctrinal freedom of religion principles in Australia, Canada and the United States and discusses how ‘freedom of religion’ must evolve to protect spiritual beliefs that are personal and idiosyncratic."

McKibbin Reviews "Commercial Issues in Private International Law"

Dr Sarah McKibbin of the USQ School of Law and Justice has published a review o

f Commercial Issues in Private International Law (Michael Douglas, Vivienne Bath, Mary Keyes and Andrew Dickinson, eds.) (Hart Publishing, 2019).  The review appears in Volume 39(1) of the University of Queensland Law Journal.

Sundra-Karean on 'Judicial Power in Transplanted Common Law Jurisdictions: Malaysia's Continuing Struggle - One Step Forward, Two Steps Back'

Dr Vanitha Sundra-Karean, a Senior Lecturer in the USQ School of Law and Justice, has published a new article in the April 2020 issue of the prestigious journal Public Law.  The article is 'Judicial Power in Transplanted Common Law Jurisdictions: Malaysia's Continuing Struggle - One Step Forward,

Two Steps Back'.

Gray on "Strict Liability in the Law of Defamation"

Professor Anthony Gray of the USQ School of Law and Justice has published a new article titled "Strict Liability in the Law of Defamation."  The article appears in volume 27(2) of the Tort Law Review.  Here is the abstract:

"The Standing Committee of Attorneys-General is currently considering substantial reform to Australia’s existing defamation laws. In earlier articles, I have suggested reform is required in relation to the multiple publication rule, and in relation to the liability of tech companies in relation to defamation. In this article, a more radical change is suggested. Defamation is traditionally a tort of strict liability, not requiring proof of fault on the defendant’s part. Strict liability has a rich history in the law of tort, but has progressively become more isolated, as fault-based negligence has become more dominant. While strict liability made sense historically, in terms of the goals of the law of tort, its rationales have weakened over time as the tort landscape has changed. Defamation law has sought to accommodate, to some extent, fault-based questions through the use of convoluted defences. It is argued here that it would be simpler to define the tort in terms of fault in a reformed law of defamation, rather than introduce it through the back door of defences to a tort of ostensible strictness. American law provides a partial, but not complete, guide in this process."