Timoshanko on ''An Empirical Study of Lawyers’ Capability to Adapt to Disruption in Queensland, Australia’

Dr Aaron Timoshanko of the University of Southern Queensland School of Law and Justice has published a new article titled 'An Empirical Study of Lawyers' Capability to Adapt to Disruption in Queensland, Australia'.  The article, co-written with four others, appears in Volume 31(1) of the International Journal of the Legal Profession.  Here is the abstract:

"An online survey of 261 Queensland legal practitioners working in sole, micro, small or medium-sized law firms provides valuable insights into their capability to successfully navigate disruption like that experienced during COVID-19. Our results indicated that respondent lawyers demonstrated progressiveness, openness and willingness to engage with innovative approaches, including technology, to build greater capacity within their firms. However, the results from the research identified several overlapping challenges faced by respondents that reduced their capability to adapt to disruption, including being time-poor and difficulty obtaining impartial and trustworthy information and training about emerging forms of disruption."

Crowe on 'Nutshell: Legal Theory'

Professor Jonathan Crowe of the University of Southern Queensland School of Law and Justice has written the fourth edition of Nutshell: Legal Theory (Thomson Reuters, 2023).  Here is the publisher's summary:

"The essence of the law...
Lawbook Co. Nutshells are the essential revision tool: they provide a concise outline of the principles for each of the major subject areas within undergraduate law.
Written in clear, straight-forward language, the authors explain the principles, and highlight key cases and legislative provisions for each subject.
Nutshell: Legal Theory is aimed primarily at students encountering legal theory for the first time or seeking a concise summary of the area for revision purposes. The third edition contains a new chapter on critical reasoning. Several other parts of the book have been revised and updated to reflect recent developments, including new suggestions for further reading."

Timoshanko on ‘A New Sheriff in Town? Section 596A and Shareholders’ Newfound Powers’

Dr Aaron Timoshanko, a Senior Lecturer in the University of Southern Queensland School of Law and Justice, has published a new article titled 'A New Sheriff in Town? Section 596A and Shareholders' Newfound Powers'.  The article appears in Volume 51 of the Australian Business Law Review.  Here is the abstract:

"In the case of Walton v ACN 004 410 833 Ltd (in liq) (Walton), the High Court of Australia interpreted s 596A of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) in a way that benefits shareholders and former shareholders. Before this ruling, it was believed that examining company officers could only be done for the benefit of the company, its creditors, or contributories. However, post-Walton, eligible applicants, including shareholders and former shareholders, can now examine certain company officers about the examinable affairs of the company for their own benefit. This includes uncovering information about misconduct to potentially reclaim financial losses. As a result, there may be an increase in applications for eligible applicant status received by Australian Securities and Investments Commission and an overall increase in the enforcement of the Corporations Act."

Radavoi on ‘True Justice through Deep Listening on Country: Decolonising Legal Education in Australia'

Associate Professor Ciprian Radavoi of the University of Southern Queensland School of Law and Justice has co-authored a new article titled 'True Justice through Deep Listening on Country: Decolonising Legal Education in Australia'.  The article is written with Susan Bird and John Rawnsley, and appears in Volume 19(4) of AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples.  Here is the abstract:

"This article examines the impact of True Justice, a unique continuing legal education programme introduced in 2022 to increase cultural competency in legal practitioners. The programme achieves its purpose via the incorporation of First Nations principles and pedagogies, taking participants beyond the university classroom to learn deep listening on Country. The feedback from participants in the programme in April and May 2022 reveals the powerful experiences that are possible when the university classroom is abandoned in favour of place-based, trauma-informed learning. Incorporating not only First Nations perspectives but also pedagogies is particularly important in the legal profession, where, if these are ignored, practitioners and educators risk reproducing colonial models."

Mortensen on 'A Trans-Tasman Challenge: The Zurich Insurance Litigation Reviewed'

Professor Reid Mortensen of the University of Southern Queensland School of Law and Justice has published a new article titled 'A Trans-Tasman Challenge: The Zurich Insurance Litigation Reviewed'.  The article appears in Volume 42(3) of the University of Queensland Law Journal.  Here is the abstract:

"The Trans-Tasman Proceedings Acts took effect in Australia and New Zealand in 2013, and since then have created a well-functioning trans-Tasman judicial area in which the process of all Australian and New Zealand courts can be served, and the judgments of all of those courts can be enforced, anywhere in New Zealand or Australia. The unquestioned jurisdiction that is given to all Australian and New Zealand courts in trans-Tasman cases is also limited only by principles of forum conveniens and the enforcement of choice of court agreements. In Zurich Insurance Company Limited v Koper (‘Zurich Insurance’), the validity of the Australian rules of jurisdiction under the Trans-Tasman Proceedings Act 2010 (Cth) was challenged. The New South Wales courts and the High Court of Australia all rejected the challenge. This article is an account of the constitutional considerations that were canvassed throughout the Zurich Insurance litigation, including the possibility that a High Court majority recognised a positive constitutional implication when upholding the personal jurisdictions created by the 

Trans-Tasman Proceedings Act 2010 (Cth) and the recognition of a federal power to extend the jurisdiction of state courts in all international cases. It also undertakes an analysis of the private international law issues of Zurich Insurance: the clarification of the effect of the Trans-Tasman Proceedings Acts; and the unsatisfactory conclusions reached on the territorial application of the Civil Liability (Third Party Claims Against Insurers) Act 2017 (NSW) — the issue that forced the need to consider the validity of the Trans-Tasman Proceedings Act 2010 (Cth) in the first place. In this respect, a plea is made for Australian state parliaments and courts to avoid extra-territorial overreach in the application of state legislation."

Crowe on ‘Sovereignty under the Australian Constitution: Why is Section 6 of the Australia Acts Binding on State Parliaments?’

 Professor Jonathan Crowe of the University of Southern Queensland School of Law and Justice has published a new article titled 'Sovereignty under the Australian Constitution: Why is Section 6 of the Australia Acts Binding on State Parliaments?'  The article appears in Volume 42 of the University of Queensland Law Journal.

Hemming on 'Is Leaving God to Make the Choice an Answer to a Charge of Murder by Reckless Indifference to Human Life or Manslaughter? A Case Study of Queensland Criminal Law'

Associate Professor Andrew Hemming of the University of Southern Queensland School of Law and Justice has published a new article titled 'Is Leaving God to Make the Choice an Answer to a Charge of Murder by Reckless Indifference to Human Life or Manslaughter? A Case Study of Queensland Criminal Law'  The article appears in Volume 3 of the Australian Journal of Law and Religion.  Here is the abstract:

"The criminal law punishes persons who commit a guilty act with the requisite guilty mind. This article considers the criminal responsibility of parents and other persons who claim not to have possessed a guilty mind but instead left the choice to God as to whether a child survived the withdrawal of medication. The critical question is whether a jury can infer actual knowledge that death would probably result when a person consciously avoids considering the ramifications of withholding lifesaving medicine, such as insulin to a child with diabetes, and instead hands moral responsibility to God. This article explores whether murder under the circumstance of reckless indifference to human life, defined as an act committed with an awareness that death will probably arise from that act or omission, encompasses a defendant whose awareness is affected by a religious belief that his or her religious faith required God to make the decision of life or death. To avoid the need for the jury to infer actual knowledge from the objective circumstances of the case, the argument is made for an objective test for recklessness based on the natural and probable consequences test. The Crown’s options in framing the charges to be laid and the reasons why a particular choice may be made are considered, particularly in relation to manslaughter. In addition, this article examines the reach of criminal responsibility where the parents of the child are joined in prayer in their own home by members of the religious group to which the parents belong."