Ribeiro on ‘Jurors’ perceptions of transgender victims of sexual assault: A literature review of empirical research and policy review of judicial instructions’

Dr Gianni Ribeiro of the University of Southern Queensland School of Law and Justice has published a new article titled 'Jurors' perceptions of transgender victims of sexual assault: A literature review of empirical research and policy review of judicial instructions'.  The article is co-written with Faye T Nitschke and was published in Behavioral Sciences and the Law.  Here is the abstract:

"Sexual assault affects many people of all gender identities, yet most cases do not result in conviction. This may be due to common, inaccurate misperceptions juries hold about how sexual assault is perpetrated and how victims respond to sexual assault. Research has examined misperceptions relating to cisgender victims, yet little is known about the unique misconceptions and stereotypes that may unfairly disadvantage transgender victims or whether courts are attempting to safeguard against them. This article presents a literature review of empirical research on (mock) jurors’ perceptions of transgender victims and a review of judicial instructions about gender identity. We find that empirical research is extremely limited with mixed findings, but many jurisdictions allow for judicial instructions warning jurors against prejudice based on gender identity. Further research is urgently needed to identify common misperceptions jurors may have that are specific to transgender victims to inform legal safeguards and improve justice outcomes."

Radavoi on 'What should communities stipulate in their (macro)social contract with business? Updated CSR commandments for corporations'

Associate Professor Ciprian Radavoi of the University of Southern Queensland School of Law and Justice has published a new article titled 'What should communities stipulate in their (macro)social contract with business? Updated CSR commandments for corporations'.  The article appears in Volume 129 Business and Society Review.  Here is the abstract:

"This article relies on two major business ethics books to propose a decalogue of corporate behavior. Notably, both Donaldson and Dunfee's Ties That Bind (1999) and Kerr et al.'s CSR: A Legal Analysis (2009) tried to avoid the sinuous and inconclusive normative quest for hypernorms of business social responsibility: the former proposed an integrated social contract between business and community, while the latter adopted a positivist approach, looking at existing law of all sorts, national and international, to decant eight principles of CSR. Using a methodological tool from the first book, namely, the macrosocial contract between business and communities, this article updates the list proposed in the second book. As societal expectations evolve in time, emerging principles are included in the amended list, such as meeting tax obligations, refraining from taking advantage of disaster-struck communities, and prioritizing the human in the age of artificial intelligence. The mixed approach (ethical, contractarian, and positivist) allows introducing the 10 principles as “commandments”: initial reasonable content of a macrosocial for business, informed by undisputed ethical principles (hypernorms) and potentially implemented through positive law."

Goding on 'Directors’ Duties, CSR and the Jobkeeper Wage Subsidy Scheme'

Dr Vincent Goding of the University of Southern Queensland School of Law and Justice has published a new article titled 'Directors' Duties, CSR and the Jobkeeper Wage Subsidy Scheme'.  The article appears in Volume 47 of the Melbourne University Law Review.  Here is the abstract:

"This article contributes to the ongoing debate regarding the construction of directors’ duties to act in the best interests of the corporation and their relationship to corporate social responsibility (‘CSR’) and related concepts. It begins by revisiting the neoliberal ideas underpinning the nexus of contracts theory of the corporation as the root of shareholder primacy in Anglo-American corporate governance. Asking whether these theorisations are appropriate in the Australian context and canvassing the evolving interpretation of directors’ duties, this article argues that Australia can still reasonably be said to be a shareholder primacy jurisdiction. Stakeholders’ interests and CSR considerations might be permissible factors in directors’ decision-making, but only derivatively to the interests of shareholders. Using corporate profiteering from the JobKeeper wage subsidy scheme as a case study, this article argues that the outcomes for which the scheme was criticised, and the response of directors to demands to repay unneeded subsidies, are consistent with and legitimated by theory, law and governance principles which maintain shareholder primacy and which might permit but neither compel nor meaningfully encourage socially responsible corporate behaviour. This analysis highlights not only the importance of designing ‘the rules of the game’ to prevent their (lawful) exploitation by corporations, but also the limited effectiveness of our current voluntaristic CSR regime in delivering more conscientious corporate behaviour beyond mere compliance with law."

He on 'Foreign Direct Investment and COVID-19: The Protection of National Security Interests'

Dr Lingling He of the University of Southern Queensland School of Law and Justice has published a new article titled 'Foreign Direct Investment and COVID-19: The Protection of National Security Interests'.  The article appears in Volume 19 of the Journal of Comparative Law.

Crowe on ‘Implementing Affirmative Consent in Sexual Offences: A Model Law for Queensland'

Professor Jonathan Crowe of the University of Southern Queensland School of Law and Justice has written (with Asher Flynn and Bri Lee) a new paper titled 'Implementing Affirmative Consent in Sexual Offences: A Model Law for Queensland'.  The paper appears in Becky Batagol, Kate Seear, Heli Askola and Jamie Walvisch (eds), The Feminist Legislation Project: Rewriting Laws for Gender-Based Justice (Routledge, 2024).  Here is the abstract:

"Queensland’s existing laws governing sexual violence crimes are complex and outdated. Our Bill introduces vital reforms which better recognise the lived experience of victims of sexual violence and respond to changing attitudes towards appropriate and respectful sexual relations. It does this by introducing guiding principles which recognise the unique nature of rape and sexual assault offences; introducing a clear definition of consent as free and active agreement that embraces an affirmative consent standard; replacing the outdated reference to ‘carnal knowledge’ in defining rape; and removing the problematic mistake of fact excuse in rape and sexual assault cases."

Hemming on 'Will Democratic Freedoms and Human Rights Survive a Second Pandemic in Australia? A Case Study of the Legal Foundations and Mechanisms of Implementation of Australia’s COVID-19 Response'

Associate Professor Andrew Hemming of the University of Southern Queensland School of Law and Justice has published a new article titled 'Will Democratic Freedoms and Human Rights Survive a Second Pandemic in Australia? A Case Study of the Legal Foundations and Mechanisms of Implementation of Australia’s COVID-19 Response'.  The article appears in Volume 98(8) of the Australian Law Journal.  Here is the abstract:

"This article is a case study of the laws and regulations at both the Commonwealth and State level that were relied upon to uphold Australia’s COVID-19 response, and the behavioural mechanisms used by governments in Australia to implement these regulatory policies. The question will be posed now that borders have been re-opened and normality restored in a ‘we will have to live with COVID-19’ environment, whether the draconian restrictions on democratic freedoms and human rights could reoccur unless Australia changes the manner in which these laws and regulations are imposed by governments and interpreted by the courts, especially given the High Court’s decision in Palmer v Western Australia. This question is particularly important given the announcement on 21 September 2023 that the Commonwealth Government was setting up a COVID-19 Response Inquiry to identify lessons learned to improve Australia’s preparedness for future pandemics."

Braun and Butcher on 'Safe access zone legislation and its compliance with the human rights of anti-abortion protesters in Australia'

Associate Professor Kerstin Braun and Dr Sarah Butcher of the University of Southern Queensland School of Law and Justice have published a new article titled 'Safe access zone legislation and its compliance with the human rights of anti-abortion protesters in Australia'.  The article appears in Volume 31(2) of the Journal of Law and Medicine.  Here is the abstract:

"Terminating a pregnancy is now lawful in all Australian jurisdictions, although on diverse bases. While abortions have not been subject to the same degree of heated debate in Australia as elsewhere, protests aimed at persuading women not to have a termination of their pregnancy have occurred outside abortion service providers in the past. Over the last decade, this has led to the introduction of laws setting out so-called safe access zones around provider premises. Anti-abortion protests are prohibited within a specific distance from abortion services and infringements attract criminal liability. As safe access zone laws prevent protesters from expressing their views in certain spaces, the question arises as to the laws’ compliance with protesters’ human rights. This article analyses this by considering the human rights compliance of the Queensland ban in light of Queensland human rights legislation. It concludes that the imposed prohibition of anti-abortion protests near abortion clinics is compatible with human rights."