Griffith Journal of Law & Human Dignity

Statement of Retraction: ‘It Begins with Victoria’ — The Yoorrook Justice Commission & Innovating Transitional Justice for First Nations Australia

Laurynn Williams — 2024-10-11

We, the Editorial Board of the Griffith Journal of Law & Human Dignity, are issuing a Statement of Retraction for the following article:

Jeremie M Bracka, ‘It Begins With Victoria — The Yoorrook Justice Commission & Innovating Transitional Justice For First Nations Australia’ Griffith Journal of Law & Human Dignity 29 DOI:10.69970/gjlhd.v12i1.1261, published online on 10 September 2024.

This is due to an instance of redundant publication, copyright infringement and breach of the following clauses in the Publishing Agreement, signed by the author upon submission to our website:

The work submitted is unpublished material owned by the author or jointly owned with other author(s) in cases of works of joint authorship.
No part of the work submitted is under consideration for publication elsewhere or will be submitted for publication elsewhere.
The work submitted does not infringe the copyright of any third party.

Following an investigation into this paper, triggered by the Editor-in-Chief and Executive Board shortly after publication, we have undertaken a comprehensive analysis of the paper and associated works. In accordance with our findings, we are retracting it from the scholarly record.

Australia, Drive it like you stole it: The Dire Need for Change after the Voice Referendum

Andrew Boe — 2024-09-10

This article is a reflection upon the treatment of First Nations people by the legal system in Australia and the dire need for socio-political and legislative change given the rejection of the Voice referendum. It takes the decisions of the High Court in Bugmy and Munda as a point of departure for a wider reflection on racism in Australia, which explains the disproportionate rates of First Nations incarceration. It considers structural bias in criminal justice and policing frameworks, as well as socio-economic bias in sentencing and bail options. The article exhorts the need for new structures of co-existence in Australian society.

‘It Begins with Victoria’ — The Yoorrook Justice Commission & Innovating Transitional Justice for First Nations Australia

Jeremie M Bracka — 2024-09-24

Transitional justice is long overdue to address colonialism and ongoing harms to First Nations people in Australia. The full truth of Australian history is ripe for recognition; yet, until recently, national efforts to address the colonial past have been partial, disconnected and State-centric. Moreover, the Federal government has often used the term ‘reconciliation’ politically as a rhetorical device, rather than a term of transitional justice. Nevertheless, in 2021, the State of Victoria established Australia’s first ever comprehensive truth-telling process with the Yoorrook Justice Commission. Seeking to address the harms since colonisation, the state process is unprecedented, based on its scope, First Nations ownership, powers of a Royal Commission and ability to hold the state accountable. This article examines the Commission’s contribution to structural truth-telling, First Nations empowerment, and institutional reform. It also identifies the Victorian initiative as a ground-breaking transitional justice model for settler-colonialism. Despite the challenges, incorporating truth and reconciliation through a First Nations lens might allow actual healing and practical change to occur.

Defining Dignity and its Application to Australian Mental Health Legislation

Bianca Mandeville — 2024-09-10

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (‘CRPD’) has shaped the evolution of mental health legislation and policy so that people with a mental illness can participate in society ‘on an equal basis with others’ and as ‘equal members’. This article will define dignity through a human rights discourse as it applies to the context of mental health legislation in Australia, in order to promote and support the human rights and autonomy of people with psychosocial disabilities. Applying the concept of dignity as an overarching principle, as it is in the CRPD, will help individuals with a mental illness exercise their capabilities in a way that protects their human rights and minimises stigma and
discrimination.

Adoption Law Reform: A personal view

Nahum Mushin — 2024-09-10

Adoption law does not adequately apply the best interests of the child as the paramount consideration. As a consequence of each of the States and Territories of the Commonwealth of Australia having enacted their own laws, a child who is adopted in one jurisdiction is subject to different laws from a child adopted in another. That particularly applies to the application of the paramountcy principle. There have been significant changes to adoption law which have benefited parents, adoptees and adoptive parents by enabling greater transparency, allowing adoptees to learn their identities and assist in reunions in appropriate cases. The consequences of forced adoptions highlighted the antithesis of greater transparency. This article argues that each of the States and Territories refer the legislative power in adoption to the Commonwealth to overcome the diversity of adoption laws and enable the enactment of a national uniform adoption law. The Commonwealth should vest the jurisdiction in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. What is now known as an order for adoption should be determined by the Court in the same manner as a parenting order in family law. In referring the powers, the States and Territories should reserve questions of succession law and adult applications for discharge of adoption orders to their own courts. Consideration should be given to abandoning the term ‘adoption’.

Luck is not a strategy: why Australia must join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

Melissa Parke — 2024-09-10

This article examines Australia's complex relationship with nuclear deterrence in the context of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (‘TPNW’). Despite Australia’s historical leadership in disarmament, it remains outside the TPNW. The TPNW directly challenges the legitimacy of nuclear deterrence, advocating for a complete ban on nuclear weapons and offering a path toward their abolition. As most Southeast Asian and Pacific Island states have joined the TPNW, Australia is increasingly seen as the ‘gap in the map’. This article calls for Australia to reconsider its stance, on the basis of international law, public opinion and the importance of joining other nations showing leadership on disarmament, and to explore non-nuclear defense strategies that maintain its alliances. With the third Meeting of States Parties approaching in 2025, Australia has a significant opportunity to shift its position and join the global effort to eliminate nuclear risks, but this requires a change in political will and policy direction.