A long-running unfair dismissal case involving Queensland university professor Peter Ridd has sparked intense debate around questions of academic freedom. Also in the program: the High Court has quashed a legal challenge by mining magnate-turned-politician Clive Palmer against laws designed to ban his company from suing the West Australian government for compensation over a disputed contract.

Law Report - Full program podcast

Climate science dismissal case sparks academic freedom debate, High Court quashes Palmer $30bn WA compensation challenge

Should judges have social contact with lawyers who appear before them in court? The Australian Law Reform Commission is conducting an inquiry into judicial impartiality. Also, is there an obligation on prosecutors to provide defence lawyers with all the raw data downloaded from a confiscated mobile phone?

Judicial impartiality, and court disclosure obligations for electronic evidence

The New South Wales Supreme Court has ruled against a retirement village developer claiming ‘squatters' rights’, or adverse possession, over a Sydney property. And two court decisions highlight important issues in UK health law: the legality of severe disability as a reason for late-term abortions and access to puberty-suppressing drugs for children diagnosed with gender dysphoria.

'Squatters' rights', and UK health laws

What do the federal politician Craig Kelly, anaesthetist Dr Paul Oosterhuis, celebrity chef Pete Evans and clothing brand Lorna Jane have in common? They have all been at loggerheads with various regulators over Covid-19 misinformation.

Regulating Covid-19 misinformation and social media influencers

Britain seeks to overhaul immigration laws as asylum seekers and migrants continue to arrive across the English Channel from France.  How to investigate human rights violations when on-the-ground access becomes impossible? And, the dangers facing human rights investigators in Afghanistan. Guests: Madeline Gleeson, Senior Research Fellow, Andrew & Renata Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law Daniela Gavshon, Program Director, Truth and Accountability, Public Interest Advocacy Centre Mariam (pseudonym), former human rights investigator in Afghanistan

Britain’s offshore detention plans, and investigating human rights violations

How could the High Court media defamation ruling affect social media use? And, are changes to NT youth bail laws fit for purpose?

Media impact of High Court defamation ruling, and NT youth bail laws

The Commonwealth-funded No Fault COVID-19 Indemnity Scheme aims to compensate for medical expenses and loss of income resulting from an adverse reaction following vaccination.

How does Australia’s COVID vaccine injury scheme compare with compensation programs abroad?

Should compensation be denied to a passenger in a stolen vehicle who was seriously injured when it crashed? And, a New South Wales Tribunal has ruled that a COVID-19 death can be classified as a work-related injury.

Passenger injured in stolen car denied compensation and COVID-19 death ruled workplace injury

What will the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan mean for women and human rights?

What future for Afghanistan after Taliban return?

The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal has found that landlords can evict tenants for non-payment of rent during the big Victorian lockdown of 2020. It's a ruling that could affect thousands of vulnerable renters. And, should doctors, lawyers and other professionals be able to sue someone who posts a negative online review?

Victorian tenant evicted after COVID19 moratorium ends. Also, can you sue over negative online reviews?

As the COVID19 pandemic grips NSW, how do we balance the rights of an individual with those of the broader community? And the Victorian Ombudsman has released a report detailing human rights breaches, many dealing with ensuring compliance with COVID 19 public orders.  

Balancing individual and community rights in a pandemic

This week, the WA parliament is debating new child protection legislation.  Meanwhile a program called Aboriginal Family Led Decision Making is being piloted. Will new laws and programs reduce the vast over representation of Indigenous children in out-of-home care, currently seventeen times more likely than non-Indigenous children?

WA Parliament debates new child protection laws

In the USA there is a growing number of legal disputes involving employees, consumers and university students who are challenging mandatory vaccination requirements. And new research suggests that virtual reality headsets could help jurors reach fairer verdicts in complex criminal trials.

Covid19 vaccination litigation in the US and transporting jurors virtually to the scene of the crime

If you earn a million dollars from selling drugs and are convicted under proceeds of crime legislation, you don’t get to keep it. But what if that conviction is quashed years later? Some of the most notorious figures in the gangland era are heading back to courts to appeal their convictions following the Nicola Gobbo scandal. What happens to the 70 million dollars confiscated? Greg Muller asks, what are the laws around proceeds of crime and are they always fair?    

Proceeds of crime

Climate change is increasingly being raised in courtrooms around the world. The latest was brought by eight Australian school students and a nun who argued that the government owed a duty of care to protect children from the harmful effects of climate change. As journalist Greg Muller reports, climate change is now seen as a legal and financial risk as well as an environmental one.  

Climate change litigation

Informative, jargon-free stories about law reform, legal education, test cases, miscarriages of justice and legal culture. The Law Report makes the law accessible.

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Law Report - Full program podcast

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