2015 Past Events
Civil Code in India
- "A Uniform Civil Code in India: Feminist Reflections of Secularism in Times of Hindu Nationalism"
Flavia Agnes
Hosted by the Asian Law Centre
16 December 2015
- "The China Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA)"
Dene Yeaman, Andrew Godwin, Arjuna Nadaraja, David Olsson, Molina Asthana
Co-hosted by the Asian Law Centre Transactional Law Group, King & Wood Mallesons and the Law Council of Australia
29 October 2015
- "What is Socialist about Socialist Law?: Exploring Epistemic and Institutional Change in Socialist Asia"
Hosted by the Asian Law Centre, the Asia Pacific Business Regulation Group at Monash University, the Faculty of Law at Hong Kong University and the Centre for Rights and Justice at the Chinese University of Hong Kong
28 & 29 October 2015, Hong KongOver fifty years ago, communist states across Asia turned to the Soviet Bloc for inspiration in developing their legal systems. They enacted constitutions, laws and established institutions that, with varying degrees of faithfulness, replicated Soviet regulatory models. Much analysis about subsequent legal reforms in these countries presupposes a linear transition from socialist legalism to liberal legalism. This conference aimed to explore alternative reform trajectories. It posited that political legal and economic changes have not entirely transformed the institutional structures and epistemic settings that supported socialist law and institutions. Rather than a linear transition, legal reform in this region is variegated and complex—raising the question, what is socialist about laws and legal institutions in contemporary socialist Asia.
Participating scholars were asked to reflect upon the following themes in their papers for the conference: What is socialist about the ways in which State control delivers social order? You are invited to reflect on differences between the socialist normative project, Leninist organizational structures and socialist legality. Please consider the Soviet roots of strategies employed by the PRC to campaign for and enforce social order. What are the epistemic/institutional logics underlying control and social order in contemporary China? Can you identify any crucial and unique aspects of China’s approach to legal development? Is it transitioning from a Soviet model to a limited legalistic, but not necessarily liberal system?
- "Selected Legal Issues in Mining Licensing in Mongolia"
Judge Tsgot
Co-hosted by the Asian Law Centre and the Centre for Resources, Energy and Environmental Law
28 October 2015
- "Australian Lawyers Practicing in an Asian Developing Market: What does it Involve?"
Dr Hop Dang
Hosted by the Asian Law Centre
20 October 2015
- "The Monitoring Role of Institutional Owners: Evidence from Shareholders' Voting on Connected transaction Prposals in Hong Kong"
Dr Felix Mezzanotte
Co-hosted by the Asian Law Centre and the Centre for Corperate Law and Securties Law
15 October 2015
- "Responding to Criticisms of China's AML Enforcement"
Xianjue Luo
Hosted by the Asian Law Centre
8 October 2015
- "Constitutional Change in Myanmar: The Role of Courts in Authoritarian Regimes"
Dr Melissa Crouch
Hosted by the Asian Law Centre
6 October 2015
- "Access to Justice in an Age of Globalisation: The Case of Japan"
Professor Kota Fukui
Hosted by the Asian Law Centre
7 September 2015
- "Debate on the Possibility of Real Constitutional Review in China"
Associate Professor Weiming Wang
Hosted by the Asian Law Centre
4 September 2015
- "Constitutional Reform in Sri Lanka"
Ms Marini De Livera
Hosted by the Asian Law Centre
26 August 2015
- "Death Penalty and the Road Ahead: A Case Study of Indonesia"
Professor Todung Mulya Lubis
Hosted by the Centre for Indonesian Law, Islam and Society, and the Asian Law Centre
24 August 2015Indonesia has been criticised nationally and internationally for its use of the death penalty. Critics argue the death penalty does not deter crime and there has never been any solid empirical evidence suggesting it can. They say the objective of punishment should be to re-educate and rehabilitate people, giving them the opportunity to reintegrate with society, not to kill them. Globally only a small number of states still execute.
Professor Lubis argued that Indonesia does give weight to these objections but domestic support for the death penalty still seems overwhelming. Few governments anywhere are willing to abolish the death penalty if they have to pay a high political cost and the government of President Joko Widodo is no be to formulate a policy respecting human rights (especially the right to life) but still allowing executions in exceptional circumstances. The Indonesian government seems to be trying to do this in its new draft Criminal Code. This says that if a death row convict demonstrates rehabilitation, his or her sentence can be reduced to either life or 20 years in prison. If this had been law earlier this year, it could have saved the two Australians recently executed, Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan.
Debate on the Draft of Criminal Code is a perfect opportunity for both proponents and opponents of the death penalty. There is, however, a new momentum towards abolition in Indonesia, and Professor Lubis said it should be used to the maximum possible extent to prevent more executions. In this lecture he outlined a strategy for how this might be done.
Professor Todung Mulya Lubis was the Indonesian defence lawyer for Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan. He is one of Indonesia’s leading human rights lawyers and most influential legal thinkers. He completed his undergraduate Law degree at the University of Indonesia (1974); his LLM at the University of California, Berkeley; a second LLM at Harvard Law School; and his JSD at the University of California, Berkeley. He has been a senior Adjunct Member of the Faculty of Law of the University of Indonesia since 1990, where he was first appointed in 1975. From 1980-1983, he was Director of Indonesia’s famous dissident NGO, the Legal Aid Institute, where he worked for many years.
His influential 1983 scholarly book In Search of Human Rights: Legal-Political Dilemmas of Indonesia’s New Order 1966-1990 has played an important role in thinking about human rights in Indonesia. Professor Lubis is also Founding and Senior Partner of a prominent law firm in Jakarta and has been lead counsel in a number of major human rights cases, often on a pro bono basis. These include acting for the Bali Nine in an attempt to convince Indonesia’s Constitutional Court to abolish the death sentence, and against former President Soeharto. He has also held a series of senior government appointments. In 2014, he was appointed as Honorary Professor in the Melbourne Law School.
- "ALC 30th Anniversary Book Launch: The Stablility Imperative"
Professor Sarah Biddulph
Hosted by the Asian Law Centre
17 August 2015
- "ALC 30th Anniversary Seminar: Tolerance and Rights in Asia - Hong Kong and Taiwan"
Mr Antony Dapiran and Professor Jiunn-rong Yeh
Hosted by the Asian Law Centre
17 August 2015 - "Islam, Democracy, and the Future of the Death Penalty"
Professor Jimly Asshiddiqie
Distinguished Asian Lecture 2015
11 August 2015Should democratic countries apply the death penalty? Does Islam require the death penalty? Are executions a breach of human rights? Is religion an obstacle to the human rights reform?
Professor Asshiddiqie explored Islamic attitudes to the death penalty and argued that all contemporary cultures – whatever their origin and whatever their religious context – face challenges in reconciling the death penalty with the right to life. The experiences of the United States (the (the largest Muslim society) suggest, however, that religion is not always an obstacle to democracy or human rights reform, even if all these countries still execute. Professor Asshiddiqie concluded that increasing acceptance of democracy and international human rights norms as a global civilisational aspiration is forcing reconsideration of the death penalty in the legal systems of many societies - including Muslim majority states like Indonesia.
Professor Jimly Asshiddiqie is a leading Indonesian legal figure, both as a scholar and a prominent public official. As founding Chief Justice of Indonesia’s first Constitutional Court (2003-2008) he established a new branch of the judiciary and developed a process of constitutional review of statutes that had long been missing in Indonesia. He helped set a new standard in Indonesian courts for reasoned judgments drawing on international jurisprudence, as well as pioneering publication of judgments. He also led the Constitutional Court when it decided a challenge to the death penalty in 2007. He is now chair of the Honorary Council of the Electoral Management Bodies and of the Advisory Council to the National Commission of Human Rights. He has advised presidents and the national legislature on legal and political issues, and has twice been decorated for his contributions to Indonesian law reform and state administration. Professor Asshiddiqie studied at the University of Indonesia, Leiden University and Harvard, and is Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Indonesia. He has published more than 40 books, some in English, creating an important resource for emerging constitutional thought on democracy in Indonesia.
This free public lecture was presented jointly by the Centre for Indonesian Law, Islam and Society, the Asian Law Centre and the Melbourne Law School, with the generous support of Allan and Maria Myers.
- "Refugee Protection in China: Law, Politics and Potential"
Dr Lili Song
Hosted by the Asian Law Centre
28 July 2015
- "Re-designing ASEAN Trade in Services: Liberalisation through Integration (with Familiar Characteristics)"
Professor Bryan Mercurio
Co-hosted by the Asian Law Centre, the Centre for Coperate Law, Securities Regulation and the Global Econmic Law Network
7 July 2015
- "Justice Reform in Indonesia: A Working Perspective"
Craig Ewers
Hosted by the Asian Law Centre and the Centre for Indonesian Law, Islam and Society
30 June 2015
- "The Hidden Driver of Deforestation: Why Reforming Indonesia's Legal Framework is Critical to the Success of REDD+"
Arjuna Dibley and Josi Khatarina
Hosted by the Asian Law Centre and the Centre for Indonesian Law, Islam and Society
26 May 2015
- "Reflections of a Visiting Judge: A Seminar in English"
Judge Aya Kobayashi
Hosted by the Asian Law Centre
25 May 2015
- "The Changing Global Economic Order and Taiwan: the Cases of TiSA and ANZTEC"
Professor Hsu Hua Chou
Co-hosted by the Asian Law Centre and the Global Economic Law Network
19 May 2015
- "What is Happening in the Jokowi Presidency?"
Dr Jemma Purdey, Dr Dave McRae, Dr Nadirsyah Hosen, Professor Time Lindsey, Dr Richard Chauvel
Co-hosted by the Asian Law Centre and the Centre for Indonesian Law, Islam and Society
5 May 2015
- "Death, Drugs and the Bali Nine"
Professor Tim Lindsey
Hosted by the Centre for Indonesian Law, Islam and Society, and the Asian Law Centre
21 April 2015Professor Tim Lindsey provided an overview of legal and constitutional issues involved in the case of the two Australians who were (at that time) facing execution in Indonesia for serious drugs offences, Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan. Tim also explored the implications for the future of reform in Indonesia, and its bilateral relationship with Australia.
- "Contemporary Issues in Indian Public Law: Transnational Perspectives"
Hosted by the Faculty of Law, University of Oxford, Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne and National Law University, Delhi,
12 April 2015This conference covered topics including Transnational Engagement with the Indian Constitution, Separation of Powers and Human Rights
- "Indian Public Law Workshop"
Hosted by the Asian Law Centre
10-11 April 2015This workshop provided a platform for international quality research on Indian Public Law, which is currently usually published in foreign journals because of a dearth of academic-led and peer-reviewed world-class law journals in India. A close-knit group met to discuss a number of original unpublished papers over 2 days in the workshop, with the intention of publishing the papers as an edited collection
- "Constitutional Transition from Military Rule in Burma/Myanmar: Beyond a Narrative of Linear Progress"
Andrew Mcleod
Co-hosted by the Asian Law Centre and the Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies
13 March 2015
- "The Book of Marriage: Beyond 'Bridesprice' Narratives in Histories in Islam in Australia, 1860-1930"
Dr Samia Khatun
Hosted by the Asian Law Centre
4 March 2015
- "Life of a Judge: A Seminar in English"
Judge Aya Kobayashi and Judge In Deok Seo
Hosted by the Asian Law Centre
2 March 2015
- "Sports Law and Integrity Workshop: 2015 AFC Asian Cup and 2018 Winter Olympic Games "
Mr Hayden Opie and Associate Professor Stacey Steele
Hosted by the Asian Law Centre and the Melbourne Law School's Sports Law Program
27 & 28 February 2015