Briefing Papers
The Asian Law Centre has recently published three new Briefing Papers. Two of these are joint publications with the Centre for Indonesian Law, Islam and Society.
All can be downloaded without charge from the ALC website.
No 3 - Legal Services under the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement: Surveying the Landscape, by Andrew Godwin and Timothy Howse
The developments concerning the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA) have generated a high-level of interest, both in Australia and abroad. Andrew Godwin and Timothy Howse consider the benefits of ChAFTA in terms of facilitating trade in legal services and examine the claims and expectations in this regard. The paper concludes by suggesting that the benefits of ChAFTA in relation to legal services are qualified and need to be viewed in the context of other significant development.
No 4 - Islam, Democracy and the Future of the Death Penalty, by Professor Dr Jimly Asshiddiqie, SH.
Professor Asshiddiqie explores Islamic attitudes to the death penalty and argues 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 paper raises the questions of whether Islam requires the death penalty for certain crimes; whether executions are a breach of human rights; and whether religion is an obstacle to human rights reform.
No 5 - Death Penalty and the Road Ahead: A Case Study of Indonesia, by Professor Todung Mulya Lubis
Professor Lubis explores the death penalty in Indonesia, focusing particularly on the execution of Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan. He suggests that there is a new momentum towards abolition in Indonesia. Arguing that it should be used to the maximum possible extent to prevent more executions, he outlines a strategy for how this might be done.