Recent Events (Selection)

Japan Summer School

The Japan Summer School was hosted by the ALC from 13-24 February, 2017.  The Japan Summer School was an expansion of the Chuo Law School Melbourne Summer School, which has been hosted by the ALC since 2005.  The Summer School was coordinated by Associate Professor Stacey Steele and Ms Kaori Kano.

This year's Summer School involved students from both Chuo Law School and Keio Law School, who were accompanied by Professor Dan Rosen (Chuo), Professor Kiyofumi Koutani (Chuo), Professor Hajime Yamamoto (Keio) and Assistant Professor A. Reid Monroe-Sheridan (Keio).

While in Melbourne, students attended seminars taught by Melbourne Law School lecturers on a variety of Australian law topics.  They also visited Victorian legal institutions such as courts, Parliament and law firms.

A team of student volunteers assisted the students during their stay and participated in social activities and networking opportunities.

We thank the Australia-Japan Foundation for their generous support for the 2017 Summer School.

Conference: The Death Penalty in Comparative Perspective: Regional Laws and Practice

The Ho Chi Minh City University of Law (HCMCUL) and the Asian Law Centre co-hosted a comparative conference on 3 March, 2017 looking at the death penalty in Southeast Asia, China, Indonesia, Singapore and India. This was the first comparative  law and practice conference to be held in Vietnam on the death penalty in Asia. It was supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade through the Australian Human Rights Commission.

The conference enabled research and analysis of death penalty reform and comparative clemency practices. More particularly, the conference explored the comparative death penalty experience in China, India, Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam. It also focused on the suspended death penalty in China and the debate about its introduction in Indonesia.

160 people attended the conference, including practitioners and academics from the region and HCMCUL.

A selection of conference papers will be published as Asian Law Centre Briefing Papers in both English and Vietnamese.

Workshop on Prosecution and Detention in Japan

On 24 April 2016, the ALC held a workshop on prosecution and detention in Japan. Professor David Johnson from the University of Hawai’i and Associate Professor Mari Hirayama from Hakuoh University presented on whether lay participation would change prosecution in Japan. This was followed by Ms Carol Lawson, from the ANU College of Law, who discussed Penal institution visiting committees and prisons in Japan, and whether lay participation could change incarceration. There was a high level of constructive criticism and feedback between the presenters and the commentators, scoping out areas with potential for further research and ways in which the current research  could be strengthened. The workshop was an enriching experience for all who attended – law students, practicing lawyers, scholars and judges alike.

Report by Beixi Sun, ALC Research Assistant

Seminar - Death Penalty in Japan: Principles and Practice

On 26 April 2016, the ALC co-hosted a seminar on the Death Penalty in Japan. This was hosted at the Law Institute Victoria with Reprieve Australia.  The seminar was widely attended by local scholars and practitioners.

Japan is one of the two developed democracies with capital punishment, and there is still much secrecy and silence surrounding the practice.  Professor David Johnson presented on the underlying reasons why Japan retains capital punishment, offering comparisons to the American and European systems, drawing on both historical and legal insights to demonstrate the similarities and differences across the three jurisdictions. Dr Maiko Tagusari, founder of the Center for Prisoners’ Rights Japan, talked of the challenges for abolition activism in Japan.

Report by Beixi Sun, ALC Research Assistant