Law Report

Australia's most decorated living soldier Ben Roberts-Smith has been granted bail after being charged with five counts of the war crime of murder. Why was he granted bail? And why did the judge find there were exceptional circumstances and bail did not impose any unacceptable risks?

In countries where voluntary assisted dying is allowed, there are very different legal frameworks. A high-profile case in Spain raises questions of whether the procedure should only be allowed if there is a terminal illness. Should the medical criteria also include mental distress? And how does mental illness impact on the idea of agency and choice?

Indigenous incarceration rates are off the scale in Australia. For the last four years, the District Court of New South Wales has been trialling the Walama sentencing list, a program aimed at reducing recidivism.

The Law Report is asking some big picture questions about the pros and cons of facial recognition software use by police and retailers.

Should the Federal Government have powers to restrict the movement of former immigration detainees in the community?

How accurate is a recent report that claims Victorian courts issue more suppression orders than in any other Australian jurisdiction? 

What arguments and information should courts be hearing when they are sentencing an offender? In April, a tool to assist defence lawyers and judges will go national.

Matthias Bekier, former managing director of Star Entertainment, the company which operates Sydney’s Star Casino and Paula Martin, Star Entertainment’s former legal counsel both failed to address money laundering risks and criminal associations between 2017 and 2019. That’s the finding of Justice Michael Lee of the Federal Court, who at the same time dismissed similar cases against a number of Sta...

The Law Report is shining a light on claims or disaster chasers who approach people whose homes have been damaged by a severe weather event.

Two former family law judges sit down with Damien Carrick to revisit a time before no-fault divorce, when unhappy spouses often employed private detectives to prove adultery. 

Queensland has introduced a bill to ban the slogans "from the river to the sea" and "globalise the intifada". Western Australia wants to give police the power to refuse a protest permit if a public event is deemed likely to promote hate. It comes after New South Wales imposed tight restrictions on the Sydney protest against the visit of Israel's president Isaac Herzog.

The Law Report speaks to Richard Hermer, attorney general for England and Wales, who was in Australia recently with a message centred on upholding the rule of law. And why do individuals and corporations donate to political parties? 

Can artificial intelligence reveal the assumptions judges make? Or help lawyers and litigants to identify appeal arguments? 

In the wake of the Bondi mass shooting, the federal government has passed two significant pieces of legislation that it says are aimed at preventing future attacks. 

In the aftermath of Victoria's catastrophic bushfires, we look at how communities attempt to rebuild their lives and homes. We also discuss navigating complex legal issues, including insurance, debts, tenancy rights, and fakes tradies or other scammers who prey on vulnerable people in the wake of natural disasters. 

In Australia, 'what is death' and other legal definitions, such as what constitutes human tissue, have not kept up with advances in medical science. The Australian Law Reform Commission is conducting the first review of human tissue laws in nearly 50 years.

An emoji, a protest placard and a tweet by a soccer fan have all led to criminal charges in Britain. The Law Report explores how language and cultural expression are used in the prosecution of non-white people for race hate offences. 

Can art change lives? The Confined 16 exhibition in Melbourne celebrated the works of First Nations artists who picked up the paint brush while they were in prison.

Does pill testing save lives? The Law Report's Damien Carrick visits a pop-up service at a Melbourne music event where substances are checked, and staff talk to partygoers about reducing risk when using drugs. 

This year saw a massive manhunt for alleged police shooter Dezi Freeman in Victoria's mountainous north east. In the past, the 56-year-old has been linked to the sovereign citizens movement. So, who are sovereign citizens? And what impact are they having on Australia's justice system? 

What impact could Victoria's historic treaty have on policy, legislation and governance for the state's First Peoples?

In the United States, there is increasing attention on young people's interactions with AI chatbots. OpenAI is being sued over allegations that its ChatGPT platform caused users to experience delusions and even encouraged some to take their own lives.

In two weeks' time, Australia's social media ban for children under 16 will come into force. How will it work? Will it protect kids from online harm? And could they find ways around the restrictions? 

Are prenuptial agreements always legally watertight? Or can they be tossed out by the courts? The High Court recently handed down a decision that focused on a poorly drafted prenup and to what extent the disgruntled client could sue the lawyers who drafted the leaky document.

November 11 marks the 50th anniversary of the dismissal of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam by Governor-General Sir John Kerr — an event that exposed and tested the architecture of Australia's constitution.