Category Archives: Democracy and Justice

Andrew L. Urban. The majority of Australians (82%) don’t trust judges’ impartiality, according to the Menzies Research Centre’s (MRC) submission on Judicial Impartiality to the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC), which was tasked with examining the subject by former Attorney … Continue reading →

PETER VERSI reflects on some of the most fundamental aspects of the human condition – truth, justice, how war bends both – through his own life experiences. Guilt by accusation is not truth; truth is not always comfortable. I have … Continue reading →

New laws proposed by Poland could implement massive fines for tech giants who censor users or remove posts for ideological reasons, according to the country’s Deputy Minister of Justice Sebastian Kaleta, the architect of the new law.  Kaleta said on Fox News … Continue reading →

As controversial as this view may be, I urge great caution in lobbying for the currently proposed national public – public! – register of convicted child sex offenders – whom I abhor as much as everyone. We should be deeply … Continue reading →

Andrew L. Urban Legal, safe and rare … or never, never, never? Abortion is and always has been a divisive issue largely because it is posited in absolutist terms. The subject – ever current – is always over-heated and always … Continue reading →

Andrew L. Urban. Universities going rogue on freedom of speech are on notice, in the wake of the April 17, 2019 judgement by Salvatore Vasta in favour of Professor Peter Ridd, who urged greater scrutiny of scientific reporting on the … Continue reading →

Andrew L. Urban. In the wake of the Victorian State election on November 24, 2018, Derryn Hinch’s Justice Party (probably with four shiny Upper House seats) will seek to make public on a website the register of sexual offenders currently … Continue reading →

By Andrew L. Urban The WA police defamed an innocent man by publicly naming him soon after starting their investigation as the only suspect in his wife’s murder. He was eventually (three years later) charged, tried and acquitted. Twice. He … Continue reading →

Innocent people – at least 71 known*, the total unknowable – have been held or are stuck in Australian jails on lengthy sentences for murders or rapes they did not commit. This comes as no surprise to those who, like … Continue reading →

By Andrew L. Urban. As Gordon Wood, acquitted in 2014 of murdering his girlfriend Caroline Byrne in 1995, awaits the decision (expected by end of 2017) on his recently concluded malicious prosecution case against the State of NSW, at least … Continue reading →