Castan Centre for Human Rights Law

Category: Auslaw

  • Pirates Incorporated: The US Supreme Court to decide if corporations are liable under the Alien Tort Statute

    By Joanna Kyriakakis Last Tuesday the US Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case of Kiobel v Royal Dutch Petroleum. The case is significant as it will determine whether the Alien Tort Statute (ATS) applies to corporations. Dating from 1789, the ATS is a unique and controversial US law that allows non-US citizens to…

  • Southern Somalia: Don’t let the Kenyan military run the show

    By Marius Smith When a cavalcade of international diplomatic stars, including Hillary Clinton and Ban Ki Moon, sit down in London on Thursday with Somali officials, politicians and business people to discuss the country’s future, a very large elephant will be in the room.  The main issues up for discussion include a new government, piracy,…

  • Human Rights are not Luxuries

    By Adam Fletcher I was saddened on the weekend to learn of the demise of the Geneva-based International Council on Human Rights Policy, which was announced by its board last Thursday. In the course of my human rights work both in Australia and Switzerland I’ve had the pleasure of drawing on many of ICHRP’s reports…

  • Turning Back the Boats – Back to the Future on Asylum Policy

    By Adam Fletcher 2012, it occurred to me today, marks a full decade since I began studying, writing about and (after graduation) giving legal advice on Australia’s international obligations in respect of asylum-seekers and refugees. The more things change in this area, the more they stay the same. The war in Afghanistan is still not…

  • Children will soon be seen AND heard by the UN

    By Paula Gerber One month ago, on 19th December 2011, the UN General Assembly adopted the Third Optional Protocol (OP) to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CROC). This new international instrument establishes a procedure whereby children whose rights have been violated can bring a complaint to UN Committee on the Rights of…

  • Sometimes cricket is “just not cricket”

    by Sarah Joseph Summer is here in Australia, which means many hours of cricket on radio and television, and, for those in capital cities, occasional opportunities to see the players in real life.  Given the subject matter of this blog, I think it an opportune time to reflect on some of the many intersections between…