The Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power, and regional and domestic crime victims’ rights laws are intended to empower crime victims and give them an expanded, and more clearly defined, role in the criminal justice system. Yet, rarely do crime victims, especially victims of environmental crime, attain direct standing... Continue Reading →

To paraphrase Daniel van Ness (1983: 3), crime [on the one hand] unleashes a legal contest between the defendant and the state as prosecutor; on the other hand, it also is a personal encounter between the victim-person and the accused person.  Citing Silberman, Robert Elias (1986) points out that crime hurts individuals and groups of... Continue Reading →

In South Australia much has been said about so-called 'secrecy laws' that are, among other things, intended to protect individuals privacy - no matter whether they be suspected sex offenders (Dillon, October 2018) or accused police officers (Hough & Henson, October 2018).  Recently the Attorney-General, Hon. Vicki Chapman has been accused of violating Independent Commission... Continue Reading →