| Description |
x, 310 pages ; 20 cm |
| Contents |
Machine generated contents note: pt. I Foundations -- 1.School Days -- 2.The Practice of Law: justice, or just a job? -- pt. II Asylum-seekers in Australia -- Introduction -- 3.Authoritarianism in the Name of Freedom -- 4.Towards a Just Society: beyond the spin -- 5.Australia's Crimes Against Humanity: not ̀interesting' -- 6.The Pacific Solution -- 7.Tony Abbott: master of the soft sell -- 8.Honesty Matters: the ethics of daily life -- 9.Australia's Refugee Policy -- pt. III Human Rights in an Age of Terror -- Introduction -- 10.Terror, Old and New: from the Gunpowder Plot to Guantanamo -- 11.Human Rights and International Law -- 12.Protecting Rights in a Climate of Fear -- 13.David Hicks: hearsay and coercion -- 14.The Argument for a Bill of Rights -- 15.Habeas Corpus -- 16.The Dreyfus Affair -- 17.Anti-Terror Laws: controlling Jack Thomas -- 18.Howard's ̀Fair Go' Australia -- pt. IV Justice and Injustice -- Introduction -- 19.Access to Justice -- |
|
Contents note continued: 20.Van Nguyen: Australia and the death penalty -- 21.The Roger Casement Case -- 22.The Leopold and Loeb Case -- 23.The Oscar Slater Case -- 24.The Adolf Beck Case -- 25.The Stefan Kiszko Case -- 26.The Burning Car Case -- 27.The Scottsboro Boys Case -- 28.The Dred Scott Case -- 29.The Crippen Case -- 30.The Alma Rattenbury Case -- 31.The ̀Black Book' Case -- Appendixes -- I.Article 5 of the Constitution of Nauru: protection of personal liberty -- II.Sections 198B and 494B of Australia's Migration Act -- III.The Third Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War [1949] |
| Summary |
"The first decade of the twenty-first century has seen a sharp decline in respect for human rights and the international rule of law. The legal conventions of the new realpolitik seem to owe more to Guantanamo than Geneva. Australia has tarnished its reputation in the field of human rights, through its support for illegal warfare, its failure to honour international conventions, its refusal to defend its citizens against secret rendition and illegal detention, and its introduction of secretive anti-sedition legislation and draconian anti-terror laws. In Watching Brief, noted lawyer and human rights advocate Julian Burnside articulates a sensitive and intelligent defence of the rights of asylum-seekers and refugees, and the importance of protecting human rights and maintaining the rule of law. He also explains the foundations of many of the key tenets of civil society, and takes us on a fascinating tour of some of the worlds most famous trials, where the outcome has often turned on prejudice, complacency, chance, or (more promisingly) the tenacity of supporters and the skill of advocates. Julian Burnside also looks at the impact of significant recent cases including those involving David Hicks, Jack Thomas, and Van Nguyen on contemporary Australian society. Watching Brief is a powerful and timely meditation on justice, law, human rights, and ethics, and ultimately on what constitutes a decent human society. It is also an impassioned and eloquent appeal for vigilance in an age of terror when national security is being used as an excuse to trample democratic principles, respect for the law, and human rights."--Provided by publisher |
| Notes |
Previous ed.: 2007 |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references |
| Subject |
Human rights.
|
|
Human rights -- Australia.
|
|
Justice, Administration of.
|
|
Ethics.
|
|
Law.
|
| ISBN |
9781921372360 paperback |
|
