Last week I visited schools in South Eastern Queensland and spoke to students at Springwood State High School, Coomera Anglican College and Sheldon College.
My presentations to students focused on a range of topics such as the so called ‘Bikie laws’ in Queensland current legal issues around freedom of speech and the right to assemble.
RoLIA’s education team is always happy to answer questions on our Facebook page or via Twitter.
~ Jackie Charles, RoLIA Education Officer
What is the Rule of Law Institute?
It is essential to understand the nature of the organisation from which you are getting your information. As our About Us and Principles sections explain, the Rule of Law Institute of Australia (RoLIA) is an [pl_popover title=”What does independent mean?” content=”We do not support or have affiliations with any political party or government, and act according to the direction of RoLIA’s Governing and Advisory Council” position=”right”]independent[/pl_popover], not-for-profit organisation which seeks to promote and protect the rule of law in Australia. We do this mainly through our education programmes which focus on supporting students in schools and universities with resources that help them search, discuss and use rule of law principles to analyse current legal issues.
How do we define the rule of law?
There are many formulations of the rule of law, and the best way for school students to understand its importance is to see how it relates to other major ideas:
The Rule of Law and Human Rights Principles
- The Presumption of Innocence
- Fair Trial
- Independent Judiciary
The Rule of Law and the Characteristics of Just Laws + Political Principles
- Free Speech and Media
- Transparent and Accountable Government
- Clear, certain and consistent laws
The Rule of Law and Social Justice and Welfare
- Access to justice
Legal Responses to Criminal Organisations in Queensland
Click the image to download the booklet on Criminal Organisations. See also RoLIA’s summary of legislation and case law.
The Criminal Organisations Control Act 2009 (QLD) was introduced to deal with organised crime gangs which operate in Queensland. This law allows for an organisation such as a motorcycle club to be declared as being involved in serious criminal activity, and for control orders to be made for its members which prevent them from associating with each other. The Queensland laws withstood a challenge in the High Court this year in Assistant Commissioner Michael James Condon v Pompano Pty Ltd [2013] HCA 7. This case upheld the provisions of the law which allow information gathered by police to be declared “criminal intelligence”. Information gathered by police from informants inside these organisations, or from other sensitive sources, is brought before a closed hearing of the Supreme Court of Queensland, where a judge makes a decision about whether to declare it criminal intelligence for the purpose of them making a declaration of an organisation or control orders.
The problem with this process is that it does not allow those who are the subject of the information to question its reliability in court. Closed hearings are against the principle of open justice and greatly diminish transparency. The presumption of innocence is also diminished by the fact that a person can be placed in jail for breaching a control order, without having ever had the opportunity to challenge the evidence used against them. If there is evidence that individuals are involved in criminal activities then they should be charged with a specific criminal offence, not for the act of simply associating. RoLIA’s booklet on the Queensland law provides an explanation in greater detail and some suggested reading.
The actions of some members of alleged criminal organisations, and their associates, have spilled out onto the streets, and include criminal activity which poses a serious threat to society, such as the selling of drugs, money laundering, and other serious criminal activities. While there are serious difficulties in pursuing organised crime this is not a justification for inherently unfair laws. Law enforcement agencies deserve much credit for protecting society from crime, and an important part of this discussion is the extent to which they are adequately resourced to deal with organised crime.
A key question to consider which goes beyond the rule of law objections to these laws is: how can law enforcement agencies be supported by government, the law and the community to deal fairly and effectively with organised crime?
Freedom of Speech and the Right to Assemble
RoLIA’s CEO, Kate Burns, has also put together an excellent paper which explains in clear terms case law from the past 20 years to do with the freedom of political communication in Australia. It summarises recent High Court decisions as well as a recent case regarding a public servant’s use of Twitter to attack the government. The central discussion with regard to the rule of law and free speech is this:
- What are the limits of free speech in Australia?
- What does the implied freedom of political communication found by the High Court in the Constitution allow a person to do?
- What are the legal limitations on the right to assemble?
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Other Legal Studies Resources
See our posters and infographics and videos pages for more resources.
We had such a fantastic time with Jackie at Sheldon College with both Year 11 and Year 12 Legal Studies. The students have not stopped talking about the legal issues raised. It’s is lovely to have been included on this tour as a school to visit, all the way out to Sheldon. I look forward to working with the RoL team in the future.