How can we hold corporations to their human rights obligations? When it comes to multinational asbestos-mining corporations such as Cape and James Hardie, do arguments of forum non conveniens and separate legal personality hold up? Could a simple claim in negligence be the best way to redress human rights violations? In this episode, Just Cause co-director and LLB V student Eamonn Murphy speaks with Professor David Kinley, the Chair in Human Rights Law at Sydney Law School, about the intersection between corporate responsibility and human rights law. Drawing from David’s new book, In a Rain of Dust: Death, Deceit and the Lawyer Who Busted Big Asbestos, we consider the case of Lubbe v Cape, brought in 1995 by grassroots lawyer Richard Meeran against Cape Plc, a British company that mined and milled asbestos in apartheid-era South Africa, causing innumerable deaths from asbestos-related diseases among local workers and their communities. While the case is largely seen as one about jurisdiction in private international law and tort liability in the context of a corporate group, we examine what it has to say about human rights — how, as David phrases it, can you cut a human rights cloth? Find out in this episode! Professor David Kinley holds the Chair in Human Rights Law at the University of Sydney Law School. He is also an Academic Expert Member of Doughty Street Chambers in London, a member of the Australian Council for Human Rights, a member of the Human Rights Council of Australia and a board member of Cisarua, an Afghan refugee-led education centre located in Bogor, Indonesia.

As governments like Australia and the US scale back their commitments to international assistance, what power structures are left in place when billionaires and foundations step in? How do tax laws shape how cross-border philanthropy flows? How can charities best operate on an international level? In this episode, LLB students Sphe Shembe and Joshua Mortensen speak with Associate Professor Natalie Silver about the global retreat from state-funded foreign aid and the expanding role of private philanthropy. Together, we explore how tax frameworks shape global justice efforts — and what reforms might be needed to ensure philanthropy serves equity, not just influence. Dr Natalie Silver is an Associate Professor at Sydney Law School whose research focuses on charity law, not-for-profits, and the regulation of philanthropy. She has published widely on cross-border giving and the role of tax incentives in structuring charitable flows, particularly in an era of global inequality and declining aid. Suggested Readings: Silver, Natalie and McGregor-Lowndes, Myles and Tarr, Julie-Anne, Should Tax Incentives for Charitable Giving Stop at Australia's Borders? (March 20, 2017). Sydney Law Review, Vol. 38, No. 1, pp. 85-120, 2016, Sydney Law School Research Paper No. 17/24, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2937531. Silver, Natalie and Buijze, Renate, Tax Incentives for Cross-Border Giving in an Era of Philanthropic Globalization: A Comparative Perspective (November 1, 2020). Canadian Journal of Comparative and Contemporary Law, 6(1), 2020, pp.109-150, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3765102.

In July, the International Court of Justice delivered its landmark Advisory Opinion on Climate Change. What, though, did the Court actually say? How are states legally obliged to address the urgent existential threat that climate change poses, and what are the consequences for states that fail to meet these obligations? In this episode, LLB V student and Just Cause co-director Eamonn Murphy speaks with Professor Tim Stephens about the implications and influence of the ICJ’s Advisory Opinion. Drawing from the statement published by Tim and members of the Sydney Environment Institute, we consider the substance of the Opinion — the recognition by the ICJ of states’ obligations of due diligence to prevent damage to the climate system, including a positive duty to regulate the behaviour of private actors — and the influence that it might bear. Will the Opinion open the floodgates to inter-state litigation for breaches of environmental law? How might states such as Australia change their domestic policy in response to the Opinion? Does the Trump administration’s attitude to climate change — particularly by again withdrawing from the Paris Agreement — limit the power of the Opinion? Find out from Tim in this episode, and make sure to keep an eye out on how states engage with the Opinion at November’s COP 30 in Brazil. Professor Tim Stephens is Professor of International Law at the University of Sydney Law School. He teaches and researches in public international law, with his published work focussing on the international law of the sea, international environmental law and international dispute settlement. Tim is an author or editor of 12 books. His major publications include The International Law of the Sea (Hart/Bloomsbury, 2010, 2016, 2023) co-authored with Donald R Rothwell, and International Courts and Environmental Protection (Cambridge University Press, 2009).

What is climate justice? How do we compensate those affected by climate disasters, particularly in the developing world? How are states failing to properly respond to the climate crisis, and how can we change this? In this episode of Just Cause, JD student Debadrita Guha and LLB student Amelia (Mae) Milne speak with Professor Rosemary Lyster about what justice means in the context of the climate catastrophe, and how climate and disaster law can address this crisis. Rosemary provides a brief overview of the national and international policy infrastructure of climate law and the current challenges we face in climate and disaster management, before giving advice on what we, as individuals, can and need to do in the face of climate change. Rosemary Lyster is the Professor of Climate and Environmental Law in the University of Sydney Law School and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law. Rosemary's special area of research expertise is Climate Justice and Disaster Law. She has published two books in this area: Rosemary Lyster and Robert M. Verchick (eds.) Climate Disaster Law (Edward Elgar: 2018) and Climate Justice and Disaster Law (Cambridge University Press: 2015). Rosemary has been selected by the Australian Financial Review as one of the 2018 '100 Women of Influence' in the Public Policy category.

Why has Australia placed so few sanctions on Israel? Why are we still exporting fighter jet parts to a state that, over the past two years, has systematically attacked civilians in Palestine and deliberately denied them humanitarian relief? Can sanctions be an effective means of changing Israel’s behaviour? In this episode, LLB students Joshua Mortensen and Sphe Shembe speak with Professor Ben Saul about the use of sanctions as a tool of international justice in the context of Israel’s assault on Gaza. While sanctions are often presented as a non-violent alternative to military force, do they truly restrain unlawful conduct and protect civilians — or are they undermined by political double standards and unintended humanitarian costs? Together, we explore whether sanctions can still serve as an effective instrument of social justice, the challenges facing international institutions such as the UN and the ICC, and what reforms might be needed not only to ensure Israel’s accountability for its flagrant disrespect for international law, but to protect civilians in Palestine and prevent further violations of their fundamental human rights. Professor Ben Saul is the Challis Chair of International Law at Sydney Law School and the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism. He has advised governments, the United Nations, and NGOs around the world on international law and human rights, and has written extensively on terrorism, humanitarian law, and global justice. Further Reading: Saul, Ben. “Why Sanctions Are More Urgent Than Ever for Israel.” The Conversation (2024). Available at: https://theconversation.com/why-sanctions-are-more-urgent-than-ever-for-israel-226986. UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, “UN experts urge immediate arms embargo on Israel and accountability for violations in Gaza” (23 Feb 2024). Available at: https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/02/un-experts-urge-immediate-arms-embargo-israel-and-accountability-violation.

What implications do videolink technologies bear for the criminal process? What threat do remote proceedings pose for access to justice? How might emerging technologies be adopted by criminal courts and prisons? In this episode, Associate Professor Carolyn McKay joins co-hosts Victor Lin and Natalie Yeoman to discuss digital criminology and the intersection of emerging technologies with the criminal justice system. We explore the possibilities of entirely digital courtrooms using avatars and virtual reality, and the development of highly automated dystopian-like prisons, which Carolyn has witnessed in the course of conducting her research internationally. Associate Professor Carolyn McKay is recognised for her research and published work looking into the intersection of criminal justice with technology. Alongside her written work, Carolyn teaches Digital Criminology at the University of Sydney, and is currently completing her Digital Criminal Justice Project with the support of the Australian Research Council. The Just Cause team looks forward to the upcoming publication of Carolyn’s research into automated prisons and virtual court processes!

What does justice look like for victims of atrocity crimes? How can they participate in the criminal process? Are international criminal tribunals even the best means of addressing violations? How else might we support victims? In this episode, LLB V student and Just Cause co-director Eamonn Murphy speaks with Senior Lecturer and Just Cause co-director Dr Rachel Killean, unpacking the mechanics of victim participation in international criminal law. Drawing from Dr Killean’s research on the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, this episode explores how victims can be involved in trials for violations of international criminal law. From the Khmer Rouge Tribunal to the International Criminal Court, we consider the active role that victims play as represented parties in certain international tribunals; we question the assumption that providing testimony is necessarily “retraumatising” for victims, and outline the support systems for victims that exist in both international and domestic legal systems. If this topic of victim participation piques your interest, please see Dr Killean and Professor Luke Moffett's article in the Journal of International Criminal Justice, available to read here: https://pureadmin.qub.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/130043243/Killean_Moffett_260517.pdf. Dr Rachel Killean is a Senior Lecturer at Sydney Law School, and the current Associate Dean for Student Life in Sydney Law School. Dr Killean is the Co-Convener of the ANZSOC Green Criminology thematic group and the Deputy Director of the Australian Centre for Climate and Environmental Law, and is a member of the Sydney Institute of Criminology, the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre, and the Sydney Environment Institute.

Did you know there are currently over 18,000 pieces of legislation in Australia? Do you think you could easily explain what they all say? How did legislation become so voluminous and complex, and what does this mean for the rule of law and the rights of the individual? In this episode, LLB students Grace Lagan and Jamey Wang chat to Professor Lisa Burton Crawford about these issues and more, as explored in her recent publication, “The Problem of Complex Legislation”, which this episode is based on. The article can be accessed at: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/legal-theory/article/problem-of-complex-legislation/670046444760B57B0FAE844D6E6ECFBD?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=bookmark. Prof. Lisa Burton Crawford is a Professor of Public and Constitutional Law at the University of Sydney Law School. Professor Crawford's expertise spans constitutional law, administrative law, statutory interpretation and legal theory, with a research focus on the intersection between these areas of doctrine.

As the dire humanitarian crisis in Palestine continues to intensify, international law as a field has seemed powerless against the mounting civilian casualties and widespread famine caused by Israel's military campaign. How can the legal community step in and stop this onslaught, and what protections truly exist for those caught in war zones? In this episode, JD I student Fatima Nadeem talks with Dr Tamer Morris to explore the role and limitations of international law in addressing human rights violations and achieving social justice in times of crisis. Tamer Morris is a senior lecturer at the University of Sydney, where he teaches and researches in international law, United Nations peacekeeping, and international humanitarian law. Tamer also teaches in private international law and the conflict of laws. Tamer was awarded his PhD from the University of Sydney on the legal obligation to protect in UN peacekeeping. Tamer’s current research focus is on the laws of the protection of civilians, and the legal responsibility of the State to protect.

Just Cause is back for Season 3! Get ready for a wide-reaching dissection of social justice and its intersection with the law, with Sydney Law School students and professors broaching topics such as videolink technologies in the criminal justice system, tax policy and global inequality, and the inaccessibility of Australia's 18,000 pieces of legislation. To find out more, stay tuned to all our episodes over the course of this semester — you can listen to Just Cause on SoundCloud, Spotify or Apple Podcasts. In this first episode, JD III student Mahati Garimella and LLB III student Victoria Miller are joined by Emeritus Professor Barbara McDonald to discuss the development of privacy law, and the implications of the recently implemented statutory tort for serious invasions of privacy. Professor McDonald shares her journey from being a law student, to leading the ALRC Inquiry into Serious Invasions of Privacy in the Digital Era (2013–2014). She also explores key developments in privacy law over the decades, and how this evolving area of law intersects with social justice. Before retiring from Sydney Law School, Professor McDonald had taught a range of subjects including torts, equity, and media law, and is also an Honorary Senior Fellow at the University of Melbourne.

In this episode of Just Cause, LLB II student, Reeyaa Agrawal, and final year LLB V student, Sarah Oh, are joined by Professor Fleur Johns, the incoming Dean of Sydney Law School, to explore the intersections of law and social justice. Fleur shares her journey from corporate law to academia, discussing the role of pro-bono work in corporate practice and how social justice can be integrated into legal careers. We also delve into her research on international law and technology, and data governance and its influence on global power dynamics and social justice movements reflecting on her work on Guantanamo Bay. Fleur Johns has been appointed as the new Head of School and Dean of Sydney Law School, and will take up her new role in advance of Semester 1 2025. Professor Johns obtained a Doctorate of Law (SJD) and Masters of Law (LL.M.) at Harvard University and is an Australian Research Council Future Fellow (2021-2025) and a Visiting Professor at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden (2021-2024). She is celebrated for her commitment to research excellence and her discipline, launching a new Faculty Research Strategy for Law at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), leading interdisciplinary research collaborations, and spending six years as a practicing lawyer. She is currently a Professor in the Faculty of Law and Justice at UNSW and serves on UNSW’s Academic Board.

How can community legal centres best support those in need? How can their activist role lead to progressive law reform, improving the criminal legal system so that it works more effectively? How can we elevate the voices of victim survivors? In this episode, Sydney Law School’s Social Justice Advisory Board co-chairs, Rachel Killean and Ben Mostyn, speak with our current practitioner-in-residence, Liz Snell, about legal assistance as a fundamental human right, about community legal centres’ role in the adoption of NSW’s new coercive control legislation, and about practicing social justice in everyday circumstances. Liz Snell is interested in researching and better understanding the mechanisms required to ensure and support successful implementation of recommendations in inquiries with a focus on inquiries responding to gender-based violence. Liz has worked as the Law Reform and Policy Co-ordinator at Women's Legal Service for over a decade. Women's Legal Service is a specialist community legal centre run by and for women that aims to achieve access to justice and a just legal system for women in NSW.

Discussions about poverty are often marred by pervasive myths that lead us to blame impoverished individuals for their own circumstances. In this episode Juliette Marchant talks to Jeanette Kennett and Allan McCay about the corrosive effects of these poverty myths upon social policy, political discourse and the criminal justice system. Is there potential for reform in a political and legal system that is often criticised for its lack of empathy? Listen to this episode to find out! About our guests: Jeanette Kennett is a professor emerita in Philosophy at Macquarie University, Sydney. Her work addresses debates in moral psychology, ethics of friendship, and neuroethics. She joined Macquarie in 2009 as a CoRE joint appointment between the Philosophy Department and the Macquarie Centre for Cognitive Science. After completing her PhD in 1994 she spent a further ten years in the Philosophy Department at Monash as Lecturer/Senior Lecturer. From 2004 – 2008 she was Principal Research Fellow in The Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics at the Australian National University and also at Charles Sturt University (2008-9). Allan McCay is Co-director of The Sydney Institute of Criminology and an Academic Fellow at the University of Sydney Law School where he lectures in Criminal Law and coordinates the Legal Research units. He is President of the Institute of Neurotechnology and Law and was named by Australasian Lawyer as one of the most influential lawyers of 2021, 2023 and 2024 for his work on neurotechnology and the law.

How can the law best address sexual offences in an appropriately sensitive way? How can complainants be properly supported despite the adversarial nature of our legal system? In this episode, Just Cause co-director Rachel Killean talks to Julia McLean about courtroom questioning in sexual offence proceedings, about Ground Rules hearings and recognising witnesses as diverse human beings, and about improving complainants' experiences with the criminal justice system. Julia McLean is a solicitor at the NSW Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. She has also worked at the NSW Law Reform Commission and as a Headnote Reporter for the Council of Law Reporting for NSW. Julia completed the public prosecutor-in-residence program at the University of Sydney Law School in early 2024, where her research project focused on courtroom questioning of complainants in adult sexual offence prosecutions, including an examination of section 41 of the Evidence Act 1995 (NSW) and the use of Ground Rules Hearings. This podcast was recorded during her residency at the Law School, after which she commenced as a Principal Legal Officer at the Australian Law Reform Commission working on the Justice Responses to Sexual Violence Inquiry.

Have you ever wondered why Australia is the only Western democracy without a justiciable Human Rights Act? What are the current challenges in the legal education system, and how can it be improved? In this episode, JD students Charles Hao and Mahati Garimella delve into these pressing questions with Professor Emeritus Simon Rice. Join us as we explore the complexities of Australia’s human rights framework and the areas in need of reform. Appointed to Sydney Law School in 2017, Simon was the Kim Santow Chair of Law and Social Justice from 2020 until his retirement in 2024. He was previously a professor of law and director of law reform and social justice at the ANU College of Law, a senior lecturer in the Division of Law at Macquarie University, and a lecturer in the University of NSW Law Faculty where he was director of clinical programs. He has won a number of teaching awards, and has been awarded competitive research grants in the fields of education, and law and society.

Self-defence has a complicated role in the prosecution of victim-survivors of domestic violence who use force against their abusers. In this episode, LLB student, Indigo Crosweller, chats with Professor Arlie Loughnan about how defence practitioners might approach a victim-survivor client and the accessibility of the defence of self-defence. The full report, upon which this episode is based, can be found on the website for the Centre for Women’s Justice Research on their ‘Self-Defence briefings’ page here: https://www.centreforwomensjustice.org.uk/selfdefence-briefings. Dr Arlie Loughnan is Professor of Criminal Law and Criminal Law Theory at the University of Sydney Law School. Her research concerns criminal law, legal theory and legal history. Arlie's particular interests are constructions of criminal responsibility and non-responsibility, the interaction of legal and expert medical knowledges and the historical development of the criminal law.

Do we have a moral obligation to obey the law? How do we navigate the tensions between authority and personal morality? When – if ever – is breaking the law justified? In this episode, Just Cause co-director Juliette Marchant chats to Associate Professor Kevin Walton about the philosophical and ethical dimensions of legal obedience. Kevin Walton is an Associate Professor in the Sydney Law School, President of the Australasian Society of Legal Philosophy and former director of the Julius Stone Institute of Jurisprudence at the University of Sydney. He teaches and researches in legal philosophy. Among his particular interests are the methodology of jurisprudence and the moral obligations of citizens.

Many argue that AI provides significant opportunities to boost productivity and improve services. Yet, its rapid development has made it difficult to grapple with the potential risks and challenges that it poses to human rights and social justice. In this episode, LLB V students Sarah Koegel and Oliver McCue talk to Professor Kimberlee Weatherall about some of the knotty issues concerning the interaction between AI and regulatory frameworks within the law. Kimberlee Weatherall is a Professor of Law at the University of Sydney, specialising in the relationship between law and technology and intellectual property. Her current research focuses on the law relating to the collection, ownership, use and governance of data about and related to people, including privacy law, with the goal of ensuring that data collection, use and linkage, and data and predictive analytics are developed in a way that is fair, transparent, accountable, and beneficial to people and society. She is currently a member of the Australian Computer Society’s Technical Advisory Board on Artificial Intelligence Ethics and Fellow at the Gradient Institute.

Following the failed 2023 referendum, many questions have arisen as to the best way forward to promote reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. In this episode, law students Charles Hao and Mahati Garimella talk to Associate Professor Elisa Arcioni about her work on inclusion and exclusion within the Australian Constitution, led by the overwhelming question – what comes next? Elisa is a leading scholar of constitutional identity - who are 'the people' in the Australian Constitution? She works in the field of public law, focusing in particular on questions of inclusion and exclusion under the Constitution. Elisa is currently engaged in a 3 year project on claims on belonging in Australian law and history (with Helen Irving and Rayner Thwaites). Elisa is a member of the Editorial Board for CERIDAP, an outgoing convenor of the International Association of Constitutional Law Research Group on Membership and Exclusion under Constitutions, a former Executive Council member of the Australian Association of Constitutional Law and former Editor of the Sydney Law Review. Elisa joined the University of Sydney Law School in 2012, prior to which she was lecturer in law at the University of Wollongong and associate to the Honourable Justice Michael Kirby, High Court of Australia.

What are the legal challenges that confront us in the Anthropocene? In this episode, JD student Alexis Zhang and Just Cause co-director Juliette Marchant chat to Professor Tim Stephens about the Antarctic Treaty System protects one of the world’s most precious ecosystems and how international law travails the fine line between conservation and exploitation in governing whaling. Join us as we unravel the legal frameworks that aim to safeguard our planet's future in this age of human influence. Dr Tim Stephens is Professor of International Law at the University of Sydney Law School. He teaches and researches in public international law, with his published work focussing on the international law of the sea, international environmental law and international dispute settlement. Tim has also been appointed to the List of Arbitrators under the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty by the Attorney General.