Future Proofing The Judiciary

"Future-Proofing the Judiciary offers a meticulous, fine-grained inquiry into the core, but rarely examined, topic of the demand and supply of judicial officers. Breathing new life into the field of law and demography, Professor Opeskin impressively corrals multiple sources of public data to assess judicial tenure, pensions, the impact of population shifts on lower courts and judicial diversity. This empirically rich book deepens the growing international field of judicial studies by addressing urgent policy questions for government, courts, judicial officers and the public they serve". -Sharyn Roach Anleu, Matthew Flinders Distinguished Professor, Flinders University, Australia. "This is a masterly study of how demography can be used to plan the future trajectories of institutions of government. By using the judiciary to demonstrate the case, Brian Opeskin builds on his considerable earlier work on courts and court systems in Australia. Although the focus of the book is on Australian conditions, the issues raised and insights offered are likely to be relevant across other common law states as well." -Cheryl Saunders AO, Laureate Professor Emeritus, University of Melbourne, Australia. This book reinvigorates the field of socio-legal inquiry examining the relationship between law and demography. Originally conceived as 'population law' in the 1970s following unprecedented growth in world population and the use of law to temper that growth, this book takes a fresh approach by examining how population change can affect legal systems, rather than the converse. Through four case studies, the book examines how demographic change impacts judicial systems and how those systems should adapt to embody greater preparedness for the demographic changes that lie ahead. The case studies focus on Australian courts and judges, but the book offers global insights and raises critical questions about institutional structures. In making recommendations for reform, it speaks to socio-legal scholars, applied demographers, and all those interested in judicial institutions. Brian Opeskin is Professor of Law and former Associate Dean (Research) at the University of Technology Sydney, Australia.

This book reinvigorates the field of socio-legal inquiry examining the relationship between law and demography. Originally conceived as 'population law' in the 1960s following a growth in population and a use of law to temper population growth, this book takes a new approach by examining how population change can affect the legal system, rather than the converse. It analyses the impact of demographic change on the judicial system, with a geographic focus on Australian courts but with global insights and it raises questions about institutional structures. Through four case studies, it examines how demographic change impacts on the judicial system and how should the judicial system adapt to embody a greater preparedness for the demographic changes that lie ahead? It makes recommendations for reform and speaks to applied demographers, socio-legal scholars, and those interested in judicial institutions.

This book focuses on the challenges facing governments and communities in preparing for and responding to major crises — especially the hard to predict yet unavoidable natural disasters ranging from earthquakes and tsunamis to floods and bushfires, as well as pandemics and global economic crises. Future-proofing the state and our societies involves decision-makers developing capacities to learn from recent ‘disaster’ experiences in order to be better placed to anticipate and prepare for foreseeable challenges. To undertake such futureproofing means taking long-term (and often recurring) problems seriously, managing risks appropriately, investing in preparedness, prevention and mitigation, reducing future vulnerability, building resilience in communities and institutions, and cultivating astute leadership. In the past we have often heard calls for ‘better future-proofing’ in the aftermath of disasters, but then neglected the imperatives of the message. Future-Proofing the State is organised around four key themes: how can we better predict and manage the future; how can we transform the short-term thinking shaped by our political cycles into more effective long-term planning; how can we build learning into our preparations for future policies and management; and how can we successfully build trust and community resilience to meet future challenges more adequately?

This book offers a critical and timely account of how labour law has become a means for protecting employers rather than workers. The past few decades have witnessed something of a ‘silent revolution’ in the traditional protective role that labour law has played in the lives of workers. While this transformation has been overt in the realm of the market and at the level of the legislature, the role of the judiciary in this process remains significantly under-studied. Focussing on Australia, but drawing also on material from New Zealand, the UK and Canada, this book investigates how the common law has intervened to shape labour law in the image of commercial contract, determining disputes and defining legal issues by ignoring the realities of working life. Under this new conception of labour law, industrial relations between workers and employers are rarely reciprocal or relational. Rather, they are determined by the legal meaning and purpose of the contract of employment, drafted by lawyers for the benefit of employers and their human resources departments. Having demonstrated how approaches to contractual formalist legal reasoning have redefined labour law, this book goes on to propose an array of innovative legal and policy strategies to restore the protective role of labour law to the employment relationship. Scholarly, but also accessible to students, this book will appeal to those with interests in labour law, contract law and sociolegal studies.

This publication is the latest in a series of steps to assist judges in carrying out their onerous responsibilities, and represents a concise yet comprehensive set of principles addressing the many difficult ethical issues that confront judges as they work and live in their communities. It also provides a sound basis to promote a more complete understanding of the role of the judge in society and of the ethical dilemmas they so often encounter. Sections of the publication cover the following: the purpose of the publication; judicial independence; integrity; diligence; equality; and impartiality, including judicial demeanour, civic and charitable activity, political activity, and conflicts of interest.