Noticeboard
| Published date | 01 April 2015 |
| Date | 01 April 2015 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/1365712715572743 |
| Subject Matter | Noticeboard |
Noticeboard
Jeremy Gans
Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
Law Reform and Source Material
Access to justice—Australia
Australian Law Reform Commission, Equality, Capacity and Disability in Commonwealth Laws, Report
No. 24, November 2014, available at <http://www.alrc.gov.au/publications/equality-capacity-disability-
report-124>.
This final report reviewing Australian federal laws on disability discrimination includes a chapter on
access to justice. The national law reform commission recommends amending the tests for unfitness to
stand trial, litigation support in civil proceedings, lack of competency to testify and disqualification for
jury service to include people who cannot be supported to receive relevant information and to make and
communicate decisions. It also recommends amending statutes, practice notes and professional codes of
practice (including confidentiality rules) to provide for litigation representatives, support persons for
witnesses and communication support for jurors (including changes to jury secrecy rules).
Productivity Commission, Access to Justice Arrangements, Inquiry Report, December 2014, avail-
able at <http://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/access-justice/report>.
This final report by an independent economic advisory body on civil justice in Australia includes a
chapter on court processes. The report identifies various ‘supply’ and ‘demand’-side factors influencing
the market for litigation and a number of measures Australian courts have taken to improve accessibility.
The report recommends that such measures be applied ‘more broadly’, including all Australian courts
introducing the current New South Wales requirements for directions on expert evidence and judicial
powers to appoint single experts and order concurrent expert evidence.
Admission to legal practice—Australia
Law Admissions Consultative Committee, Review of Academic Requirements for Admission to the Legal
Profession, December 2014, available at <http://www1.lawcouncil.asn.au/LACC/index.php/review-of-
academic-requirements>.
This document seeks public submissions on a ‘limited review’ of the current 11 ‘Academic Require-
ments’ for admission to legal practice in Australia (prompted in part by a recommendation by Australia’s
Productivity Commission in its Access to Justice report, above, for a national reconsideration of the
‘ongoing need for each of the core areas of knowledge in law degrees’). The national committee of rep-
resentatives from admitting authorities, law deans and chief justices seeks submissions on the continuing
Corresponding author:
Jeremy Gans, Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
Email: jeremy.gans@unimelb.edu.au
The International Journalof
Evidence & Proof
2015, Vol. 19(2) 131–135
ªThe Author(s) 2015
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DOI: 10.1177/1365712715572743
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