NEW REFERENCES

ALRC Re-Examines Standing

The ALRC believes that the right to argue a case in court - the law of standing - is fundamental to access to justice.

The 1985 report, Standing in Public Interest Litigation (ALRC 27), recommended that the laws on standing should be relaxed to allow those with a genuine desire to represent the public interest to bring actions, even if they have no personal stake in the matter. An expanded role for those who want to bring information before the court was also recommended. Private prosecutions, third party interventions and the allocation of costs were also dealt with.

Had the report been implemented when it was released, the relevance of many subsequent court decisions would have been considerably broadened and Australian courts would have received far greater assistance when considering groundbreaking cases in environmental protection, human rights, public health and consumer protection.

The benefits of reform in this area have been a recurring theme in the ALRC's work in areas such as multiculturalism and the law, litigation costs and women and the law. The need to update the law of standing is reinforced by the broader impact of cases in which courts are becoming involved, the use of class actions in the Federal Court and the increasing range of legal issues that involve the public interest.

The ALRC plans to release a discussion paper in late September 1995, which will review developments in the law since 1985 as well as containing provisional proposals for the reform of the law. The final report should be completed in February 1996. The ALRC hopes for a prompt response from the Government this time.

keeping the thin blue line straight

Seventeen years later the AFP complaints system is ready for review to ensure that it is working effectively. Since the ALRC's last report in 1978, organised and white-collar crime has become more sophisticated, ideas of human rights and civil liberties have evolved while the rise of information technology presents special challenges. The ALRC considers that the roles and operations of law enforcement bodies such as the AFP must be consistent with current community values.

The ALRC will examine present complaints procedures and consider issues such as: the extent and nature of external review of complaints; measures to prevent the victimisation of those who make complaints; whether making a false complaint should be an offence; the sanctions available when complaints are substantiated; and the position of groups with special needs when making complaints.

The ALRC considers that any system of reviewing complaints against police must balance the need for practical and effective law enforcement against human rights and civil liberties considerations. The system must be fair both to complainants and the police who are the subject of complaints.

The current investigations of the Royal Commission into the NSW Police Service underline the universal need for an effective system for dealing with complaints made against police. The ALRC intends that the recommendations coming out of this review should be relevant to law enforcement bodies across Australia.

An effective complaints system is essential if the public are to have confidence in the AFP, or any police force. Determining what the public expects is crucial to the success of this review. The ALRC will hold extensive consultations and will issue a discussion paper in October 1995 before publishing the final report in June 1996.

Stop Press: on 26 July 1995 the ALRC was asked to also consider complaints against the National Crime Authority as part of its complaints against police reference.