Print versionSustainable development has emerged in recent years as a principle of international law which embodies the need to balance development with environmental protection. This article addresses the impact of the Case Concerning the Gabcikovo-Nagymaros Project, the first case before the International Court of Justice to consider the question of sustainable development, on the development and understanding of the principle at customary international law. The article analyses three interrelated aspects of the principle: the concept of sustainable development, the precautionary principle and the principle of Environmental Impact Assessments. It concludes that both the majority opinion and the separate opinion of Vice-President Weeramantry have had an influence on developing international environmental law in this area. However, that influence has not been entirely positive.
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Supporting Australia’s increasingly multicultural society, and more specifically the large portion of non-English speakers within it, requires a coordinated and valued system of support services. This article seeks to assess the extent to which the ability of non-English speakers to participate in the Australian legal system is currently assisted by the use of court interpreting services. It examines a person’s right to a court interpreter, and seeks to clarify the interpreter’s role in the legal setting. The article canvasses some of the shortcomings in existing court interpreting practices and suggests methods for their amelioration. Ultimately, removing language barriers so as to secure equal access to the legal system for persons who lack English proficiency has an overriding social and moral imperative: justice.
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In August 2008 Queensland Corrective Services (QCS) enacted its first procedure to deal with transgender prisoners detained in Queensland correctional facilities. This article provides a critical assessment of that new procedure. It is argued that whilst the enactment of the procedure itself is a positive step by QCS towards ensuring that transgender prisoners are adequately cared for and protected whilst under QCS’ care and supervision, the specialised procedures QCS has put in place to deal with transgender prisoners are inadequate in a number of respects and should be amended.
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Judicial and administrative decision-makers, at both the State and Commonwealth levels, are often required to take the precautionary principle into account when assessing a statutory planning scheme or development proposal. Arguably, at first glance any greenhouse gas (‘GHG’) emissions caused by such a scheme or proposal would constitute a polluting activity of the kind that the precautionary principle is designed to address. This article discusses whether decision-makers are legally obligated to consider GHG emissions in an application of the precautionary principle, and if so, to what extent.
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