The Commonwealth Parliament and Preventive Detention: The High Court’s Decision in Minister for Home Affairs v Benbrika (2021)
2021 Criminal Law CPD Series:
The Commonwealth Parliament and Preventive Detention: The High Court’s Decision in Minister for Home Affairs v Benbrika (2021) 95 ALJR 166
SUBSTANTIVE LAW
CPD Points: 1.5
**ON DEMAND RECORDINGS OF THE 2021 SERIES ARE AVAILABLE HERE**
The effect of Fardon v AG (Qld) (2004) 223 CLR 575 is that a State or Territory Parliament may validly authorise its Supreme Court to commit to prison a person who poses an unacceptable risk of committing a serious sexual offence if released at the end of his or her prison sentence. But, in the same case, Gummow J (with whom Kirby J agreed on this point) contended that Chapter III of the Commonwealth Constitution prevents the Commonwealth Parliament from passing similar legislation. In Minister of Home Affairs v Benbrika (2021) 95 ALJR 166, a majority of the High Court held that his Honour was wrong. This seminar considers the reasons that the majority Justices gave for rejecting Mr Benbrika’s attack on Division 105A of the Criminal Code (Cth), which authorises a State or Territory Supreme Court to impose continuing detention orders on terrorist offenders who pose an unacceptable risk of committing certain terrorist offences if released into the community. The seminar also examines the more liberal approach adopted by Gageler and Gordon JJ in their respective dissents. The seminar suggests that Benbrika is consistent with the Court’s recent decisions in cases where ‘law and order’ measures are attacked on Chapter III grounds.
Presenter
Dr Andrew Dyer is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Sydney Law School, having been appointed the inaugural Colin Phegan Lecturer in Legal Reasoning at the beginning of 2014. A graduate of Sydney Law School and the London School of Economics, Andrew began his working career not as a lawyer, but in television, acting in and writing for various sketch comedy shows. He then worked at a large commercial law firm; as tipstaff to a judge of the NSW Court of Appeal; and, immediately before coming to Sydney Law School as a sessional lecturer in 2010, as a Researcher at the Judicial Commission of NSW.
Registration
Full series (7 webinars) = $300
Individual webinar(s) = $50
CLICK HERE to register
This webinar will be released on Wednesday 30 June.
You will receive a webinar link on this date, and can also register at a later date to catch up in your own time.
About the series
This new 2021 Criminal Law CPD series, presented by the Sydney Institute of Criminology is made up of 7 webinars. Topics include: criminal behaviour in the digital age, consent and culpability in sex cases involving adults, irreducible life sentences, preventive detention; and neurotechnology and the criminal law.
You can register for the full series or individual webinar(s) and catch up on demand. Webinars will be presented by experts from Sydney Law School.
Program Schedule
Information for lawyers and barristers
Full attendance at this webinar series is equal to 10.5 MCLE/CPD units, based on 1.5 points per seminar attended.
For further enquiries: T +61 2 9351 0248
E law.events@sydney.edu.au
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