Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia can be treated un equal from, criminal justice system, and certain a law must be addressed. The customary Law reflects equality amongst indigenous and non-indigenous Australians. This essay will explore the customary law in Australia, and the benefits and critiques that is proposes. First the essay will explore what the customary law in Australia is. Secondly it will explore other countries that have allowed indigenous people to implement their own justice system in practice, it will explore the indigenous right that were recognized in New Zealand. It will then then argue that customary law should be used in Australia and be strengthened in aboriginal communities however there are some …show more content…
There is problematic issues regarding violence and human right in Indigenous communities. It well known statistic about the over-representation of Indigenous men, women and children in criminal justice system, and the high crime rates in aboriginal communities. (McIntyre, 2005). The customary law proposes for regulating the behavior in aboriginal communities, hence is beneficial, and minimizes violence and arrests, and can allow aboriginal communities to have their say. Although many Australian human rights lawyers argue that Aboriginal customary law must be 100 per cent consistent with international human rights norms (McIntyre, 2005). Hence an important note, is that human rights are only a relatively recent concept when compared to Aboriginal culture, thus it is important note that human rights are essentially a creation of the last hundred …show more content…
First how does the legal system ensure consistency in the circumstances in which Courts accept that Aboriginal Customary Law. Also it may also question how the customary law is incorporated into the legal system in a way that does not breach the principles of non-discrimination and equality before the law (Blagg, Harathunian, & Morgan, 2002). There are many issues regarding the customary law in Australia, hence aboriginal communities, would like to see the customary law strengthened, and it is hoped that such moves may assist them to deal with specific problems in their community (Blagg, Harathunian, & Morgan, 2002).
There has been many issues regarding the different treatments that aboriginals and non-aboriginals receive whilst in custody. There has been many ongoing issues, regarding the maltreatment and human rights of indigenous Australians that are in the care of authority figures. Many Australian detention facilities, particularly in regional and remote areas, and lacking the appropriate treatment conditions for aboriginal Australians, examples of these are that they are dirty, overcrowded, lack air-conditioning, this conditions do not provide Aboriginal and Torres adequate
Toronto: Pearson Prentice Hall. The Justice System and Aboriginal People: Child Welfare. n.d. - n.d. - n.d. The Aboriginal Justice Implementation Commission. Retrieved December 12, 2013, from http://www.ajic.mb.ca/volumel/chapter14.html.
In conclusion, as a cornerstone of Australia legal system, the Mabo case had profound effects on protecting Aboriginal people. After twenty-five years of development, the situation is getting more and more better. However, the government can still have more powerful and forceful measures to improve those people’s
The National Apology of 2008 is the latest addition to the key aspects of Australia’s reconciliation towards the Indigenous owners of our land. A part of this movement towards reconciliation is the recognition of Indigenous Australians and Torres Strait Islanders rights to their land. Upon arrival in Australia, Australia was deemed by the British as terra nullius, land belonging to no one. This subsequently meant that Indigenous Australians and Torres Strait Islanders were never recognised as the traditional owners. Eddie Mabo has made a highly significant contribution to the rights and freedoms of Indigenous Australians as he was the forefather of a long-lasting court case in 1982 fighting for the land rights of the Torres Strait Islanders. Eddie Mabo’s introduction of the Native Title Act has provided Indigenous Australians with the opportunity to state claim to their land, legally recognising the Indigenous and the Torres Strait Islanders as the traditional owners.
An issue facing society is whether the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth), is sufficient in balancing the rights of Indigenous Australians and the rights of current land owners. To determine whether legislation is sufficient and fair, an investigation into the current societal view points needs to be considered by legislators, with an evaluation into the ways in which other societies cater to the needs of Indigenous land owners should be made. This information then allows recommendations and changes to be debated, to therefore to ensure more equitable legislation on land rights within Australia.
The merits of both the adversarial and inquisitorial system will be explored throughout this paper. The Australian rule of law best describes as all law should be applied equally and fairly. The five vital operations of the rule of law includes fairness, rationality, predictability, consistency, and impartially. The adversarial system adopts these operations by having a jury decide on the verdict and the judge being an impartial decision maker. In contrast, the inquisitorial system relies heavily on the judge. This can result in abusive power and bias of the judge when hearing evidence and delivering verdicts. The operations of the rule of law determine why the rule of law is best served by the adversarial system in Australia.
In doing so, we are also blocking out people who have the potential to bring even more cultural diversity into the community. If we honestly believe that we are a generous and multicultural nation, it’s time we show it by empathising with our fellow human beings. In order to improve the conditions in detention centres there must be a change to our unnecessarily harsh system. We need rules to be enforced, such as; a maximum 30 day time limit, and the people that are detained must be let out within this time frame. Within this time, health, character and identity checks must be completed. Shutting down isolating and remote detention centres. Speeding up the processing system. Asylum seekers must be given the opportunity to communicate with the outside world and have full access to legal advice and counselling. This means that telephones, internet and external activities need to be an option. Unaccompanied minors also need to be a priority. It is time that Australia treats our neighbours with all the dignity and respect that they finally
the Canadian justice system(Brizinski,1993,395) it has over and over again been stated that the present justice system has and is failing Aboriginal people. It is not suited for their cultural needs and does nothing to rehabilitate offenders but rather does the offender more harm then good. It does not address the underlying conditions causing criminal behavior or in assessing what specific needs must be addressed to rehabilitate.
Despite the decreasing inequalities between men and women in both private and public spheres, aboriginal women continue to be oppressed and discriminated against in both. Aboriginal people in Canada are the indigenous group of people that were residing in Canada prior to the European colonization. The term First Nations, Indian and indigenous are used interchangeably when referring to aboriginal people. Prior to the colonization, aboriginal communities used to be matrilineal and the power between men and women were equally balanced. When the European came in contact with the aboriginal, there came a shift in gender role and power control leading towards discrimination against the women. As a consequence of the colonization, the aboriginal women are a dominant group that are constantly subordinated and ignored by the government system of Canada. Thus today, aboriginal women experiences double jeopardy as they belong to more than one disadvantaged group i.e. being women and belonging to aboriginal group. In contemporary world, there are not much of a difference between Aboriginal people and the other minority groups as they face the similar challenges such as gender discrimination, victimization, and experiences injustice towards them. Although aboriginal people are not considered as visible minorities, this population continues to struggle for their existence like any other visible minorities group. Although both aboriginal men and women are being discriminated in our society, the women tends to experience more discrimination in public and private sphere and are constantly the targeted for violence, abuse and are victimized. In addition, many of the problems and violence faced by aborigin...
On the 6th of June 1992 The high court of Australia made the decision to overturn the doctrine of Terra Nullius, Mabo v Queensland (No2) (1992) 175 CRL 1, this decision caused a very significant impact on Australia’s Law and legal History. It was the first time since British settlement in 1770 that native title was recognised in Australia for Indigenous Australians. Native title refers to land title rights indigenous Australians have with land that has cultural significance to them. The decision ruled in favour of the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title.
Barsh, R. 2005. Aboriginal peoples and the justice system: Report of the national round table on Aboriginal justice issues (Book Review). Great Plains Research, 359-362.
The gross over representation of indigenous people in the Australian criminal justice system (CJS) is so disturbingly evident that it is never the source of debate. Rather it is the starting point of discussions centring on the source and solutions to this prominent social, cultural and political issue. Discourse surrounds not only the economic and social disadvantage of indigenous communities, but also the systemic racism and continuing intergenerational trauma resulting for the unjust colonisation of a nation which has profited whites at the detriment to indigenous people throughout history. In respect to the currently CJS, trepidations are raised by indigenous communities around the lack of culturally diverse laws and punishments within the system. The overtly western system does not provide a viable space for indigenous
Indigenous Australian land rights have sparked controversy between Non Indigenous and Indigenous Australians throughout history. The struggle to determine who the rightful owners of the land are is still largely controversial throughout Australia today. Indigenous Australian land rights however, go deeper than simply owning the land as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have established an innate spiritual connection making them one with the land. The emphasis of this essay is to determine how Indigenous Australian land rights have impacted Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, highlighting land rights regarding the Mabo v. the State of Queensland case and the importance behind today’s teachers understanding and including Indigenous
Since the time of federation the Aboriginal people have been fighting for their rights through protests, strikes and the notorious ‘day of mourning’. However, over the last century the Australian federal government has generated policies which manage and restrained that of the Aboriginal people’s rights, citizenships and general protection. The Australian government policy that has had the most significant impact on indigenous Australians is the assimilation policy. The reasons behind this include the influences that the stolen generation has had on the indigenous Australians, their relegated rights and their entitlement to vote and the impact that the policy has had on the indigenous people of Australia.
An Panel of Experts suggests if the Aboriginal would be recognized in the Constitutional recognition, the section of 25 or 51 be repealed and should be rewritten with something simple and effective like section of the Australian Constitution “Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples”. Another laws should be implemented which should stop racism and discrimination of any kind.
Walker, Y. (n.d.). Aboriginal Family Issues. Retrieved November 19, 2013, from Australian Insitute of Family Studies.