In the UK, men can no longer claim they were provoked by jealousy into killing their partner. Our research published recently in the Cambridge Law Journal revealed the extent to which that change, enacted in 2010, has altered the way the English courts have responded to murder motivated by sexual infidelity. The answer is not […]
Tag Archives: criminal law
This article was first published on The Conversation website. The law’s response to lethal domestic violence in Australia raises complex issues. It requires a delicate balance to be struck between ensuring a just response to those who kill in response to prolonged family violence while simultaneously ensuring that those who kill an intimate partner in […]
On Friday, Yassir Ibrahim Mohamed Hassan was sentenced in the NSW Supreme Court to a maximum term of 12 years imprisonment, with a non-parole period of nine years, for the manslaughter of his wife, Mariam Henery Yousif. Hassan’s case is a stark reminder of the injustices caused by the partial defence of provocation, which continues […]
This article was first published on The Sydney Morning Herald website on 22 October 2013. The O’Farrell government must reconsider their recommendation to retain a restricted version of the controversial partial defence of provocation. The government has released a draft exposure bill recommending reform of a partial defence that has long attracted criticism and community […]
This month the Home Secretary Theresa May MP announced a major review in England and Wales of how police respond to domestic violence. The much-needed review comes in the wake of several high profile cases of women killed by former male partners with a recorded history of violence against women. These cases, including the deaths […]
Last month the Victorian Premier Denis Napthine, Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Ken Lay, Lord Mayor Robert Doyle and AFL chief Andrew Demetriou came together to encourage the Victorian community to ‘take a stand’ against family violence. Part of a family violence campaign, the ‘Take a Stand’ initiative focuses on reducing family violence through increased awareness […]
Provocation is a partial defence to murder, which has attracted controversy and critique in every Australian criminal justice system except South Australia … until now. Courtesy of concerns surrounding the ‘gay panic’ defence, South Australia has joined the provocation debate and has already begun to take steps to minimising the application of this controversial law. […]
This article was first published at The Conversation on the 24th April 2013. Yesterday, the NSW parliamentary Select Committee on the Partial Defence of Provocation released its final report. The report contains a set of recommendations for reforming a defence that has long attracted criticism. The committee’s final report shies away from closing the door on provocation completely. It […]
The Victorian Department of Justice recently released a discussion paper calling for community input into the design and implementation of diversion programs for young people engaged in the criminal justice system. Unlike many jurisdictions in Australia, Victoria has not adopted a legislative, court-based diversion scheme for addressing crime committed by children and young people. The […]