Law+reform

=Law Reform=

Law reform is the term we use to describe the way that the laws that govern us evolve over time to reflect the changing society that we live in.

Why do we need law reform?
Think about these laws that used to apply in Australia. Why did they require changing?


 * A husband could not be charged with raping is own wife
 * Women who were found to be in a public bar could be arrested for vagrancy or public indecency
 * Aboriginal people were not counted in the Australian census
 * Asylum seeker children used to be held in detention centres until their claims were processed
 * If a person had been tried and found not guilty of an offence, they could not be tried again, even if very compelling new evidence was revealled by using new technology or science
 * Women and Aboriginal people were not allowed to vote
 * Women were not allowed to serve on juries

You can see that in order for laws to reflect societies current attitudes, values and morals, they need to be able to respond to change. This wiki will explore how and why this law reform occurs.

Your group will be responsible for building a wiki that explains one aspect of law reform. Importantly, your wiki should include reference (and links) to contemporary examples that show this type of law reform in action.

Once your wiki is complete, you should set a discussion question for the rest of the class.

Why does law reform occur? - The conditions that give rise to the need for law reform
Failure of existing laws International laws and conventions
 * Group 1:**

New concepts of justice New technology
 * Group 2:**

Changing composition of society Changing social values and morality
 * Group 3:**

How does law reform occur? - The Agencies and mechanisms of reform
The Australian Law Reform Commission & The Law recorm Commission of NSW
 * Group 4:**

Parliamentary Committees, Royal Commissions, Permanent advisory bodies The media & NGO's
 * Group 5:**

The Courts
 * Group 6:**

Parliament
 * Group 7:**